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my pics won't download in winRAR automatically

mandasman_71749
mandasman_71749
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when i click on an e-mail that has multiple pics in it, and i click on download all, a screen pops up that asks me to save those pics in winRAR. right up under that box is another box that should allow you to ck. if you want firefox to automatically save files like that from now on, without having to check the save file every single time! what the heck is going on with firefox?

when i click on an e-mail that has multiple pics in it, and i click on download all, a screen pops up that asks me to save those pics in winRAR. right up under that box is another box that should allow you to ck. if you want firefox to automatically save files like that from now on, without having to check the save file every single time! what the heck is going on with firefox?

All Replies (1)

jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
  • Top 25 Contributor
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Hi mandasman_71749, do you think when you select multiple images, the website might be combining them into a ZIP or RAR file so that you can download them as a single package? If you search for similar issues with your email website, maybe you can discover whether that is their normal approach.

Assuming that part is normal:

When Firefox doesn't follow instructions you've recorded on the Options page, there are several possible explanations:

(1) Missing content type

Firefox actually reacts to the content-type specified by the server instead of the file extension. For example:

  • .zip => "application/zip"

I don't know the content-type for .rar files.

(2) Server not sending an application-specific content type

Some servers want to force a download dialog, and use a generic content type (for example, "application/octet-stream") or a fake content type (such as "application/download") to do that. Firefox won't match these up with your instructions for the ZIP/RAR content type.

(3) A Firefox settings file is corrupted with nonsense entries

Since you already tried Refresh, this probably wouldn't work.

Firefox uses a file named handlers.json (and previously used mimeTypes.rdf) to store the associations shown on the Options page. Sometimes there are additional associations you cannot see there.

If Firefox stops obeying the Application settings listed on the Options page, even when the server is identifying the file correctly, you may need to remove a settings file and have Firefox regenerate it. Here's how:

Open your current Firefox settings (AKA Firefox profile) folder using either

  • "3-bar" menu button > "?" Help > Troubleshooting Information
  • (menu bar) Help > Troubleshooting Information
  • type or paste about:support in the address bar and press Enter

In the first table on the page, on the Profile Folder row, click the "Open Folder" button. This should launch a new window listing various files and folders in Windows Explorer.

Leaving that window open, switch back to Firefox and Exit, either:

  • "3-bar" menu button > Exit/Quit
  • (menu bar) File > Exit (or Firefox > Quit)

Pause while Firefox finishes its cleanup, then:

  • right-click > rename handlers.json to something like handlersOLD.json
  • if you see a file named mimeTypes.rdf, right-click > rename that one to mimeTypesOLD.rdf

Start Firefox back up again and see whether ZIP/RAR file downloads work any better. Any improvement?