Firefox downloads 2 copies of files

[Roger73]

Firefox 105.01 persistently downloads my files to "Downloads" folder even if I have "Always ask you where to save files" selected. I select my file location and a copy goes there, but there is always another copy in my "Downloads". In the "Save to" panel "Downloads" is always showing. I can of course change this to another folder but a second copy always goes somewhere as I can't totally delete the folder showing in the "Save to" panel. I have deleted "browser.download.dir" in about:config but it made no difference. The "Save files to" panel became empty briefly but then "Downloads" reappeared even though "browser.download.dir" is still gone from about:config. Cleaning out all the duplicates from my "Downloads" folder is a nuisance.

[jscher2000]

For many years, when you have Firefox set to ask you where to save files, Firefox has started downloading to the Windows Temp folder (or Linux /tmp directory) in the background. Once the download was complete, Firefox would move it to the final destination. Starting in Firefox 98, Firefox switched from using the temp folder to using your "Save files to" folder, but the backgroun-download-move-file behavior is still in effect, as far as I know.

So with that in mind, my question is: why isn't the file move working correctly -- is it copying instead of moving? Or is it being denied the right to delete the file?

I suggest posting this problem on the Mozilla Support site. They have a team of support volunteers to troubleshoot malfunctions with your currently installed version of Firefox, while this site is focused on idea submissions for future versions of Firefox (looking ahead anywhere from 8 weeks to many months). Here's a link to the new question form (for Windows/Mac/Linux): https://mzl.la/3y1vQUQ

[Roger73]

Thanks for the suggestion but I think Firefox is doing what it is supposed to do, I just couldn't see it. When I just save a file it works as it should, one copy is saved. My problem is with viewing a PDF file first and then saving or downloading it. In that case the file is first downloaded to the "Save file to" folder and after the file is viewed and saved elsewhere, the first download stays where it is, giving two copies of the file. This happens whether saved by right click, "Save page As" or by  pressing the "Download" symbol on the tool bar. It would be good if the first downloaded file was moved when the file was saved elsewhere but I doubt this is possible to program.

[jscher2000]

Instead of saving a second time, you could move it manually:

Click the Downloads button on the toolbar to open list, then click the disk icon on the right side to launch the folder in your system's file browser, then cut/paste or drag/drop to the new location.

Not sure that is any easier. But PDFs are a little bit special...

There are two intertwined issues here for users who specify "Open in Firefox" for PDFs:

Before Firefox 98, if a site specified Content-Disposition: attachment for the PDF (forced downloading), Firefox displayed a 3-choice download dialog with Open in Firefox, Open with [choose application], and Save file. For both of the Open choices, Firefox saved the file in the Windows Temp or Linux /tmp folder.

In Firefox 98+, if a site specifies Content-Disposition: attachment for the PDF, Firefox auto-saves the PDF file to the "Save files to" folder on the Settings page and then opens the file in a tab. This saves the step of having to interact with the dialog, but many users preferred the Temp folder. (Firefox 102+ have an option to revert to using the Temp folder if needed.)

But!! Why should Firefox save to a disk folder at all just because websites specify Content-Disposition: attachment for the PDF? Why not just save the PDF into the web content cache like sites that do not try to force downloading? So now there is an option for that too:

(A) In a new tab, type or paste about:config in the address bar and press Enter/Return. Click the button accepting the risk.

More info on about:config: Configuration Editor for Firefox. Please keep in mind that changes made through this back door aren't fully supported and aren't guaranteed to continue working in the future. That said, I use this personally.

(B) In the search box in the page, type or paste browser.download.open_pdf_attachments_inline and pause while the list is filtered

(C) Double-click the preference to switch the value from false to true

Hopefully that will reduce PDF clutter for you.

[Roger73]

Thanks for the suggestions but cut and paste is not really any easier. I will just have to accept 2 copies of files. I tried MS Edge and it works the same way, by downloading a copy into a folder created in the user temp folder, "MicrosoftEdgeDownloads".

Interestingly, I use Firefox 105 and that displays a 3-choice download dialogue with Open in Firefox, Open with [choose application], and Save file, the same a you describe in 98 and earlier versions.

I also notice that Firefox downloads a copy of the file to my user temp folder as soon as the download link on the web page is clicked, before any other action. A file is saved before any instructions are given. I am not sure if this is a security risk. This was named "MWc4rHz7.pdf.part" for example but is the full file. If the file is then saved, this file is deleted but if the file is viewed it remains and is renamed.

I have tried changing, browser.download.open_pdf_attachments_inline to true but it doesn't seem to make any difference in how Firefox works. I am not sure what "inline" means. The file still gets downloaded to the "Save files to" specified folder not to cache.

[jscher2000]

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@Roger73 wrote:

Interestingly, I use Firefox 105 and that displays a 3-choice download dialogue with Open in Firefox, Open with [choose application], and Save file, the same a you describe in 98 and earlier versions.

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This means that on the Settings page, Applications list, Portable Document Format is set to "Always Ask" instead of the default action of "Open in Firefox".

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I also notice that Firefox downloads a copy of the file to my user temp folder as soon as the download link on the web page is clicked, before any other action. A file is saved before any instructions are given. I am not sure if this is a security risk. This was named "MWc4rHz7.pdf.part" for example but is the full file. If the file is then saved, this file is deleted but if the file is viewed it remains and is renamed.

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Yes, I don't know why it doesn't wait. Perhaps other browsers were perceived to be faster so this was adopted? Either way, we've had it for as long as I can remember.

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I have tried changing, browser.download.open_pdf_attachments_inline to true but it doesn't seem to make any difference in how Firefox works. I am not sure what "inline" means. The file still gets downloaded to the "Save files to" specified folder not to cache.

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Sorry, this only matters if you have the default action of of "Open in Firefox" for PDFs. ("Inline" means in a tab.)