Hello,

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Thank you!

Firefox manages downloads in the Downloads folder in the Library (History > Show All History) and no longer uses the classic Download Manager that consists of a window with one pane.
The combined Bookmarks/History Manager (Library) has two panes, but you can display the new Download Manager in a tab by opening the about:downloads page (you can consider to open this page in a separate window).

• Downloads are treated as history items: clearing history removes included download items and vice verse.
• When downloads are in progress you see an animated download button on the Navigation Toolbar showing an estimate of the remaining time
• The Download button gets a green highlight once all download are finished to make you aware that new downloads are available.
• Pause and Resume can be found in the right-click context menu of an item.

So what you're saying, Cor-el, is that somebody has decided that we can't have it the way we've always had it anymore, even if that's the way we want it. Right?

No, you can go back to the windowed downloadmanager.

refer to: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/956556

Right now, I'm at my desktop, not my laptop, so I can't test your answer. However, it seems to offer the choice between a popup that I can't configure or a tab that I don't want. What I want is a popup that looks the way it's always looked: a list of files downloaded in the current session and nothing else. I'll check later from the laptop and see if your suggestion is acceptable, but from what I've read, I doubt it.

What's interesting is that even after my desktop upgraded to 23 it still Did The Right Thing. Now, on my laptop, I've found the answer: use about:config to set browser.download.useToolkitUI to True and It Just Works.

I'm now using Firefox 26.0, and without warning, it suddenly changed back to the sidebar style and stopped clearing the list when I exit. Using the about:config trick no longer works.

After posting the above, I logged out and back in because there were updates that needed that to take effect. Alas, this had no effect on Firefox (not that I expected it to) and the issue still exists.

Hi sideburns, you're right. After introducing the new download list in Firefox 20, you could still switch back to the old style from Firefox 20-25. That old dialog was finally removed in Firefox 26.

Many users are optimistic that someone will create an add-on to create an experience similar to the old one, but I haven't heard of one yet. If you want to search: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/

So what you're saying is, we can't have the Downloads Window look the way we want it, and we can't make it clear the download history at exit. And here I thought the whole point of FOSS was being able to do things the way I want, even if it's not the way the developer likes things. And having to install 3rd party extensions to return functionality is one of the many things I hate about Gnome 3, and I wish that Firefox weren't going down the same wrong road.

Hi sideburns, I do not see a specific way to delete just the download history automatically without deleting other history. Those settings are no longer separate (it's possible that the earlier separation was an illusion and the downloads that you deleted from the downloads list were still in your history).

To give comments on this, try Help > Submit Feedback

What makes you think that I don't want my browsing history nuked when I exit? I've always had it set that way and, until now, Firefox respected my preferences.

Hi sideburns, I thought you were concerned that your download history wasn't being cleared, and I assumed this was because you were not clearing all history (pages + downloads). But it sounds as though you are clearing all history, so that should be clearing everything. No?

My preferences are set to clear both my history and my downloads at exit. Neither one is actually getting cleared. Under Preferences->Privacy, I'm set to use Custom settings for history. "Remember my browser and download history" is unchecked and "Clear history when Firefox closes" is checked, but neither setting is respected. And, I've checked with about:config. The setting browser.download.useToolkitUI is set to True, but I still get the Downloads window with a panel, and toggling it has no effect.

Hi sideburns, regarding history, I'm puzzled why Firefox is saving history when it should be turned off, and failing to clear history when it should be cleared. I suggest starting a new thread on that problem and including your current configuration information. You can use the following link. Scroll down past the suggestions to continue with the form (I think it has 3 different screens). https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/new/desktop/fix-problems

Regarding browser.download.useToolkitUI, I believe the code to draw the old dialog is gone from Firefox 26, so that setting has no effect any more.

You can also look at this mozillaZine forum thread about the "Download manager in Firefox 26":

• http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=2782751

Older threads that have been locked: http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=2782697 http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=2782313

[EXT] Download Status Bar:

• http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=48&t=2782661
• Download Status Bar: https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/download-status-bar/

• Bug 948964 - "browser.download.useToolkitUI" not working anymore after updating to FF 26

Please do not comment in bug reports: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/page.cgi?id=etiquette.html

No, but thank you. It doesn't tell me anything whatsoever that I didn't already know, and I don't want a status bar, I want a separate window that I can open that shows me the downloads from my current session and nothing else. I also want to know why neither my browsing history nor my download history are cleared at exit, even though my settings require them to be cleared. Maybe I'll need to open a bug about that.

Checking the bugzilla, I see that this has already been reported and the bug closed as WON'TFIX. Apparently, the devs are willing to live with the regression and don't care that there are users out there who neither like nor want the new version. So much for FOSS devs listening to what the people who actually use their programs want.

If you select to remove the browsing history on closing Firefox then both the browsing history and the download history should be removed. If that doesn't happen then something else is wrong, i.e. you might be in Private Browsing mode or an extension is interfering or there is a problem with the places.sqlite file. Then download history items as shown in the Library are history items (you can find them in the history as well) and this Downloads folder has been there since Firefox 8. The classic Downloads Manager used another file (downloads.sqlite) to store the downloads history, so you actually had two separated download histories.

No, I'm not in Private Browsing Mode and never have been. Yes, there's something else wrong, and it's been wrong ever since I "upgraded" to FF 26.

Do any other items get cleared that have a check-mark?

It is possible that Firefox isn't closing properly if history isn't cleared, but Firefox should notice this and clear the history on the next start.

See also:

• "Hang at exit": http://kb.mozillazine.org/Firefox_hangs
• "Firefox hangs when you quit it": https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Firefox+hangs