Opening email attachments without downloading to Downloads folder
I am continuing in Firefox support a discussion previously done in Thunderbird support.
I want to open email attachments in Firefox without downloading them to the Downloads folder.
Christ1 has given me the solution mentioned in https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1738574#c133
I see this involves going to about:pref and making a suitable change. I note that Firefox warns about possible problems when using about:pref.
Will there be any problems with Firefox stability or security if I make the change suggested in the above link ?
All Replies (7)
Apology. Above question should say about:config instead of about:pref.
The preference was introduced in response to a bug report.
Folowing bug report https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1738574#c133,
I am interested in setting the 'browser.download.start_downloads_in_tmp_dir' preference so that I can open email attachments without downloading them to the Downloads folder.
I understand that in order to set this preference, I have to accept the risk of Firefox becoming unstable and/or security risks being introduced to Firefox.
If I find there is a problem in setting the above preference, will I be able to reset Firefox to its previous state by doing Firefox Refresh or do I need to enter the Troubleshoot mode of Firefox or will I need to remove Firefox and then reinstall Firefox ?
If there's a problem, you can change the preference back to false.
Having read through this and the linked bug report, I remain confused.
Example: All I want is when I click on an attachment to a gmail message it opens in the relevant app (eg FoxitReader for PDF) as selected in about:preferences#general ->Applications.
What I DON'T want is (per example) those files filling up a Downloads folder which quickly bloats beyond funny, and purging it is a PITA as many downloads have unhelpful/alphabet-soup filenames requiring them to be one-by-one reopened to verify that they can be deleted. Really, grown-ups are capable of saving attachment files when required (and WHERE THEY WANT) all on their own without the current download behaviour.
Not a tech-nerd, just a FF user. So, a how-to for dummies?
@Pedro, this is the relevant support article.
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/about-config-editor-firefox
Unfortunately diving into about:config is fairly pointless, it's like a blind man looking for a needle in a haystack. I have no idea which elements need modifying (or adding) to get the desired outcome - per my example, clicking on a PDF attachment in a mail client message to open the attachment in the designated/default PDF handler directly. Maybe I'm thick, but ...