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v98 Download Improvements

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Firefox 98 just upgraded my installation and as usual Mozilla's made changes that screw up how I use it.

The download improvements they made specifically. I used to be able to have Firefox view a PDF so I could peruse it and decide if I want to keep it and if I did I just hit the download button in the viewer. Now the "improvements" will only either let me set it so it either downloads right away or if I change it to view in Firefox it won't let me download it via the viewer DL button. It acts like it's gonna download by opening the save window but then nothing happens when I hit the save button.

Can Mozilla please fix this? I don't want to save every PDF I want to see if I want to keep. I want to be able to view it in Firefox again and THEN download it if I want it.

Firefox 98 just upgraded my installation and as usual Mozilla's made changes that screw up how I use it. The download improvements they made specifically. I used to be able to have Firefox view a PDF so I could peruse it and decide if I want to keep it and if I did I just hit the download button in the viewer. Now the "improvements" will only either let me set it so it either downloads right away or if I change it to view in Firefox it won't let me download it via the viewer DL button. It acts like it's gonna download by opening the save window but then nothing happens when I hit the save button. Can Mozilla please fix this? I don't want to save every PDF I want to see if I want to keep. I want to be able to view it in Firefox again and THEN download it if I want it.

All Replies (8)

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Ok. I've also just now realized the "download improvements" in v98 is making any .exe file be saved as a .xml

Does Mozilla even check these changes first before they push it out to our installations?

Please, I need help fixing this, developers!

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That seems to be a bug. If you want to communicate with 'developers' you need to file a bug report. https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/

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The PDF Viewer download button changed from showing the Download dialog (Open/Save) to saving when you click it. If you have Firefox set to ask you where to save downloads, it's normal to get the folder browsing dialog. However, Firefox should ultimate save the file and add it to the Download list. That part isn't working?

The .exe => .xml doesn't make sense.

You could try reinstalling in case some program file got corrupted. If you use the Custom install method, the installer will ask you whether you want to upgrade your existing installation:

Custom installation of Firefox on Windows

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jscher2000 said

The PDF Viewer download button changed from showing the Download dialog (Open/Save) to saving when you click it. If you have Firefox set to ask you where to save downloads, it's normal to get the folder browsing dialog. However, Firefox should ultimate save the file and add it to the Download list. That part isn't working?

No. It is not.

The .exe => .xml doesn't make sense. You could try reinstalling in case some program file got corrupted. If you use the Custom install method, the installer will ask you whether you want to upgrade your existing installation:

Yeah. I know it doesn't make sense. But I also notice I don't see a content type entry for .exe files in settings either. The closest thing I see to it is Android Applications.

And reinstalling is not an option. I have so many bookmarks and customizations in mine I'd never get it back to where I want it or even close to it.

For now I've found the setting in About:config that lets you turn off the download improvements but from what I've read it will only be temporary and they plan on getting rid of that option. Maybe I should just keep it off and turn off updating or even checking for updates and just stay where it is. Sometimes I think Mozilla messes with Firefox TOO much when it comes to "improvements".

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Everything is okay with the preference flipped? That's good to know. Still doesn't explain what is going wrong.

FYI, you'll never have an entry for executables in the Applications list because it only lists content that is opened by another program, and not files that can run on their own.

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Similar problem: I have downloads set to always ask, pdf extension set to open in firefox. clicking on pdf attachment shows it in firefox and downloads automatically to default downloads. Most of the pdfs I look at, I don't want to save, this is cluttering up my downloads.

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sneadmark said

Similar problem: I have downloads set to always ask, pdf extension set to open in firefox. clicking on pdf attachment shows it in firefox and downloads automatically to default downloads. Most of the pdfs I look at, I don't want to save, this is cluttering up my downloads.

They are PDFs? Maybe it is how your mail website identifies them that triggers a download, because a normal link to a PDF wouldn't drop the file in your Downloads folder when you have your handling set to "Open in Firefox." (Normally, Firefox would store the PDF in the web content cache with web pages and embedded images, and the address bar would show the URL on the web, not a file:/// URL.)

Maybe there is a fix for that, but I would need to experiment with your same mail site to figure that out.

Meanwhile and more generally:

Before Firefox 98, "Open with [application]" or "Use [application]" saved the file in the Windows TEMP folder, and passed that path to the application

Starting in Firefox 98, "Open with [application]" or "Use [application]" saves the file in your default download folder, and passes that path to the application

So far, I haven't discovered any convenient way to force downloads into a Temp folder in Firefox 98.

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jscher2000 - Support Volunteer said

Before Firefox 98, "Open with [application]" or "Use [application]" saved the file in the Windows TEMP folder, and passed that path to the application Starting in Firefox 98, "Open with [application]" or "Use [application]" saves the file in your default download folder, and passes that path to the application So far, I haven't discovered any convenient way to force downloads into a Temp folder in Firefox 98.

Several weeks later...

Future Updates Uncertain. Many users have expressed the view that they preferred Firefox using the Temp folder for "Open with [relevant application]". I don't know whether a new option will be added for that in a later version.

Workaround? What I'm doing for now is this set of settings:

(1) Change the default download folder to a "temp" folder I created (2) Set Firefox to always ask where I want to save a file so I can choose a real folder when I want to keep the file

On the Settings page, it looks like this: