On this page...
- Displaying Different Product Types
- Displaying Different Product Extensions
- Displaying Different Products By String Matching
- How To Select Products Using The Checkboxes
- Download Button (Download By Streaming To A Zip File)
- Show API Query Button (Download Via A Script)
- Downloading Non-Public (Exclusive Access) Products
Component Overview
This page describes the Download Overlay, used for selecting files to download.
Component Features and Functionality
A description of the Download Overlay: 'Select By Product Type', 'Select By Product Extension', 'Select By String Match', 'Download Button' (Download By Streaming To A Zip File), and the 'Show API Query Button' (Download Via A Script).
This menu bar selects certain types of products based on classification as defined by the Archive or mission pipelines. Examples include 'CALIBRATED', 'UNCALIBRATED', and 'REFERENCE'. Each option can be toggled on or off, displaying all products under that type to be displayed in the overlay. When one type is selected, the background color changes to blue. By default, 'CALIBRATED' datasets are selected. The products still need to be selected using the checkboxes next to each Observation (dataset) or product displayed in the overlay when selecting other product types than 'CALIBRATED'. Alternatively, use 'SELECT ALL' to select all files or 'SELECT NONE' and then select individual files. As products are selected, the Observation count, file count, and total estimated download volume are updated at the top of the overlay.
This video clip demonstrates how to choose products to display in the overlay based on the product extension.
Displaying Different Product Extensions
Another way to refine data, use the 'Extensions' drop-down. It is used to display products based on the product extension. Once clicking the menu, scroll through the available list of extensions and select those of interest to download. Alternatively, use 'SELECT ALL' or select individual extension after clicking 'SELECT NONE' inside the drop-down menu.
'Extension' here is referring to a suffix which indicates the type of data the file contains, not to a file extension. For example, if a file ends in '_x1d.fits', the product extension is 'x1d' (which is a suffix based on data type containing calibrated science spectra) while the file extension is 'fits'.
There are various product extensions depending the instruments of each Mission. For HST data, see the HST User documentation page for its filename format convention.
The string search box in the Download Overlay can be used to match product names, instruments, and filters/gratings. This can be used to further refine the displayed list of products for easy selection to download. This search box offers type-ahead functionality. For example, the search box can be used to display only "txt" file extension type by entering ".txt" into the search box, which will only display products that include the string. It is not limited to only file types but any string in a file name can be searched. These can then be selected using the selection checkboxes to include in the download. Also, 'SELECT ALL' and 'SELECT NONE' are enabled.
To select only files which contain a specific string, make sure to click 'SELECT NONE' next to this string search box first (do not confuse with the one inside the 'Extensions' menu) and check if the number of Observations and Files is zero, at the top of the Download Overlay . Then type the string to refine the results and either click 'SELECT ALL' or select files individually by clicking the checkboxes next to file names.
How To Select Products Using The Checkboxes
Any products displayed in the overlay must be selected using the checkboxes to download them. 'SELECT ALL' and 'SELECT NONE' will select or deselect all currently displayed products. The selection checkbox next to a given Observation ID will select or deselect all displayed products only for that Observation. The selection checkbox next to a displayed product
will select or deselect that only that product.
NOTE: Products that are selected will remain selected or deselected if they are later displayed or hidden using other components in the Download Overlay. When in doubt, look at the number of Observations and Files at the top of the Overlay, or display all Product Types and Product Extensions (and remove any string matching in the search box) to get a complete list of products and their selection status.
When ready to download the selected products, click the 'START DOWNLOAD' button. This will begin downloading the products by streaming them to a Zip file. Note that the download location is set by the preference settings of the web browser. If the browser does not allow customizing where to download the Zip file, it will be downloaded to the default download location other files are downloaded by the browser.
Pressing the 'DOWNLOAD WITH API QUERY' button will display the overlay below.
Another option to download products is to request a download script using the Mission Search API. Clicking on the 'DOWNLOAD WITH API QUERY' button will bring up the Download By API Query Overlay. This overlay displays API commands based on the products selected to download the files one at a time. These commands can be copied from the overlay into a text editor and then run as an executable script.
Such API download scripts can be useful in a number of scenarios where a search was conducted, but it is desired to download the products at a later time. Examples include slow internet connections, not being at the machine where the files ultimately want to be stored on or very large product requests where the products can be requested in smaller batches at different times.
At this time, product downloads for non-public data using API commands is not supported, whether signed into a user account that has access to the products or not. To download non-public products, they must be streamed to a zip file using the Download Overlay.
| The account menu when not logged in. | The account menu when logged in. |
Example of non-public products in the Download Overlay if not authorized and/or not signed in. Instead of a selection checkbox, a locked icon with a yellow background will appear, indicating permission is not granted to download those products.
Downloading Non-Public (Exclusive Access) Products
Some missions, such as HST, have products that are not publicly available to everyone. These non-public (or "exclusive access") products will appear in the download overlay but will not be available to select for download unless signed in to the STScI account and are authorized to retrieve those products.
NOTE: you might be logged-in already if you have signed in to other STScI sites or services, as the account sign-in system is shared across many STScI interfaces.