Closed
Bug 214166
Opened 22 years ago
Closed 22 years ago
Windows "binds" Google.html to Google_files when saving complete web pages
Categories
(Core Graveyard :: File Handling, defect)
Tracking
(Not tracked)
RESOLVED
INVALID
People
(Reporter: mozilla, Assigned: darin.moz)
References
()
Details
User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.4a) Gecko/20030401
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.4a) Gecko/20030401
When a page is saved as a complete web page (File|Save Page As|Web Page,
complete) a file called Google.html (for example) is created together with a
directory called Google_files, containing the images, etc. from Google.html.
The file and directory are "bound" together by the Connected Files "feature" of
Windows. When attempting to delete either one of them in the operating system,
the other one is deleted as well!
The only way I know to "unbind" them is to try renaming one of them, which
results in Windows giving a strange "Rename warning" dialog.
Reproducible: Always
Steps to Reproduce:
1. Visit www.google.com
2. Right click on the page (not on an image, though) and choose Save Page As.
3. Select "Web Page, complete", and save it.
4. In explorer, find the files "Google.html" and "Google_files".
Actual Results:
5. Try to rename either one--a "Rename warning" will appear.
6. Try to delete either one--they both vanish.
Unintended deletion of files is dangerous and
Expected Results:
This is a Microsoft "feature", so Mozilla can only work around it. Calling the
folder containing the files Google_images would prevent Windows from binding
them. I suspect calling it Google_files was intentional for Mozilla, but an
option to name it something else would help.
Mozilla should probably default to Google_images. It took a some work to find
out what was causing this problem, as there is no information on it in Windows
help. Users who do not specifically know about Connected Files (I was one of
them until I decided to research this issue) will be confused by the file system
behaviour.
Information about Connected Files: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=252721
Comment 1•22 years ago
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Google_images would be a bad idea, since you aside from images also can have
external .js and .css files.
What's wrong with following the Windows standard? Although this Windows feature
is a little of a hack in my opionion, I think it is better to act like IE does,
so that users don't get confused, and experience different behaviour between
browsers.
Comment 2•22 years ago
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->Networking:File
Assignee: general → darin
Component: Browser-General → Networking: File
QA Contact: general → benc
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Comment 3•22 years ago
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1) Networking:File is not the right component. The right component for things
related to saving files is "File Handling".
2) The name was indeed chosen on purpose -- that's IE's behavior also when saving
complete web pages. Marking invalid, therefore.
Status: UNCONFIRMED → RESOLVED
Closed: 22 years ago
Resolution: --- → INVALID
Comment 4•22 years ago
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Very well, since the Browser component page says specifically that file/save
bugs belong in Networking: File, I've opened bug 214197 to have that page corrected.
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Comment 5•22 years ago
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Actually saving to disk is a Networking:File issue, probably. Deciding where to
save is not, however.
Just like deciding what page to go to when a link is clicked is not a
Networking:HTTP issue.
Comment 6•22 years ago
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Well, obviously the Component page needs to be clarified to split those hairs
better.
Reporter | ||
Comment 7•22 years ago
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Thanks for the prompt review.
The bug has been marked invalid with the reason: "that's what IE does". IMHO
that's not an adequate excuse for Mozilla's behaviour--Mozilla is supposed to be
a *better* browser, not an IE clone!
I would have liked the bug to stay open for a little longer, even just as an
RFE, so others can think about it.
Other possible resolutions would have been:
1. Noting somewhere in the Mozilla documentation that this is how Windows 2K/XP
behaves, and that Mozilla chooses to follow the MSIE standard. As I said, I was
very surprised to find this behaviour, and it took a lot of work to find out the
why of it.
2. Adding a non-default option to prefs.js to change "_files" to "xxx"... (which
I will look into myself, anyway).
Please consider re-opening the bug, demoted to low-priority RFE if you like.
Updated•9 years ago
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Product: Core → Core Graveyard
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Description
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