320255 - Firefox should clear the error page for a tab/window if a download is started from that tab

Status: NEW

(Core :: DOM: Navigation, defect)

Description

[Gervase Markham [:gerv]]

Steps to reproduce:

- Try and download a .exe file which doesn't exist from your webserver
- Get a "404 Not Found" page
- Press "Reload"
- Get another copy of the "404 Not Found" page (call this "point A")
- Put the .exe file on the webserver
- Reload the page

Result: Firefox silently downloads the .exe file, but the 404 page remains. This scenario is indistinguishable from point A - i.e. it's the same as if the file were still absent.

Expected: page goes back to looking like about:blank, Download dialog comes up, or anything that might tell you that Firefox is in fact doing something and that the file is now there.

This hit me when I was trying to get some access controls right. I was fiddling and fiddling, and still seemed to gett a 404. Then I looked in my Download directory, and found five copies of the file!

Gerv

Comment 1

[:Gavin Sharp [email: [e-mail]]]

Is this only a problem when browser.download.manager.showWhenStarting is false?

Comment 2

[Gervase Markham [:gerv]]

I'm not sitting at the relevant computer right now; I'd need to check. The answer is probably "sort of" - in that, if that value was true, you would get a download manager, but the browser window would still contain incorrect information, which is bad.

Gerv

Comment 3

[:Gavin Sharp [email: [e-mail]]]

What should the window contain after the download starts? about:blank?

Comment 4

[Gervase Markham [:gerv]]

about:blank would be a reasonable choice. Another option would be a "File download in progress" message. Just something non-misleading.

Gerv

Comment 5

[:Gavin Sharp [email: [e-mail]]]

The "file downloading in progress" indication is given by the download manager, which by default appears when a download starts, so this really is an edge case...

Given that, I think "Firefox should clear the error page for a tab/window if a download is started from that tab" would be a better summary, do you agree?

Comment 6

[Gervase Markham [:gerv]]

OK :-)

Gerv

Comment 7

[James Ross]

I don't know what you did to the summary there, but it was horribly broken.

Comment 8

[Gervase Markham [:gerv]]

Ook. I cut and pasted what you wrote, but only the second half appeared in the text box, so I pasted the first half in again.

Firefox 1.5 final input line bug. :-(

Gerv

Comment 9

[James Ross]

I bet you're on Linux, as you had an embedded newline in the summary (which caused FF 1.0.7/Win here to truncate the text in the input at the newline). Fun stuff.

Comment 11

[Shad Sterling]

I've had this occur with "Show the downloads window when downloading a file" true.

The response page should be helpful even when it's false; I'd like to see an info page showing the download URL, and the same controls as in the download manager for each file, including a link to open the file which would be disabled until the file is complete, as well as a link to the download manager itself.

I think if I was new to the issue and saw about:blank, I wouldn't think it had started downloading.