why the smart and conventional download tools do not require password for downloading encrypted files in web-a-file?

Answer by: George Kaloyanov, Aplus.Net Knowledge Base Support.

Both the Smart and Conventional download tools allow the encrypted files to be downloaded without the respective password. However, the file(s) will be downloaded to your local machine without being decrypted. This means that the file is not usable as the content will be still encrypted.

Here is how to download encrypted file using the encryption password:

Option1: Smart Download (requires ActiveX Control installation)

Start by logging into your Web-a-File.Com account at: http://www.web-a-file.com using your username and password.
Browse to your Web-a-File folder that you’d like to download files from.
Click the icon associated with the file you’d like to download.
Click on the Download button located in the Smart Download column.
Select the location on your local machine that you’d like to download the file to.
Click Save and a Web-a-file Restore dialog window will open.
Check the Decrypt file(s) checkbox and enter your encryption password in the respective field.
Finally click the Start button to decrypt and download the selected file to your local machine.

Option2: Conventional Download

Start by logging into your Web-a-File.Com account at: http://www.web-a-file.com using your username and password.
Browse to your Web-a-File folder that you’d like to download files from.
Click the icon associated with the file you’d like to download.
Enter the encryption password in the respective text field located in the Conventional Download column.
Click on the Download button located in the Conventional Download column. Your browser’s file download dialog window will open
Use your browser’s file download interface to select a local location to download the file to.