This site will have limited functionality while we undergo maintenance to improve your experience. If an article doesn't solve your issue and you want to ask a question, we have our support community waiting to help you at @FirefoxSupport on Twitter and/r/firefox on Reddit.

Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

Why is the downloads arrow blue instead of green? How can I change it back?

more options

I'm rather frustrated with FireFox right now.

If I wanted Internet Explorer, that's what I'd run. I happen to be partial to the classic theme - the classic buttons and the classic colors.

Having to constantly download addons and tweaks, and constantly update them - just to keep up with undoing the changes your development team makes to the GUI is growing wearisome.

That said, the formerly GREEN download arrow - documented as green on many websites - has suddenly changed to LIGHT BLUE.

Apparently someone there decided that a BLUE arrow was superior to the GREEN arrow and that FF would not function properly unless they forced the BLUE arrow as the default.

I disagree. My FF runs much worse with the BLUE arrow.

I want the GREEN arrow back.

How do I get the GREEN arrow back?

I'm rather frustrated with FireFox right now. If I wanted Internet Explorer, that's what I'd run. I happen to be partial to the classic theme - the classic buttons and the classic colors. Having to constantly download addons and tweaks, and constantly update them - just to keep up with undoing the changes your development team makes to the GUI is growing wearisome. That said, the formerly GREEN download arrow - documented as green on many websites - has suddenly changed to LIGHT BLUE. Apparently someone there decided that a BLUE arrow was superior to the GREEN arrow and that FF would not function properly unless they forced the BLUE arrow as the default. I disagree. My FF runs much worse with the BLUE arrow. I want the GREEN arrow back. How do I get the GREEN arrow back?

Asịsa ahọpụtara

As of Firefox 29, the same UI is used for all types of installations. The UI changes are for Mobile devices, to the detriment of Desktop / Laptop users. Silly idea, but we're stuck with it until Firefox falls into the "other" category on usage statistical graphs or pie charts. Basically unworthy of having its own category any longer.

Gụọ azịza a na nghọta 👍 1

All Replies (10)

more options

Please tell us what difficulties you're experiencing as a result of the colour of the arrow. Are you still able to download?

more options

To answer your digression: I spent an hour on the phone with my 82 yr old Aunt telling her to click the GREEN DOWNLOAD ARROW so I could install remote control software in order to assist her with her computer problem. The website also instructed her to click the GREEN DOWNLOAD ARROW in Firefox. She kept insisting there was no green arrow. My arrow was green (at that time), so obviously she was blind and how can you argue with a sweet 82 yr old aunt who insists there is no GREEN DOWNLOAD ARROW? I'd say an hour of my life wasted and my aunt feeling stupid and experiencing unnecessary stress from not being able to find a GREEN arrow is a problem.

And, without intending to continue the diversion from the actual subject/question:

Please tell me the difficulties that have been reported due to the arrow being green. In what way was the green arrow making FF unstable such that it was required to change it to blue without warning and with no way to revert it to green? I experienced no issues with the green arrow.

Now, BACK TO THE QUESTION in the original post:

How do I change the arrow back to green?

Edeziri site na DiverGuy

more options

You would have to find a Firefox theme that has a green download icon if you want to have this button in green.

You can always hover each button on the Navigation Toolbar to get a tooltip with a short description if you forget what it means. That rather big down pointing arrow should be quite noticeable regardless of its color. The star to bookmark a page also changed its position and color and there are more changes on the Navigation Toolbar.

See also:

more options

I don't want a new theme. I want the classic theme with the classic colors. I see no useful purpose, or valid reason, for changing the colors or the theme.

In fact, I had to install the Classic Theme Restorer add-on (previously) in order to recover from the mutilation that the developers had done when they stopped honoring the "tabs on bottom" option in the about:config setup page. as well as having to undo other useless and very much unwanted changes.

It appears, however, that you have changed the 'default' colors and the Classic Theme Restorer is configured to use the default colors. So you have, once again, found a way to break my solution and circumvent my restoration of the classic theme.

WHY must your developers insist on fiddling with the defaults - without leaving the much preferred CLASSIC THEME as an option?

And what about all of the websites that specifically tell (82 yr old) users to click the GREEN DOWNLOAD ARROW when they detect the FF browser?

One of the reasons I went with FF was the number of exploits in IE The main reason I stayed with FF - in spite of the memory leaks and other issues - is because you weren't fiddling with the CLASSIC / Standard Theme.

I'm very much growing weary of having to UNDO all of these GUI dis-enhancements. And based on the reviews Ive been reading during my searches - I'm not alone.

I want classic theme for windows. (MS figured that out and brought it back for Win7) I want text mode for my nix OS's and

I want classic theme for Firefox <- Will FF figure out that a large segment of it's user base demands CLASSIC THEME?

(if not, you'll certainly lose me as a user)

Edeziri site na DiverGuy

more options

cor-el said: "That rather big down pointing arrow should be quite noticeable regardless of its color."

Except when you are 82 yrs old and ONLY DO EXACTLY what you are told to do.

When you are told by the website, and your nephew to "click the GREEN download button" - you ignore anything blue - because you are looking for GREEN.

And since neither the website, nor your nephew, are psychic - they don't know that FF developers have decided that Blue is the new Green.

I have evidence that your ass-umption is wrong. "A big BLUE down pointing arrow is NOT noticeable as a GREEN download arrow" I spent an hour on the phone trying to get my 82 yr old Aunt to click it. If it were noticeable - why did it take an hour for her to notice it?

Your developers need to understand they are not just coding GUI screens for 12 yr olds who are adaptable to unnecessary changes - for the sake of making changes that can be claimed as 'mine' by the developer.

Your developers are coding GUI for old and young alike, and some of us just happen to want, and like, the original version.

If someone there feels that a Blue arrow is more soothing than a Green arrow - they should add COLOR SELECTION to the options. They should not force the default to change for everyone, with no option to revert it.

Coca-Cola learned that "Classic" was where their user base existed.

FF needs to understand the same lesson. But I'll bet that 85% of the kids programming FF has never even heard of that disastrous product re-launch.

Perhaps you failed to notice that CHROME just passed FF in market share?? Do you suppose it could be all the FIDDLING your developers are doing with the interface? hmmm?

http://www.netmarketshare.com/browser-market-share.aspx?qprid=0&qpcustomd=0&qptimeframe=Q

http://www.w3counter.com/globalstats.php

Ignore "us" at your peril.

Edeziri site na DiverGuy

more options

In case you are looking for a solution, see this response to a review about the Classic Theme Restorer extension about that Blue downloads button, from the developer of Classic Theme Restorer and Classic Toolbar Buttons. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/classicthemerestorer/reviews/602558/

"The add-on "Classic Toolbar Buttons" (1.2.1) can force the downloads indicator to be green, orange, red and blue besides the default new "blue" in Fx 30+. "

On a weekend especially, almost all the support contributors here are users like you. Otherwise your complaints and rants "fall on deaf ears" here, the correct place to provide feedback to Mozilla about the changes in Firefox is here: https://input.mozilla.org/en-US/feedback

more options

Yes, I was looking for a solution. Thank you for offering one.

I've marked the question as SOLVED due to the post you provided and taken at face value that the solution works.

on an aside Note: My initial question was posted on the 21st (saturday), the link you provided was published on the 22nd.

I'll install the solution shortly.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/classicthemerestorer/reviews/602558/

The post there reiterates what I've said here: " FF has gone through a slew of dumb UI changes with no end in sight. Now the download arrow is blue. "

I wish the kids doing programming today were taught the way we were taught. I guess they don't make anything like they used to - including programmers.

Edmeister, Thanks.

more options

Asịsa Ahọpụtara

As of Firefox 29, the same UI is used for all types of installations. The UI changes are for Mobile devices, to the detriment of Desktop / Laptop users. Silly idea, but we're stuck with it until Firefox falls into the "other" category on usage statistical graphs or pie charts. Basically unworthy of having its own category any longer.

more options

Well, as I implied earlier, if the devs want to fall into a smaller category, all they have to do is keep making stupid changes to the UI.

I'm truly tired of having to constantly undo their UI changes and am considering going back to IE - or even going to CHROME in spite of the fact that I can't stand anything-google.

UPDATE: I've removed FF from our android phones and installed Dolphin. And, I'm the IT admin for about 30 workstations and am considering removing FF from them.

Edeziri site na DiverGuy

more options

And, thanks again for pointing out the update to the classic theme restorer and the add-on.

It wouldn't have helped with my Aunt's situation, but at least I can fix it for now, going forward.

Cheers.