Where does Firefox save files now?

By default, Firefox will remember the last folder on a site-by-site basis if you set it to ask you every time. What folder to use versus asking you every time is set on the Options page.

Firefox also allows you to override asking you for particular content types. This is on the Applications panel of the Options page. If the particular type of content has Save File, it may go to your Downloads, or I don't know where. If it is set to open in an external application, Firefox will save the file in the Windows TEMP folder and you need to save it somewhere else to avoid having it flush by Windows during routine maintenance.

Files are being saved to c:\Users\<Username>\downloads (default location). It is set to auto save all download files to this location per user.

I have tried this on multiple user profiles and the results are the same.

In all user profiles the "Download" Folder is always set for compression. Firefox ignores this Windows setting but I can go to IE and it will save the file from the same URL and it will be saved as it should, using the OS Folder Compression.

This is where I'm left scratching my head and a little perplexed. To me it shows that it is not a rights or folder issue but is something associated with Firefox itself. (A Rights issue only if Firefox is using some other user then the default user, which I have not changed.) Refresh, setting Firefox back to default as well as removing the "channel-prefs.js" file have not resolved the issue.

Hope this clarifies the issue a little more

Maybe it's caused by initially downloading to the TEMP folder and then moving the file to the Downloads folder instead of initially creating the file in the Downloads folder? But I would think a file moved into a compressed folder would be compressed. ??

Yea files moved into a compressed folder are suppose to be compressed.

I was curious about where Firefox was downloading them to originally. I opened a Windows Explorer Window and watched the download folder during the download. Firefox placed 2 files in this folder, one that would be the name with the extension of the file and another one that was a part of the file. Once the download completed the part would disappear and the other file would remain and the file size would increase. Neither of these 2 files were ever compressed.

So just to verify what I was seeing I opened 3 Window Explorer windows and place them with Firefox in a way that I could watch all 4 items.

Windows were as follows: C:\Temp C:\Windows\Temp c:\Users\<Username>\Downloads

I started a download that was about 500 MB so I could watch what was happening.

No files were added to either of the Temp folders. 2 files were again added to the Downloads folder, again these two files did not inherit the Compressed attribute of the folder.

I also, have gone back in and changed modified the attribute of compression turning it off and back on. This did not have any effect on the results.

I then even got a little more creative and created a folder C:\FireTest with security for "Everyone" to have full control, should take care of the rights issue. Also, set it to be compressed. This also did not have any effect on the attribute of the saved file.

There must be some obscure setting within Firefox that is preventing the folder inheritance,

Please remember your dealing with apples and oranges. Firefox is not a OS and the OS dislikes Firefox, and provides nothing that is helpful for it. Nor does it play by the rules. As to Expect Firefox to conform to the rules that a resentful OS makes is not possible either.

You are correct it is Temp and a 2 part file that gets combined and moved.

I don't know how compressed folders work.

Firefox uses my temp folder here:

C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Temp

But I set downloads to "Always ask you where to save files" and Firefox uses TEMP immediately while I select the location. This might not happen if you use the "Save Files to" setting because Firefox already knows the destination. I haven't tried that way.

I will have to test that way of saving it and see what happens...

With the way Firefox is saving it where it has the "Save Files to" setting set I know that it was not adding anything to the %temp% (C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Temp) folder... Perhaps that is why I was seeing 2 files created in the "Download" Folder. Where in your case it is saving the copy in the users temp and then upon completion it moves it into the Download folder. That move would cause the attributes of the folder to kick in and the file would then inherit all of them as it is copied/moved.

I will test this and see what happens.

This is what I found with your help.

1 - If the "Save files to" option is the one that is selected, you still have the dialog that asks about open/save appear and when it is saved this is what it does.

 a - creates 2 files one that is the files actual final name and the other is the "Part" file. In my case neither of these files were created with the compression attribute.
 b - the download completes and the "Part"file is deleted automatically and the named file remains.
 c - despite the file remaining, it still does not have the Compression attribute.

2 - If the "Always ask you where to save files" option is selected then it does the following

 a -as has been stated in saving the "Part" file within the user's Temp folder.
 b - when the actual completed download is added to the "Download" folder, the file inherits the attributes defined for that folder including the Compression.

So I say that this behavior I found with it not inheriting the folder attributes is what I would classify as a bug. I'll have to load a newer version of Firefox on a test box and see if this behavior still exists.

Thanks for your help in helping me wrap my head around this and coming up with a workaround for the issue.