Depending on your computer, downloading a collection takes only a few seconds to as long as a few minutes. It is a simple process, and by following these easy instructions, you'll soon be downloading free printables like a pro!
Step 1. Find the free printable collection that you wish to download.
The example shown is the "Halloween Invitation Collection" offered by Mom's Break. In the middle of the screen shot to the left, look for the words: Download Halloween Invitation Collection. This is the link, on the Mom's Break Halloween web page, that you would click on to download the collection on the Mom's Break website.
When you click on the link, a pop-up window will appear. In the middle of that pop-up, find the button that says "Save" and click on it.
Some people like to save new files to "My Documents" or to the "Desktop." My Documents is a folder that is standard in Microsoft and is an easy place to remember. You can save your downloaded collection to My Documents, if you are familiar with keeping files in My Documents.
However, for this example, the file of free printable Halloween Invitations is being saved directly to the Desktop, which is the computer screen that you see when you first turn on your computer. This makes it very easy to find after the download.
In the pop-up window that says "Save As" in the top left corner, click on the "Desktop" icon on the left side (the icon looks like a desk blotter). Then click the button at the bottom right that says "Save."
A new pop-up window will appear, as shown to the left, and as the collection downloads to your computer, a "progress bar" (that's the line of little green squares) will fill up the space as the file is downloaded. Also, there will be a "timer" that shows you how many more minutes and seconds it will take to complete the download.
There is a small box that has a green checkmark in it, to indicate that the pop-up window will close itself after the download is complete. If you would prefer for that window to stay open after the download, simply click in that little box to delete the checkmark. However, allowing the box to close itself does not alter anything about the download process.
Now that the file has downloaded, you need to "unzip" it (or "decompress" it). This is a fairly simple process, and you will use your computer's "Extraction Wizard" to do this.
Find the downloaded file on your computer either in My Documents, or in a folder on your desktop, on maybe the compressed file is just on your desktop, as in this example. The icon of the compressed file looks like a manila folder with a zipper on it (that is, it is a "zipped" file).
Find that zipped folder, and RIGHT CLICK on it. A drop-down menu will appear. Click on "Extract All..."
A new window opens to show you the Extraction Wizard. (This might seem like an endless string of windows that open and close, but trust me, this is a simple process and once you've done it a couple of times, you'll be able to do this without even thinking about it!)
Click on the "Next" button at the bottom of this window.
OK, this is the one step that is a little tricky. You are now going to tell the Extraction Wizard where to put all of the individual files that are included in the zipped folder that you just downloaded. Just follow these instructions.
Click on the button that says "Browse."
In the new window, look for where you want to put all of the printables that are in the zip file. Until you get the hang of this, you might just want to select "Desktop" (and all of the files will appear as individual icons on your desktop).
When you get more confident with this, and with a little practice, you can put the printables into a folder that you have created for them.
Decide where you want to put the printables, click on Desktop, or click on a folder that you created for them, and then click on OK at the bottom of the pop-up window.
You're doing great! Keep on reading!