File download popups

[mrbill302]

Since update 98.0 32 bit, whenever a file is downloaded, a popup appears that never used to be. It's kind of annoying. Now I have to click the arrow to make it go away.

[Nemosan]

Agree. It's very annoying. I don't know why they changed the previous behavior.

[DreamPhreak]

Came here to comment about the same thing. I'm over here downloading many things, and every single time the downloads popup appears with no way to turn it off. This was a horrible change.

[sglew]

I agree.  It's very annoying and unnecessary.   Why not make these changes optional.  Or at least have an opt-out setting.

[rtestard]

Hello,

Many users had issues with retrieving downloaded files. This change helps them locate downloaded files more easily. If you are the type of user who wants to access downloaded files from the file system and who does not want the panel to open for downloads you can do the following:

- Open the main hamburger menu > select "More tools" > Select "Customize toolbar"

- In the customize toolbar UI you can drag the download icon away from the toolbar

[mrbill302]

Hi rtestard,

I don't want to change my toolbar. Before the change, the arrow would show download progress. When completed, the arrow would reappear. You could click the arrow and see all your downloads without a popup.

[DreamPhreak]

I like seeing the visual confirmation of progress done on the download icon to know if something downloaded successfully or not, so I'd rather keep it on the toolbar. But the popup is too much.

[nobler]

I agree, this is very annoying.  I tried the change to about:config by adding the key,

browser.download.manager.showAlertOnComplete

and setting it to false.  Doesn't work.  I'm ready to go back to v97 because you guys always keep changing things and not allowing us peons to stop it.  But I'll be stuck with it eventually, because NOW I CANNOT TURN OFF UPDATES. Seems like every damned time I sit down at the computer to do something, you guys make me spend the next half hour trying to undo your latest "improvements".

Speaking of which, I want tabs down by content, not at the top of the window, but you changed that and I can't change it back.

[jscher2000]

Hi, there is a hidden setting for whether the panel opens:

(1) 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: https://support.mozilla.org/kb/about-config-editor-firefox (changes made through this back door aren't fully supported and aren't guaranteed to continue working in the future)

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

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

----

General background article on the new download workflow in Firefox 98: https://support.mozilla.org/kb/manage-downloads-preferences-using-downloads-menu 

[baita_pincel]

This download pop up is an awful experience and you just can't even turn it off. Mozilla, fix it please.

[JohnB]

I came here to make a similar comment. I don't know why anyone thought it would be a good idea to pop up an unwanted and unneeded irritation. They could at least have given us a way to turn it off. It's very, very annoying.

[Bazza1]

Ditto the above re: the download panel. Bad idea if you can't turn it off without going into about:config, which not everyone is going to know about or be happy about tinkering with.

Not user-friendly, if you're hoping to attract new users / keep old ones.

Originally tried the browser.download.manager.showAlertOnComplete as noted in online discussions on older FFs, but nothing.

jscher2000 's suggested browser.download.alwaysOpenPanel did work, however. Thanks for that.

Not sure why a change in the toolbar's appearance wouldn't be enough to signify a completed download, with the user clicking it for the download panel if they wanted more info?

[DreamPhreak]

@jscher2000's solution worked for me! Thank you so much

[Tudor]

@jscher2000Thank you, that suggestion solved the problem for me.

It's back to the old simple behaviour, when you could just see download progress as a simple circular animation, with the option to click it if you want to see details about the file.

Too bad they didn't include an explicit option for this. Maybe it's too small a detail to create an option for.

[rymah2k]

Hiding the download panel button isn't a solution, it's a poor workaround that defeats the purpose of having the button enabled in the first place. Please revert this change or add the option to disable the automatic pop up into the main settings instead of just through the about:config settings.

[godave74]

Greetings, I agree with the community; it's the worst experience for advanced users. it's annoying, distracting and  resembles the worst part of google chrome. I like the progress icon of a download and whenever I want to retrieve the fie, I just need to click the icon and that menu appears. I don't want to hide the icon as someone suggested, that's the easy answer of lazy people; your upgrade was a mistake and I understand the responsible want to justify it. It would be better if you ask for suggestions instead of applying things.

Keep things that works and change things that don't, not otherwise.

Please, fix it. Thanks.