Downloads disappear under Linux
Firefox is really, really insistent upon putting its downloads into /run/user/$USERID/doc/$TEMPID. If I select "ask me" then it puts it there by default and I have to struggle with that nasty directory selector app to choose another place. If I select "Downloads", then it puts it into that temporary directory anyway (neener, neener). I looked up a support solution and it said to fiddle the browser.download.scanWhenDone value. There ain't no such a thing. Perhaps that's Windows only. There is a value for browser.download.lastDir, but it is that TEMPID thing. Those directories are removed upon download completion, so that directory (and the file) no longer exists.
Okay. This whole thing is beyond my abilities to tame. My preference is "use last directory" -- but only if it actually remembers correctly. Otherwise, save into ~/Downloads. And for God's sake, *NEVER* delete a file that I've gone to the trouble of downloading!
All Replies (6)
Try downloading another copy of Firefox, run it from the folder and see if you have the same issue.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/all/#product-desktop-release
My guess, from having seen other threads about the same issue, is that you are using Ubuntu's Firefox. A question on an Ubuntu forum may yield an answer.
I am using Ubuntu's Firefox. It's the default. I found that if I click on the file system root on the bottom of the left margin column, then it works normally, apart from not remembering the last save directory.
So, not fixed but functional. Looks like Firefox folks have some fiddling to do.
Did you download Firefox from Mozilla to test the issue?
Once upon a time, I was a programmer and got paid good money to chase problems like this. I'm retired now and have lost interest. It's hard work. Rather than beta test a Mozilla release, I'll settle for a workaround that works: select a file system and wander down the hierarchy every time. It also seems that fiddling the settings eventually got it to leave the file in ~/Downloads. I can let drop there and move it where I need it later. It's a nuisance, but it's easier than bug chasing. :( Sorry.
P.S. if there's an easy way to compare current settings vs. installed settings, I'd happily do a diff to see what might pop out as the likely change that made ~/Downloads work properly.