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"do this automatically for files like this from now on" is missing completely

  • 3 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 5 views
  • Last reply by info6417

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I am helping somebody troubleshoot some issues with a new PC and they are using Firefox browser. They have some other PCs with Firefox as well, all running Windows 10 21H1 and up-to-date versions of Firefox. When they download files, the dialog asking to open or save is missing the option to "do this automatically for files like this from now on". It is present and works on the other PCs but not the new one. It doesn't matter what the file type is or where it comes from. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

I am helping somebody troubleshoot some issues with a new PC and they are using Firefox browser. They have some other PCs with Firefox as well, all running Windows 10 21H1 and up-to-date versions of Firefox. When they download files, the dialog asking to open or save is missing the option to "do this automatically for files like this from now on". It is present and works on the other PCs but not the new one. It doesn't matter what the file type is or where it comes from. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

Chosen solution

Hii info6417,

Hmm, I wonder if my extension would work for this? I have not tested Gmail myself for this, but the general MO is:

(A) Install from: https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/content-type-fixer/

(B) Click the toolbar button (Zzzz) to wake it up

(C) Try the download (you can cancel without saving/opening)

(D) Click the toolbar button and choose "Add/Edit Content Types"

That will take you to a log of recent requests. Click the "Add" button for the request and define it as text/html and then click Save Content-Type.

That should override any fake content type the site may be assigning to .html files to trigger the download dialog. Thank you -Arman

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Chosen Solution

Hii info6417,

Hmm, I wonder if my extension would work for this? I have not tested Gmail myself for this, but the general MO is:

(A) Install from: https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/content-type-fixer/

(B) Click the toolbar button (Zzzz) to wake it up

(C) Try the download (you can cancel without saving/opening)

(D) Click the toolbar button and choose "Add/Edit Content Types"

That will take you to a log of recent requests. Click the "Add" button for the request and define it as text/html and then click Save Content-Type.

That should override any fake content type the site may be assigning to .html files to trigger the download dialog. Thank you -Arman

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P.S. I'm the author of that extension, not Arman.

You can use its log to check the content-type for recent downloads was not the generic "application/octet-stream" type.

Assuming the servers are sending the correct content-type, it is strange that you would not get the checkbox. Is it possible to make changes that stick on the Settings page, or is Firefox not able to save those preferences? For example, for PDFs: View PDF files using Firefox’s built-in viewer.

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Thank you for the responses. The log showed that the server was sending incorrect info about the file and I was able to use the extension to solve the problem. I am unsure about other file types, but for now the issue is resolved.