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@SoCalScott wrote:

It's gotten to the point of being ridiculous. Every single time I look at a PDF document online, it downloads. Restaurant menus, bank statements, invoices, and on and on and on. Then I have to go to my Downloads folder and delete the unwanted documents. But, of course, they're still in my Recycle Bin, so I have to go into the Recycle Bin and then delete them again.

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It would be nice if users had a choice about where files download when you choose "Open". I don't know whether that is coming back.

I want to write a brief summary of what Firefox does with the various handling options:

(1) Setting PDFs to "Open in Firefox" on the Settings page

Unless the site does something tricky to work around it, Firefox will open the PDF in a tab in the built-in viewer. The URL in the address bar will be the http or https address of the file online. The file will be stored in the web content cache with web pages and other embedded files.

If you want to open the PDF in an external viewer from the built-in viewer, there are multiple steps because first you need to use the viewer's download/save button to save the file to your computer, and then you can open it: on the Downloads list, right-click > Open in [relevant application].

(2) Setting PDFs to "Always Ask"

Firefox will handle the file as a download. The change comes with "Open in Firefox" or "Open with [relevant application]":

• Before Firefox 98: The file was saved in the system Temp folder on Windows and Linux
• Starting in Firefox 98: The file is saved in the default downloads folder (the one next to "Save files to:" on the Settings page)

(3) Setting PDFs to "Use [relevant application]"

Firefox will handle the file as a download:

• Before Firefox 98: The file was saved in the system Temp folder on Windows and Linux
• Starting in Firefox 98: The file is saved in the default downloads folder (the one next to "Save files to:" on the Settings page)

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Firefox 98 does have a new context menu item to remove downloaded files one by one: right-click > Delete (this is permanent and bypasses the Recycle Bin)

At some point after the deletion, the text on the list will change to indicate that the file was moved or is missing. I'm not aware of any way to do this in bulk.

One Workaround

What I'm doing for now is this pair of settings:

(1) Change the default download folder to a "temp" folder I created
(2) Set Firefox to always ask where I want to save a file so I can choose a real folder when I want to keep the file

On the Settings page, it looks like this:

At some point, I might dump the contents of my TEMP folder, but like the old system, for me it's "out of sight, out of mind."

Temp is not functionally equivalent to Downloads. They serve different purposes and are used in different ways.

Jscher2000's info is interesting, and may be useful to some, but way too much work for the average user. We shouldn't have to go through all of that just to view a PDF menu from a local restaurant without it downloading to our hard drives.

Yes, I'm also having the same issue. Extremely frustrating

.

Since Mozilla doesn't want to seem to fix this issue, here's a simple fix. I've tried it, and it works.

Worked like a charm! FF is behaving normally again and saving to users\username\temp

Good job!

I can report that this fix seems to be a fix. 😀 I've had it in place for several days, and though I've looked at many documents online, my "Downloads" folder remains empty. What I can't understand is why Mozilla didn't publish the fix weeks ago, when people started complaining. Bad form, Mozilla. Do better next time.

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@SoCalScott wrote:

I can report that this fix seems to be a fix.

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It's not a fix, it's a temporary roll-back preference for use by users who encounter severe issues with the new design. It probably will be removed in a month or two, if the pattern of past temporary roll-back preferences is followed. The problem with publicizing them is people stop discussing desired changes until the developers close the book on the transition, and then it may be too late. So keep giving feedback.

I suspect that most people complaining here (as I did) don't care about anything other than this so-called "feature" going away. The information I supplied allows people to make that happen.

If Mozilla doesn't "get it" at this point, and realize this "feature" isn't being well-received, then they never will.

Speaking for myself, I'm glad I don't have to go into my Downloads folder on a regular basis and delete unwanted files, and then go to my Recycle Bin and delete them again. If you're OK with that...well, you do you.

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@SoCalScott wrote:

Speaking for myself, I'm glad I don't have to go into my Downloads folder on a regular basis and delete unwanted files, and then go to my Recycle Bin and delete them again. If you're OK with that...well, you do you.

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I use the workaround I posted earlier: https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/discussions/firefox-now-saves-files-that-i-only-wanted-to-open/m-p/45...

And by the way, if you run Windows, you can use Shift+Delete in File Explorer to permanently delete files bypassing the Recycle Bin.

<snip> I use the workaround I posted earlier: https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/discussions/firefox-now-saves-files-that-i-only-wanted-to-open/m-p/45... </snip>

FAR too complicated for the average user. Not everyone has your Mozilla skills.

<snip> And by the way, if you run Windows, you can use Shift+Delete in File Explorer to permanently delete files bypassing the Recycle Bin. </snip>

More needless keystrokes and wasted time. Users should not have to delete junk on their computer because Mozilla botched an update and included this so-called "feature."

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@SoCalScott wrote:

FAR too complicated for the average user. Not everyone has your Mozilla skills.

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Well, you told me to do me, so what do you expect? But this doesn't seem that complicated:

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What I'm doing for now is this pair of settings:

(1) Change the default download folder to a "temp" folder I created
(2) Set Firefox to always ask where I want to save a file so I can choose a real folder when I want to keep the file

On the Settings page, it looks like this:

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 But you do you.

The reconfig you reported was already given as the fourth response in this thread, with a link acknowledging the original source of the info, and including the warning that it could be removed by Mozilla in future.

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I suspect that most people complaining here (as I did) don't care about anything other than this so-called "feature" going away. The information I supplied allows people to make that happen

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Then it's also worth being courteous to the people at Mozilla, because you're reliant on them to fix it. Originally, they were trying to fix a problem where local copies of modifications to PDFs (e.g. forms) were being saved in the temp area, then lost. They have admitted that the solution they released caused further problems so they have provided a way to roll back and they're in the process of fixing it, presumably so we have something like the original behaviour but it also fixes the 'PDF forms problem'.

It's also worth taking care to acknowledge the work of others. Stating a fix without first reading the thread to check for repetition merely gives people more to read - they have to read all the crud to check whether they needed to read what turns out to be repetition. It's also important to link to where you got the info from, so that people can find out the full info that you haven't reported, if they want to.

Actually, I got it from another source -- on a listserv wholly unrelated to Firefox or Mozilla. If you deserve the credit for originally posting the fix (or a link to it), then kudos to you. The bottom line is that it solves the problem.

As to being courteous to Mozilla...they broke Firefox, and they need to fix it. If they can't take a bit of heat from their users when they screw-up, then they need to get tougher. Our, we can all just say "pretty please," and wait for them to get around to it. Or switch browsers.

You are absolutely right, the download is temporary and it is much more efficient to work. Thanks for your contribution, it was a solution, but we need you to allow us to decide, "what we should do with each type of file", as it happened before

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@criscal wrote:

You are absolutely right, the download is temporary and it is much more efficient to work. Thanks for your contribution, it was a solution, but we need you to allow us to decide, "what we should do with each type of file", as it happened before

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For two of the changes, there will be new choices soon:

(1) Firefox 98 changed the behavior for unknown content types from "Always ask" to "Save file"

Firefox 101 (releasing this week, starting today) has a new setting to choose which one you prefer. This will be helpful with servers that do not use the proper content-type description and therefore Firefox ignores your assigned action in the Applications list on the Settings page. Look for the new setting below the Applications list.

https://support.mozilla.org/kb/change-firefox-behavior-when-open-file 

(2) Firefox 98 changed the starting download folder from the system Temp or /tmp folder to the folder listed next to "Save files to" on the Settings page.

Firefox 102 (scheduled to release June 28, 2022) will have a preference in about:config to roll this back for those who preferred the Temp folder.

What a brilliant fix that was.Thank you, worked so well,but emphasis on 'was'.I read that when they released 102 this problem would be sorted permanently.

Instead it stopped the fix.Anyone know why?

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@Ron69 wrote:

What a brilliant fix that was.Thank you, worked so well,but emphasis on 'was'. I read that when they released 102 this problem would be sorted permanently.

Instead it stopped the fix.Anyone know why?

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I don't think the "browser.download.improvements_to_download_panel" preference has been removed yet in Firefox 102. It was always intended to be temporary while bugs were worked out, so it will be removed eventually.

If you turn that one back on, there are some new preferences to address various complaints related to the change:

• Downloads list pops open automatically: browser.download.alwaysOpenPanel (set to false to stop the panel opening)
• Firefox saves unknown file types instead of showing the download dialog: there is a control for this on the Settings page below the Applications box, or browser.download.always_ask_before_handling_new_types (set to true to show the dialog)
• Firefox uses the "Save files to" folder for files you choose to "Open with [relevant application]" instead of the Windows Temp or Linux /tmp folder: browser.download.start_downloads_in_tmp_dir (set to true to use the Temp folder)

What else is missing at this point?

Thank you so much for your reply. You are right the browser.download.improvements_to_download_panel hasn't been removed in 102,but since I installed 102 that wonderful fix has been 'unfixed' I've still got it set to  false but everytime I open an mp4 for example it opens and saves,when it's set to open.

You know much more about this than I do,but why have Moz. done this?

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@Ron69 wrote:

... everytime I open an mp4 for example it opens and saves,when it's set to open.

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Firefox needs to save files in order to pass them to other applications. Firefox 102 now has the option to go back to using the Windows Temp (or Linux /tmp) folder for that instead of your "Save files to" folder. This thread is so long, I don't know whether I provided the details in this one yet:

(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.

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

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

My apologies for this late response.

I've only just tried your fix and it works! (Until Mozy fix the fix again) So clever,thank you.

I'm trying to learn about this stuff I hope it's O.K. to ask this.

I think mp4 goes to the Temp folder now instead of saving.Where can I find Temp so I can check?

Thank again,interesting stuff,

                                                             Ron.

I

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@Ron69 wrote:

I think mp4 goes to the Temp folder now instead of saving.Where can I find Temp so I can check?

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If you click the Downloads arrow to drop the panel listing recent downloads, there is an icon on the right side of each row to open the folder where the download is saved. When you use this method, the file should be highlighted in Windows File Explorer for easy spotting. You can use the File Explorer address bar to confirm the location.

Thank you so much for that.I love learning about this stuff.

I hope you don't mind one more question.I'm just interested.I assume the 'Temp' file is just that,temporary,if so,when is it emptied.I've got some old stuff in there.

Thank you once again,everything seems to be doing what it's supposed to.

Excellent.

I've been using Firefox for many years, and this change has driven me to use other browsers like Chrome and (ugh) Edge.  Some sites I can't even open a pdf with Firefox now because its just totally broken.  Horrible decision and broken 'feature'

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@rylan wrote:

Some sites I can't even open a pdf with Firefox now because its just totally broken.  Horrible decision and broken 'feature'

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What settings are you using? I have some comment on that in my earlier reply: https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/discussions/firefox-now-saves-files-that-i-only-wanted-to-open/m-p/45...

Undo this change or allow a permanent fix. Are you out of your mind, Mozilla? I don't know which PM is angling for a promotion by championing bold new behavior but smack them down.

This adds so many extra steps to a task that is very common, and until now otherwise very lightweight. Unacceptable.

Strong agree. This change is absurd and unnecessary. I *very* frequently just want to open a file without downloading it to my machine, and I can't understand why this feature was removed.

Just registered to +1 this. Why is this sudden urge to force users into something that is clearly bad for UX? I switched to Firefox in Android because Brave decided to force the grid view instead of cascade view while showing tabs. Now in desktop Firefox is forcing us to download every single file instead of letting us pick if we wanted to download or just open it. Why? Why the need to force anything like that with no reason whatsoever? Just let us decide by ourselves!

My Downloads folder is just full of garbage that I just want to see once and move on. Now I have to delete files every week to keep it clean. Unbelievable.

Yup, I had to download some attachments from discord that didn't work well in the browser due to large size! They got deleted automatically when i cleared temp folder!

i have Mozilla Firefox Snap for Ubuntu canonical-002 - 1.0 if i want to save a picture from FireFox 100.0.2 with right click> save as> the focus is still on the FF page and not on the new window: save as. i have to click save with the mouse or Alt + Tab ⇆ then Alt + Arrow left or 2x Alt + Tab ⇆ . if not all keystrokes go to the FF page.

Ohh no, can it be that they disabled the about:config workaround in version 100? I lived so happily with the "unimproved" download panel for the last few weeks after I discovered the solution to this "feature". Does anybody know new solutions?

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@lunjius wrote:

Ohh no, can it be that they disabled the about:config workaround in version 100? I lived so happily with the "unimproved" download panel for the last few weeks after I discovered the solution to this "feature". Does anybody know new solutions?

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Same preference exists in Firefox 98-101. Haven't checked 102.

You are so right. I got confused somehow.

Anyways, this seems to be a pretty neat workaround for when the time of removal comes: https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/s3syt6/comment/i8er2mk/

Sorry, right, the option still exists in 101, I was confused because even if it exists it seemed to have no effect, but my issue was actually caused by something else.

Unfortunately it seems you're right, the about:config option does not work for me.

I am using version 100 and this problem still continues, it only allows me to choose between a few file types, but a .data or .doc extension saves them automatically

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@criscal wrote:

I am using version 100 and this problem still continues, it only allows me to choose between a few file types, but a .data or .doc extension saves them automatically

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Firefox will automatically save a file if the content-type indicated for that file by the server doesn't have specific instructions on the Settings page, Applications list. To train Firefox to use a specific program, you can open the Downloads list, right-click the download, and look for "Always Open Similar Files". That adds the content type to the list with the instruction to "Use [relevant application]". If you prefer to be asked what to do with that content type, you can go back to the Settings change and switch the action to "Always ask".

More info: https://support.mozilla.org/kb/change-firefox-behavior-when-open-file 

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Firefox 101 is scheduled to release this week (starting today, but most people do not rush to update at the first opportunity). Firefox 101 will let you switch the unknown content type behavior from "Save file" back to "Always ask". Here's what that looked like in beta:

Yes, that part is already done, but in previous versions it showed , when files with .data, . bd, .doc , img format were downloaded, what you mention is only active for the list of files that is shown there

(https://support.mozilla.org/es/kb/Administrar%20los%20diferentes%20tipos%20de%20archivo#w_cambiar-la...)

, we cannot add more formats of files, like the ones I mention.

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@criscal wrote:

... we cannot add more formats of files, like the ones I mention.

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In the old Firefox, the way you added new content types was, when the Download dialog came up with Open/Save/Cancel, checking a box that said to do this automatically in the future.

In the current Firefox, the way you add new content types is, after the file is saved, open the Downloads list (from the toolbar button or Ctrl+J), right-click the item, and choose "Always Open Similar Files".

See: https://support.mozilla.org/kb/change-firefox-behavior-when-open-file 

So, I start thinking that these horrible changes are made just to have more users sign on to the Mozilla community to complain - exactly like I just did, I signed in just to write this. I endured every horrible decision that the FF team made over the years, since the very beginning, I swallowed down Proton, the light theme, and all the rest. But this particular UX decision must be an act of sabotage: I assume some Google money is involved, nobody in their sane mind could possibly think this behavior is good.

However I will try to pretend that the decision was taken in good faith, so here I am trying to explain again why it's such a bad idea, and why responses like https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1370409#answer-1490167 are basically gaslighting. How about, I am browsing the Interwebz, and I want to open a PDF, I preview it with FF, I like it, and I want to share THE LINK TO THE FRICKIN' PDF over chat/email/whatever with some friends. So I copy the URI on the address bar and this looks like:

file:///C:/Users/myuser/AppData/Local/Temp/doc.pdf

Oh, you can't open it? Strange...

So https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1370409#answer-1490167 is proposing to "fix" this behavior by having instead:

file:///C:/Users/myuser/Downloads/doc.pdf

I mean, that shouldn't be too hard to understand that this does not solve the problem.

Please, please, revert this horrible decision.