Downloads Location
Recently, files that I download from online have been going into Microsoft's very convenient little folder called, "Downloads." ::: rolls eyes :::
At first, I chalked this up to being distracted and having not chosen the location to where I wanted something downloaded - I have always preferred downloading to a specific location of my choosing. However today, when I went to download a receipt, and thinking about where the best place was to put it, progress for the download was immediately displayed - I was never presented with a window allowing me to navigate to a location.
When it happened the second time, and finding another file I had downloaded a week ago in the "Downloads" folder, I went into settings. I discovered that under DOWNLOADS, in the box, "Save files to:" it has "Downloads." But below that, I have a checkmark beside, "Always ask you where to save files," as I have always done.
I cannot remove "Downloads" from the box. If I clik the "Browse" button next to that box, my only option would be to pick another location, which of course, will simply become another *permanent* download location.
Shouldn't my checkmark by "Always ask" over-ride what's in the "Save files to" box?
How do I fix this?
All Replies (2)
It depends on what action you are taking with a particular download. You have an Applications list below that Download section with actions for known content types, and then a general catch-all option for unlisted content types. The action options are:
"Save file" => Firefox should follow that checkbox in determining whether to show the file browsing dialog.
"Use [relevant application]" => Firefox will auto-save the file and pass the path to the application to open it from disk.
"Always ask" => Firefox should show a dialog giving you Open or Save File options. Then:
- If you choose "Save file", see the earlier entry. - If you choose "Open in Firefox" (for PDFs) or "Open with [relevant application]", Firefox will auto-save the file and pass the path to the application to open it from disk.
"Open in Firefox" (for PDFs) => Depending on how the server sends the file, it either will be auto-saved in the web content cache (web address shows in the address bar) or will be auto-saved to disk (file address shows in the bar). Recently, Firefox got a hidden option to always use the web content cache.
Where does Firefox auto-save files you ask it to Open?
Before Firefox 98, Firefox used the Windows Temp folder. Starting in Firefox 98, it uses the "Save files to:" folder. Starting in Firefox 102, there's a hidden option to go back to the Temp folder.
Hopefully that's a good general overview of the times you see the file browsing dialog. Do you want info on either of the hidden options?
You could try making this preference false in about:config. browser.download.useDownloadDir
From searchfox .org : 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