Join the AMA (Ask Me Anything) with the Firefox leadership team to celebrate Firefox 20th anniversary and discuss Firefox’s future on Mozilla Connect. Mark your calendar on Thursday, November 14, 18:00 - 20:00 UTC!

Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

Hierdie gesprek is in die argief. Vra asseblief 'n nuwe vraag as jy hulp nodig het.

Is it possible to download files (deleted from my computer) by going to my download history, and doing something with that?

more options

I'm trying to recover a file from my computer. I downloaded some important work files off of an email and then idiotically deleted the email. I had them up until recently, but then my son deleted them (he's five and likes to play around with things). I know that Firefox has a download history, but is it possible to use that information to actually download the files again?

I'm trying to recover a file from my computer. I downloaded some important work files off of an email and then idiotically deleted the email. I had them up until recently, but then my son deleted them (he's five and likes to play around with things). I know that Firefox has a download history, but is it possible to use that information to actually download the files again?

All Replies (3)

more options

Download history usually will have the link back to the original source location. Assuming that still exists, it's worth a try. When you right-click (Ctrl+click) an item, the small context menu should let you copy the URL of the original source, which you then can paste into the address bar to fetch it again. If the original download required you to be logged in to the source site, you should log in again first to increase your odds of getting the download.

more options

The email was deleted, so the source link creates a Gmail error

more options

If the files were saved to a particular location, and deleted from there, they might still be in the trash bin.

Or if the files were opened directly without saving, they might still be in the system "temporary files" folder.

If neither of those is relevant, does Mac have a concept of unerasing a file? (I'm only aware of utilities for Windows.)