Project Downloading (2.0) - Scratch Wiki - The first knowledge sharing application in Vietnam

This article or section documents something not included in the current version of Scratch (3.0). It is only useful from a historical perspective.

Project Downloading is when the code of a Scratch project is downloaded from the Scratch Website to the user’s computer. In Scratch 2.0, this allowed a user to work on a project in the Scratch 2.0 offline editor, or other programs that can read Scratch files. For simply viewing the code of a project, See Inside could be used.

Downloading 2.0 Projects

Downloading a project made in 2.0.

Downloading a Scratch 2.0 project was done from the online project editor. There was an option under the File menu, “Download to your computer”. Upon clicking, the user would be prompted to choose a name and location for the file. It would be a .sb2 file.

Note: Some anti-virus systems prevent Flash applications (including Scratch) from saving files to the user’s computer. See your manual for details on how to prevent this.

This method worked for all projects on the Scratch website, no matter what version it was saved in. Projects saved in Scratch 2.0 (including autosave) only worked with this method; projects never saved in Scratch 2.0 worked with the method below.

Downloading Projects From Older Versions

Downloading a project made in 1.4.

If an online project was made in the Scratch 1.x series, and was never saved using Scratch 2.0, it could be downloaded by clicking “Embed” beneath the project viewer, then “Download code”, as in the image to the right. This would download a .sb file. Depending on the user’s web browser, a download window may or may not appear.

Benefits of Downloading Projects

Most of the past benefits of downloading projects were lost in Scratch 2.0, with the introduction of See Inside and the backpack. Users previously would download projects to view or edit the scripts, or use media from the project, but all of this could be done online in 2.0. Some reasons to download a Scratch 2.0 project were:

To keep a backup copy of the project in case it is deleted online
To edit the project offline
To reduce lag caused by Flash
To edit shared projects without other people noticing
To play other people’s games and projects offline
To use Scratch without a reliable internet connection
To play a game which does not work online (common for projects created with Scratch 1.4 and before)

Locking Downloads

Some Scratchers support the idea of an option to lock downloads, or lock “See Inside” on a project,[1][2] as it would prevent others from stealing their work, allow private scripting, and so on.

However, the suggestion was rejected due to the fact that remixing is an important part of Scratch.[3] The suggestion was also against the Creative Commons license, that Scratch projects are under, which allows remixing.[4]

Several quotes had been mentioned here, including:

“

But wouldn’t the option to refuse download be against Scratch’s motto to imagine, program, and share? Honestly, if I did not want other people taking the art and music from my projects, I would post my projects on my own personal site and set my own Creative Commons/copyright license or not upload my project to the Scratch website at all.

”

– cheddargirl[5]

Despite the explanations, the idea is still supported by some Scratchers because it can be a way of preventing project copying or art theft.

However, some people have created their own remix blockers. However, this is highly discouraged and should not be used, as it will result in alerts and eventually a ban. If a project uses a remix blocker, please report it.

Project Downloading (2.0) – Scratch Wiki