Mozilla VPN is currently experiencing an outage. Our team is actively working to resolve the issue. Please check the status page for real-time updates. Thank you for your patience.

Avatar for Username

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

This thread was archived. Please ask a new question if you need help.

Download "Always Ask"

  • 3 replies
  • 2 have this problem
  • 1 view
  • Last reply by Terry

denny.stephen
denny.stephen
more options

I've always used the "Always ask you where to save files" option when downloading. Recently (beginning of April 2022), files go directly to the Downloads folder. The "Always ask" option is still selected in Settings.

I've tried un-selecting and re-selecting, restarting Firefox, restarting my computer - basically every iteration of 'turn it off and on again' that I can think of.

I've always used the "Always ask you where to save files" option when downloading. Recently (beginning of April 2022), files go directly to the Downloads folder. The "Always ask" option is still selected in Settings. I've tried un-selecting and re-selecting, restarting Firefox, restarting my computer - basically every iteration of 'turn it off and on again' that I can think of.

Chosen solution

If you want to select the folder where the download is saved, try changing the preference in bold in the quote below from searchfox .org.

browser.download.useDownloadDir - bool True - Save files directly to the folder configured via the browser.download.folderList preference. False - Always ask the user where to save a file and default to browser.download.lastDir when displaying a folder picker dialog

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/about-config-editor-firefox

You could instead use the method outlined in the link below (remove the blank space in the link).

https://www.reddit. com/r/firefox/comments/trnirr/a_work_around_for_open_with_option_for_downloads/

Read this answer in context 👍 0

All Replies (3)

FredMcD
FredMcD
more options

https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/98.0/releasenotes/ Firefox has a new optimized download flow . . . .

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/manage-downloads-preferences-using-downloads-menu Changes to how file downloads are handled in Firefox version 98

  • Firefox no longer asks what to do for each file by default
  • Downloads panel automatically opens
  • Downloaded files are saved to disk
  • Set a default app to open a file type
  • "Always Open Similar Files" option from the Downloads panel
  • Frequently asked questions


You can set this pref to false on the about:config page to prevent opening the download panel on each download.

  • browser.download.alwaysOpenPanel = false

You can open the about:config page via the location/address bar. You can accept the warning and click "I accept the risk!" to continue.

alunurm.reelika
alunurm.reelika
more options

I have the same issue and I even did the "browser.download.alwaysOpenPanel = False" - I hope correctly. But it is still happening. This is so frustrating - I need to download files into the right folders immediately instead of dragging them from download.

Terry
Terry
more options

Chosen Solution

If you want to select the folder where the download is saved, try changing the preference in bold in the quote below from searchfox .org.

browser.download.useDownloadDir - bool True - Save files directly to the folder configured via the browser.download.folderList preference. False - Always ask the user where to save a file and default to browser.download.lastDir when displaying a folder picker dialog

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/about-config-editor-firefox

You could instead use the method outlined in the link below (remove the blank space in the link).

https://www.reddit. com/r/firefox/comments/trnirr/a_work_around_for_open_with_option_for_downloads/

Modified by Terry