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Blue Crab
Blue Crab
3.6
0.0
Blue Crab free download for Mac

Blue Crab

Version 5.1.2

Browse complete websites offline.

3.6
Based on 15 user ratesRead reviews & comments

Blue Crab overview

Blue Crab is a versatile and thorough program that you use to copy the contents of a Web site to your computer, in whole or in part, and then search or browse it offline.

Features:
  • Conduct fast offline browsing and searching without an Internet connection.
  • Perform batch downloads of URL's
  • Create a snapshot of a website for historical archiving.
  • Batch download Web archives.
  • Collect specific types of resources such as images or email addresses.
  • Search current content more thoroughly than a search engine right on your own computer.
  • Check a site for broken links, or generate an HTML sitemap
  • Create full page images of URL's (JPEG, BMP, TIFF, PNG, PSD, etc.)
  • Perform "Google Image Search" batch downloads: download images found using an image query on Google.

With Blue Crab you can download all the content including HTML, PDF, graphics, video, file archives, etc., or use selective filtering to restrict downloads to specific kinds of files. For example, you can choose to save only the JPEG images Blue Crab finds, or just the PDF's.

Blue Crab has a special feature called the "Media Grabber" which you can use to easily download just the images (or movies) on a Web site Moreover, you can view a slide show of the images as they are downloaded. You also have the option of "flattening" the images, i.e., putting them all into one folder, or preserving the folder structure on the server (just as when downloading a complete Web site for offline viewing.)

Blue Crab is always gentle on the server, processing only one URL at a time. (You can even make it pause between successive downloads so as to not overwhelm the server.)

The demo version you download now is fully functionaly and runs for about ten days.

Major Features:
  • Unique URL extraction algorithms yield very complete downloads compared to other products of this type.
  • You can download Web sites either for offline browsing, via re-linking of URL's, or to create virtual copies of them on your hard drive, i.e., backup a Web site as-is.
  • Supports both HTTP, HTTPS protocols as well as server realms. Detailed Grabber window shows server HTTP header response fields.
  • Optionally display Web pages as they are crawled using either your own Web browser or Blue Crabs own Web window.
  • You can restrict a crawl to just the initial domain, or allow the program to "stray" into offsite URL's
  • Blue Crab can remap "dynamic" URL's which contain path and search arguments so that resulting disk files are navigable offline.
  • Image URL's into JPEG files (or any other graphic file type supported by Quicktime) to create complete pictures of Web pages not possible simply by taking a single screen shot yourself.
  • Blue Crab provides its URL imaging ability as a service menu item available from other applications.
  • URL's can be imaged into files, or onto the clipboard.
  • Built-in directory search displays found files as a hierarchical list, with double-clickable entries.
  • A "batch window" enables you to download your own list of files. Simply drag and drop URL's into the batch window, or import them from an HTML file , or text file.
  • Grabbing in "images-only" mode just downloads image files, optionally "flattening" the results (i.e. putting all images into one folder.)
  • Reusable configuration settings control what is grabbed, saved or crawled:
  • Filter by size, date, file type or even content
  • Filter by filename, extension or path
  • Bookmarks window for storing frequently crawled Web sites
  • Supports form submissions to enable you to begin a crawl from a login page.
  • Supports cookies for more accurate downloads.
  • Generate site maps that consist of a hierarchical display of URL's Such maps can be optionally filtered by extension.
  • Find email addresses.
  • Customizable user-agent (spoofing) enables you to download Web sites which are platform specific.
  • Optionally receive email notifications of Blue Crab's progress during a lengthy crawl.
  • Dock badging provides visual feedback or progress when the program is in the background.
  • Google image search and download in batch.

Check the website for bundles and promos.

What’s new in version 5.1.2

Updated on Nov 30 2016

Version 5.1.2:
  • Update for Mac OS 10.11
  • Fixed a bug opening the download directory from the grabber window (the 'Reveal' button), and similar problems with other convenience functions that open folders or files.
  • Fixed a bug that prevented the opening of the log file from the File menu, and similar problems with other instances for opening certain files.

Information

License

Commercial

Size

5.7 MB

Downloads

62326

App requirements

  • Intel 32
  • Mac OS X 10.5.8 or later
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0.0

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  • Comments

  • User Ratings

gordon-6
gordon-6
Oct 18 2017
5.1.2
2.0
Oct 18 2017
2.0
Version: 5.1.2
I was looking at buying this until I discovered how slooow it is, and then I discovered these reviews...... so I am not alone in being ignored by BC support, Goodbye BC,
RJC.NJNYC
RJC.NJNYC
Nov 6 2014
5.0.07
0.0
Nov 6 2014
0.0
Version: 5.0.07
AVOID. This developer is useless, as well as their website. I have their "Limit Point Software Utilities Bundle" where you get all of their apps with updates forever. Yeah, good luck. Anyone else having problems? Leave a comment, and maybe I'll start legal action to get them to honor their comments.
Fishscale
Fishscale
Jan 16 2014
5.0.06
0.0
Jan 16 2014
0.0
Version: 5.0.06
I noticed that one time limit point apps that were released eons before the mac app store have suddenly all disappeared and 404 is now the response. I might have missed the obvious but with the new site layout it is pretty bare so I am completely confused as to the state of limit point customers that purchased software now only available via MAS. We get coupons, etc.. or what? I prefer a DL from the developer but better MAS than nothing which is the drift I am getting but keeping fingers crossed is not the case. So all of us that paid for the "bundle" of every app in existence now and to be released in the future by limit-point for one flat price is now in what state dev? Just very surprised for a developer I have always praised for their dedication to customer needs over developing multiple apps that are overall useful (like many MAS devs) - Hell the limit point utilities bundle + the other bigger apps is by far the best deal I have encountered, especially when those one trick utilities were the only way to get the task done and accessed via context menu before services. I'm going to email developer directly, always good communication so if they don't post a response here first I will let others know what the deal is, if any (most likely me just being tired or dev not finished with a site upgrade etc... ) ...
ylluminate
ylluminate
Feb 16 2013
5.0.06
3.0
Feb 16 2013
3.0
Version: 5.0.06
I don't know. I was hopeful that this would be snappier than SiteSucker, but I'm seeing about a 4 times speed difference on the favor of SiteSucker really outperforming this app and being more "mac-like". Additionally, I have to say that I'm not real keen on the features and the terminology used. It's not horrible, particularly for someone who knows what they're doing, but I could see someone getting lost pretty quickly on a few of the points and the initial delay of the tooltips.
Simbasounds
Simbasounds
Dec 20 2012
5.0.06
5.0
Dec 20 2012
5.0
Version: 5.0.06
I agree with some of the comments that this is the best web extractor. I tried them all on several occasions, and always came back to Blue Crab.
Sleav
Sleav
Dec 10 2012
5.0.06
4.5
Dec 10 2012
4.5
Version: 5.0.06
Blue Crab has proven to be the #1 software for grabbing up URL contents. The interface takes a bit of looking around, it is amazingly packed with features - but it's reliable and does exactly what it says it does, very fast. Best of all, Limit Point Software has been VERY responsive to any and all questions. If you're serious about web work, this software is the only way to go in this category, in my Humble Opinion...
L008com
L008com
Apr 3 2011
5.0.01
2.0
Apr 3 2011
2.0
Version: 5.0.01
This is a very poor quality app. It has a lame java interface. It's very unintuitive. The app itself is slow and buddy. It just got 180 404 errors trying to download totally random URLs from my site, url's that are not linked to anywhere on my site. Clearly there are some big bugs in this app's code. I'll give it two stars because after fighting with it, it did download all, or at least most of my website. But this app is about what you'd expect for a windows app. I would not recommend it, even if it was free. For $25, forget it!
Caiyne
Caiyne
Mar 22 2011
5.0.01
4.0
Mar 22 2011
4.0
Version: 5.0.01
Best app for this category in my opinion. Configurations are a bit unintuitive. I need to explore it more to really say that the ease of use, features, and stability are more bug related.
Jan13
Jan13
Oct 7 2010
4.9.47
5.0
Oct 7 2010
5.0
Version: 4.9.47
This is THE BEST ! I am using this software for a long time and there is is nothing out there which can hold a candle next to this one ...
Kobalt
Kobalt
Oct 5 2010
4.9.47
5.0
Oct 5 2010
5.0
Version: 4.9.47
I have posted here a few time to say how much I appreciate this app, but never assigned any stars, yet. It's about time I do, so there. Five from me.
Shmk
Shmk
Oct 24 2009
4.9.18
0.0
Oct 24 2009
0.0
Version: 4.9.18
Doesn't seem to work on snow leopard. Spinning beach ball and crash when ever I tried to input a url
Rc
Rc
Sep 24 2008
4.9.12
0.0
Sep 24 2008
0.0
Version: 4.9.12
I just downloaded a copy and using it to download a graphics heavy site. The application quits after 5 min or so. It says this is a "fully functional demo" but is this "auto-quit" part of the demo? If so, how can I fully evaluate the program? As I wrote this "review" I already had to restart the program 3 times so that "5 min" interval is getting shorter. I may start looking for an alternative. Too bad HTTrack is not available for the Mac..... OS 10.5.5 iMac G5, 2Ghz, 1GB RAM
Binarypackrat
Binarypackrat
Sep 1 2008
4.9.11
5.0
Sep 1 2008
5.0
Version: 4.9.11
Yes, this app rocks! It does download images from PHP sites like Blogger. Seems to be very stable as well. The best one of all of the ones I have tried.
Itty
Itty
Apr 19 2008
4.9.6
5.0
Apr 19 2008
5.0
Version: 4.9.6
The most important feature I've been wanting for years, from ANY downloader, is the ability to download images from PHP sites. (Coppermine gallery, Gallery II gallery, WordPress gallery, etc.) This is a big feature that should be proudly boasted. Now I can finally download full size images from my favorite artists galleries with lots of options. Tested on MacIntel Leopard 10.5.2
Same-Author-As-Hellopig,-Trial-Review
Dec 10 2007
0.0
Version: 4.9.3
IF you want to get a comprehensive download. Make sure you click grab and not grab quickly!
Same-Author-As-Hellopig,-Trial-Review
Dec 10 2007
0.0
Version: 4.9.3
i dont know why people say blue crab is slow when operating although downloading can be slower than others. make sure you download the latest version of blue crab. -check whether there is virus. -check whether you have enough memory space and hd space. All these may slow the program down.
Same-Author-As-Hellopig,-Trial-Review
Dec 10 2007
0.0
Version: 4.9.3
Site sucker is not really good. it have many limitations. -Shareware program -no javascript, nonlocalize (meaning that you cant download websites with animations...) -cannot download tools from website. Blue crab has many advantages: -able to download flash and 99.9% of all file types. -nice graphic of websites downloaded. -Provide many updates and help -I can guaranteed almost any website can be downloaded. (you have to be patience) Why buy any other software? this product have one of the most updates!
Jppagliaro
Jppagliaro
Jun 27 2007
4.9
0.0
Jun 27 2007
0.0
Version: 4.9
Some users were complaining of sluggish text field's in the Configuration editor. The cause was: The current browser URL is displayed in certain menu items of the "Grab" menu. As it turns out keyboard processing is related to menu updating, unfortunately, and that caused an overhead when the program was checking for the current URL in the your browser as characters were being typed into certain text fields of the program. This has been fixed by adding an option in Preferences to display full menu items in the "Grab" menu. This option is off by default. To edit the option select "Preferences..." from the Blue Crab menu, and then select the "Behavior" pane. Turn the option on by selecting the "Show full titles in "Grab current web page" menu items.
Jppagliaro
Jppagliaro
May 29 2007
4.8.9
0.0
May 29 2007
0.0
Version: 4.8.9
Well, I don't consider your review "real" for a few reasons, which boil down to a sense of unfairness I have about it. I'll point out some of them: First of all your star rating is highly suspcious. For example, you give stability a 1 star rating yet didn't provide any examples of how the program is unstable. The other ratings also seem a bit harsh. I think that people who give 1 star overall ratings are likely being unfair. Then you list your problems with the program, the first of which was the startup window. Restricting demo programs in such ways is common practice, and I don't think it warrants mention in a "review." When real reviewers want to use the program I usually provide a free password so that the window isn't a usiance and they can conduct their experiements without the window displaying. You also don't point out what specific sites you had trouble with, at least in a personal email to me. If you had then I could at least determine if there is indeed a problem that needs to be addressed or not. I'm just curious about why you won't send me the URL of the websites that are causing you problems. Perhaps I can offer a suggestion on how to get it to work better on those sites, or resolve a possible bug in the program, if one exists. The web is a big place, and I know there are sites that don't work as well as others. But I find it hard to believe that Blue Crab doesn't do as well as others on your sites. And until you can prove me wrong I can't change my opinion on that. But if you can then I will openly admit I was wrong ;-) As for the sluggish text field, I do know that there was once an issue of that nature, fixed a long time ago. I'd like to know what version of Blue Crab you are using to be sure you have that fix, because I am not receiving problem reports from others of that nature. Finally, and most importantly, most real reviews provide the pros and cons of each program, not just the one they are seemingly trying to knock. It seems to me that your "review" is more of a means to another end.
Dinh
Dinh
May 27 2007
4.8.9
1.0
May 27 2007
1.0
Version: 4.8.9
I'm looking for an application that can download all the files relating to a website for archiving and evaluation. I'd like to relay my initial impressions on this application: * Nag screen very annoying and wastes my time when I'm evaluating which software I want to purchase... * I'm running a newer MBP and with 90% system idle and 1gb of free memory (2GB total)... Typing text into any of the text fields and moving between dialogs is painstakingly slow in Blue Crab. I type.. I wait.. text appears.. I'm not sure what Blue Crab is doing, I've closed and reopened, etc.. No avail.. No other application is behaving that way.. * In creating a new Grab.. I goto view the configuration.. I change some settings. I close the window, it says I can't save the default?! okay fine... Then I say okay.. It doesn't show me where or how to save the settings to another config.. And then it closes it self automatically and looses all the changes I made. Considering that it takes a significant amount of time to type anything into the text fields, and change tabs, this is incredibly annoying. I finally figured out how to goto the configurations section and create a new config. * After creating a grab, which apparently only grabbed 1 file even though I set it to recursively parse the site as would seem intuitive, it seemed like I only had the choice of "Done" and couldn't re-grab and change settings.. I hit done thinking it'd allow me to change settings, but nope, lost everything I typed in. After evaluating the following applications, here is my ranking for website archiving: SiteSucker - The only application to successfully download my test site in entirety. Also the cheapest coincidentally! DeepVacuum - Almost captured the whole site.. But of course missed the backgrounds and other things which I specifically wanted. Second cheapest ($12). Web Devil - Downloaded some of the site. The browsers seem half-baked for site archiving, its more for downloading galleries of images it seems. It is the most expensive application ($35). Blue Crab - Buggy, non-intuitive, and unusable per my previous description. Only file captured after trialing it was a cookies file. Second most expensive app ($25).
gordon-6
gordon-6
Oct 18 2017
2.0
Oct 18 2017
2.0
Version: null
ylluminate
ylluminate
Feb 16 2013
3.0
Feb 16 2013
3.0
Version: null
Simbasounds
Simbasounds
Dec 20 2012
5.0
Dec 20 2012
5.0
Version: null
Sleav
Sleav
Dec 10 2012
4.5
Dec 10 2012
4.5
Version: null
Thaiwest
Thaiwest
Oct 22 2012
1.5
Oct 22 2012
1.5
Version: null
Pripyat
Pripyat
May 15 2011
2.5
May 15 2011
2.5
Version: null
L008com
L008com
Apr 3 2011
2.0
Apr 3 2011
2.0
Version: null
Caiyne
Caiyne
Mar 22 2011
4.0
Mar 22 2011
4.0
Version: null
Jan13
Jan13
Oct 7 2010
5.0
Oct 7 2010
5.0
Version: null
Kobalt
Kobalt
Oct 5 2010
5.0
Oct 5 2010
5.0
Version: null
Binarypackrat
Binarypackrat
Sep 1 2008
5.0
Sep 1 2008
5.0
Version: null
Itty
Itty
Apr 19 2008
5.0
Apr 19 2008
5.0
Version: null
Dinh
Dinh
May 27 2007
1.0
May 27 2007
1.0
Version: null
Jfm
Jfm
Feb 9 2006
4.8
Feb 9 2006
4.8
Version: null
Guest
Guest
Mar 23 2005
3.8
Mar 23 2005
3.8
Version: null
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