Maybe you can give more information on what you are trying to do, and any error messages you see. The download manager will list downloads and enable you to open their containing location.

When you say open do you mean run the program?
A program will not necessarily run when simply downloaded, it may need unzipping &/or installing.

You also may need to look at any security software you are using as that may block some programs running or installing.

Does Windows display an error message when you try to open/run them? Please describe what happens in more detail.

Also, does it matter what type of file it is, e.g., ZIP, EXE, MSI?

I use Family Search everyday and I always download files. When I click on the print menu a little block on the menu says (print to file) I use this to say it to my computer. It pops up on my desktop. When I click on the desktop to open the file it wants to divert me to a program to open the file. The file doesn't have a file ext. so I don't know what kind of file it is. I have tried 5 different programs to no avail How do I save these files to a .pdf, .doc or .txt file that I can open. Is this a Windows problem, Family Search problem, Canon problem, or Firefox problem??

Hi onejerrygreen, this seems to be a different issue from the original question, which was about downloads from websites, not files created using print-to-file.

Are you printing from Firefox, or are you printing from a separate Family Search program?

When you print to file, the resulting format may be intended for a printer to interpret, not a human.

I suggest instead using a program that captures your printout to a PDF. Some free PDF printer programs include:

• PrimoPDF: http://www.primopdf.com/
• PDF Creator: http://www.pdfforge.org/download

If you are viewing the information you want to capture inside Firefox, this add-on can capture it to PDF: https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/print-pages-to-pdf/

Hope that helps.

The program that is doing the saving, try again...BUT, select Save As from the choices given. Look at the file-name that the program has already entered. Look carefully at the extension; txt, doc, pba, zip, abc, xyz, what ever. Write this down for later. Is this an extension that you know what it is? Let us know how you do. By the way, with some programs you can choose the name of the file and its format; txt, doc, and so on.

My problem is: I down loaded Adobe Flash but when I ggo to the download folder (Ctrl + J) and click on the file nothing happens, no error msg, nothing. I works ok in Chrome.

When you right--click on the file in the downloads window, select Open Containing Folder and then launch that installer from inside the "containing folder".

Let us know how that works out.

The last problem was with Adobe_Flash_Player.exe When I went to the download folder and clicked on it, nothing happened, no error message. It seems to have fixed itself as it worked ok today. This seems to be a recurring problem.

Glad to hear that your problems seem to be resolved at the moment

Flash Player is a rather specific problem. Not just downloading it but getting it to work reliably.
If you have general problems again please post back here.
If you get problems again with Flash please start a new question, or see if any of this helps

• Shockwave flash won't update thread /questions/963448
• Install the Flash plugin to view videos, animations and games

I downloaded Ad-AwareFree-install.exe and the problem is back. I click on it and nothing happens.

Where did you get the file? The official installer has a different name according to this page:

http://www.lavasoft.com/products/ad_aware.php

I got the file from an official Lavasoft site. Lavasoft sent me a key. I downloaded the file using the address that you posted and had the same results. It looks like the solution is to use another browser for downloading. I have no problem with IE or Chrome. Thanks for trying.

Right clicked "open folder" and nothing happened. What is missing on my computer? Running Firefox on Windows 7.

If down loads can be opened using chrome or IE, why use Firefox?

Hi dhague1, where did you right click: on the download panel that opens when you click the green arrow? The "Open Containing Folder" item on the right-click menu should do the same thing as the folder icon toward the right end of the line. Does that one do anything?

Jscher2000, Thanks for the info. Unfortunately, none of the exe files will open when clk on the file or the file symbol. Tried to reset firefox but did not get the "Finish" button and do not know if Firefox was reset. Still cannot open any file in downloads. Now what?

Hi dhague1, you can tell if Firefox was Reset because you lose toolbar customizations and extensions. If you have had Firefox for a while, it should be noticeable.

Just to understand where you are with the downloads:

• The downloads are on Firefox's list but will not launch when you double-click them there?
• Clicking the folder icon on the right side does not open the folder where the download is saved, so you can't go and double-click the file in Windows Explorer?
• Clicking Open Containing Folder on the menu does not do anything, either -- is the text grayed out?

Here are some general troubleshooting suggestions:

Disable Firefox's use of Hardware Graphics Acceleration

This sounds random, but graphics drivers compatibilities can have strange side effects. You usually need to restart Firefox in order for this to take effect, so save all work first (e.g., mail you are composing, online documents you're editing, etc.).

orange Firefox button (or Tools menu) > Options > Advanced

On the "General" mini-tab, uncheck the box for "Use hardware acceleration when available"

After exiting and restarting Firefox, any improvement?

Firefox Safe Mode

Firefox's Safe Mode is a standard diagnostic tool to bypass interference by extensions (and some custom settings). More info: Diagnose Firefox issues using Troubleshoot Mode.

You can restart Firefox in Safe Mode using

Help > Restart with Add-ons Disabled

In the dialog, click "Start in Safe Mode" (not Reset)

Any difference?

Remove Toolbar Customization File

Sometimes the file that stores the customizations and window positions becomes corrupted and fails to update properly at the end of your session. You can rename the file and customize from scratch.

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

Help > Troubleshooting Information > "Show Folder" button

Switch back to Firefox and Exit

Pause while Firefox finishes its cleanup, then rename localstore.rdf to something like localstore.old

Restart Firefox. Any improvement?

Clean Re-install

This involves removing all the program files -- not your settings -- and reinstalling Firefox. If the problem is due to a glitch in one of the program files, this will fix that. Because this post is very long already, I'll skip the details for now.