This method retrieves the specified resource using the GET method. The resource is downloaded asynchronously using thread resources that are automatically allocated from the thread pool.

After downloading the resource, this method uses the encoding specified in the Encoding property to convert the resource to a String. This method does not block the calling thread while downloading the resource. To download a resource and block while waiting for the server's response, use the DownloadString(String) method. When the download completes, the DownloadStringCompleted event is raised. Your application must handle this event to receive notification. The downloaded string is available in the Result property.

You can use the CancelAsync()()()() method to cancel asynchronous operations that have not completed.

If the BaseAddress property is not an empty string ("") and address does not contain an absolute URI, address must be a relative URI that is combined with BaseAddress to form the absolute URI of the requested data. If the QueryString property is not an empty string, it is appended to address.

This method uses the RETR command to download an FTP resource. For an HTTP resource, the GET method is used.