We're calling on all EU-based Mozillians with iOS or iPadOS devices to help us monitor Apple’s new browser choice screens. Join the effort to hold Big Tech to account!

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.

Avatar for Username

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

Downloads auto-save when I don't want them to

niko.o.generic
niko.o.generic
more options

In Settings -> General -> Files and Applications -> Applications I have set "Portable Document Format (PDF)" to "Open in Firefox".

Opening the PDF on http://www.spectronicdevices.com/pdf/TCD1205D.pdf displays that exact link in the URL bar and I can read the PDF directly in Firefox. As far as I can tell, the file is not saved on disk. Opening https://www.alldatasheet.com/datasheet-pdf/download/32192/TOSHIBA/TCD1205D.html and entering the 5-digit code opens a new tab that also allows me to read the PDF in Firefox, but the URL bar shows "file:///C:/Users/N/AppData/Local/Temp/TCD1205D.PDF". The file is saved in my temp folder.

How can I configure Firefox to never save PDF and XML files to disk?

I am using Firefox 130.0.1 on Windows 11.

In Settings -> General -> Files and Applications -> Applications I have set "Portable Document Format (PDF)" to "Open in Firefox". Opening the PDF on http://www.spectronicdevices.com/pdf/TCD1205D.pdf displays that exact link in the URL bar and I can read the PDF directly in Firefox. As far as I can tell, the file is not saved on disk. Opening https://www.alldatasheet.com/datasheet-pdf/download/32192/TOSHIBA/TCD1205D.html and entering the 5-digit code opens a new tab that also allows me to read the PDF in Firefox, but the URL bar shows "file:///C:/Users/N/AppData/Local/Temp/TCD1205D.PDF". The file is saved in my temp folder. How can I configure Firefox to never save PDF and XML files to disk? I am using Firefox 130.0.1 on Windows 11.

All Replies (1)

niko.o.generic
niko.o.generic Question owner
more options

To be specific: I never want Firefox to save a file to disk and then display that file. That also applies to other file types. If I have e.g. "Extensible Markup Language (XML)" set to "Open in Firefox", then I want it to show the file "in memory", like it does with the first example link. And if I have it set to "Always ask", then it should display the dialog box that asks me what to do.

How can I configure Firefox to do that?

Helpful?

Ask a question

You must log in to your account to reply to posts. Please start a new question, if you do not have an account yet.