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Firefox downloads of PDF files drive me crazy, help me get it to work like Chrome!

slash369
slash369
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If I save a file, it saves to downloads. If I open a file it saves to c:/users/me/appdata/local/temp... but is NOT saved in downloads. So if I want it in downloads I have to "Save As" - this is an extra step, and sometimes I forget and then have to find the temp directory. This wastes time because who can remember "oh, I didn't save the file so I need to look somewhere else".

In addition, C: drive is an SSD with space constraints so the temp folder is there. Downloads is on D: where space is not an issue.

Chrome downloads everything to downloads.. how sensible... and then opens in "program" so it is all in one place.

If I save a file, it saves to downloads. If I open a file it saves to c:/users/me/appdata/local/temp... but is NOT saved in downloads. So if I want it in downloads I have to "Save As" - this is an extra step, and sometimes I forget and then have to find the temp directory. This wastes time because who can remember "oh, I didn't save the file so I need to look somewhere else". In addition, C: drive is an SSD with space constraints so the temp folder is there. Downloads is on D: where space is not an issue. Chrome downloads everything to downloads.. how sensible... and then opens in "program" so it is all in one place.

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jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
  • Top 10 Contributor
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In theory, you can set a new Temp folder for Firefox, but that won't really help; I don't think you want Firefox to use your Downloads folder as a Temp directory.

Perhaps what you should do if you always want to download to the Downloads folder is set PDFs to save automatically. Then to open them you can click them on the Downloads arrow drop-down panel. You can change your PDF handling preference from Always Ask to Save File on the Options page. This article will get you to that dialog: Manage file types and download actions in Firefox.

Also, for future reference, if you open the Downloads list (either "Show All Downloads" or Ctrl+j), you can use the disk icon to the right of a download to open the Temp folder with the file selected for cut-and-paste or drag-and-drop).