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Firefox saves files that I only wanted to open

  • 4 replies
  • 2 have this problem
  • 37 views
  • Last reply by gsm600

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Firefox saves files that I only wanted to open with another application.

I checked the previous solutions in the forum, but they did not work for me. (Windows 11) I changed in system> general > download , applications > the app to open that file type and it works, but besides this Firefox keeps saving the files in the default download folder.

I tried also about:config browser.download.improvements_to_download_panel to false. browser.download.start_downloads_in_tmp_dir change to true No change - still saving copies.

Firefox saves files that I only wanted to open with another application. I checked the previous solutions in the forum, but they did not work for me. (Windows 11) I changed in system> general > download , applications > the app to open that file type and it works, but besides this Firefox keeps saving the files in the default download folder. I tried also about:config browser.download.improvements_to_download_panel to false. browser.download.start_downloads_in_tmp_dir change to true No change - still saving copies.

Chosen solution

Start Firefox in Troubleshoot Mode to check if one of the extensions ("3-bar" menu button or Tools -> Add-ons -> Extensions) or if hardware acceleration or if userChrome.css/userContent.css is causing the problem.

  • switch to the DEFAULT theme: "3-bar" menu button or Tools -> Add-ons -> Themes
  • do NOT click the "Refresh Firefox" button on the Troubleshoot Mode start window
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All Replies (4)

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Firefox needs to download and save a file to be able to view this file in a tab or pass it to another application. Current Firefox versions save the file to the default Downloads folder that you can override via browser.download.start_downloads_in_tmp_dir = true to save the file to the temp folder.

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Thanks for the reply but you did not read my post - this doesn't work for me.

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Chosen Solution

Start Firefox in Troubleshoot Mode to check if one of the extensions ("3-bar" menu button or Tools -> Add-ons -> Extensions) or if hardware acceleration or if userChrome.css/userContent.css is causing the problem.

  • switch to the DEFAULT theme: "3-bar" menu button or Tools -> Add-ons -> Themes
  • do NOT click the "Refresh Firefox" button on the Troubleshoot Mode start window
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Followed the instructions "3-bar" menu >Help > Troubleshoot Mode>-> Add-ons -> Themes Visionary — Balanced > disable > restart the browser > Problem solved!

Thanks a lot!