1751725 - Every downloaded file, which I wanted to download to downloads folder in Windows, ends in Temp folder instead.

Status: RESOLVED WORKSFORME

(Firefox :: Downloads Panel, defect)

Description

[Vojtěch]

User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:96.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/96.0

Steps to reproduce:

I started to download a file to Downloads folder on Windows, which I set as default in Firefox.

Actual results:

The file won’t download to downloads, instead it will end in Temp folder.

Expected results:

The file should download to Downloads, as I set it.

Comment 1

[BugBot [:suhaib / :marco/ :calixte]]

The Bugbug bot thinks this bug should belong to the 'Firefox::Downloads Panel' component, and is moving the bug to that component. Please revert this change in case you think the bot is wrong.

Comment 2

[Clara Guerrero ( Need Info Brindusa Tot Please)]

Hi Vojtěch,

Thanks for your report, it's normal for Firefox to use the Windows Temp folder for downloads. While you are deciding whether to Open or Save, Firefox starts saving to the Temp folder in the background ( saving as a .part file until it completes). If you choose Open, the file stays there in the Temp folder. If you choose Save, Firefox moves the file to your chosen folder.

If Firefox is not moving downloaded files, there could be a problem with permissions on the system.
Are you having to manually move the files to my 'Downloads' folder every time you download a new file?
You've set your preferences in Options > General > Files and applications > "Save files to" ?
What happens if you choose the setting "Always ask you where to save files." ?

Can you check "about:config" for "browser.download.dir" and "browser.download.lastDir"?
Is browser.download.useDownloadsDir set to true? Are you the admin of your device?

Can you share your about:support information? And try Safe mode to see if any of your extensions or plug-in's are causing this issue?
One place you might check for error messages is Firefox's Browser Console:

"3-bar" menu button > Web Developer > Browser Console
(menu bar) Tools > Web Developer > Browser Console
(Windows) Ctrl+Shift+j
Click the trash can icon at the upper left to clear the window, then switch back over to your main window and try another download. Then check back in the Console to see whether Firefox mentions any problems with saving it. Anything?

Best,
Clara

Comment 3

[:Gijs (he/him)]

We're actually hoping to fix this in Firefox 98, and if you switch to beta (https://beta.mozilla.org/ ) you can try out the new behaviour.