Does anyone else find the 'download manager' in Firefox really annoying? You have to actively clean up the old entries if you want it to stay sensibly small instead of occupying a huge chunk of screen.
What use is the download manager anyway? I really can't see any use for a history of past downloads.
I'd really much prefer the old download system whereby one got a little window popped up for each download which disappears for ever when completed (with the option of keeping it until you dismiss it yourself). By default it produces little screen clutter but it can cope with multiple, simultaneous downloads quite happily.
The new system is just a nuisance.
On 8/11/2004, "Chris Green" chris@areti.co.uk wrote:
Does anyone else find the 'download manager' in Firefox really annoying? You have to actively clean up the old entries if you want it to stay sensibly small instead of occupying a huge chunk of screen.
What use is the download manager anyway? I really can't see any use for a history of past downloads.
I'd really much prefer the old download system whereby one got a little window popped up for each download which disappears for ever when completed (with the option of keeping it until you dismiss it yourself). By default it produces little screen clutter but it can cope with multiple, simultaneous downloads quite happily.
The new system is just a nuisance.
Agreed. This is precisely the reason I've gone back to using bog-standard Mozilla.
Matt
On Mon, Nov 08, 2004 at 12:49:23PM +0000, Chris Green wrote:
Does anyone else find the 'download manager' in Firefox really annoying? You have to actively clean up the old entries if you want it to stay sensibly small instead of occupying a huge chunk of screen.
What use is the download manager anyway? I really can't see any use for a history of past downloads.
I'd really much prefer the old download system whereby one got a little window popped up for each download which disappears for ever when completed (with the option of keeping it until you dismiss it yourself). By default it produces little screen clutter but it can cope with multiple, simultaneous downloads quite happily.
The new system is just a nuisance.
Well, you can get almost similar to the old system with Edit -> Preferences -> Downloads and turning on the ask where to save files, and tell it to close the download manager when all downloads are complete.
hope that helps,
On Mon, Nov 08, 2004 at 01:11:07PM +0000, Brett Parker wrote:
I'd really much prefer the old download system whereby one got a little window popped up for each download which disappears for ever when completed (with the option of keeping it until you dismiss it yourself). By default it produces little screen clutter but it can cope with multiple, simultaneous downloads quite happily.
The new system is just a nuisance.
Well, you can get almost similar to the old system with Edit -> Preferences -> Downloads and turning on the ask where to save files, and tell it to close the download manager when all downloads are complete.
Not really, it still fills a great chunk of screen with unnecesary information whie it's downloading. Not to mention that any failed ones displace the one that's current until you explicitly delete them.
On Mon, Nov 08, 2004 at 12:49:23PM +0000, Chris Green wrote:
Does anyone else find the 'download manager' in Firefox really annoying? You have to actively clean up the old entries if you want it to stay sensibly small instead of occupying a huge chunk of screen.
Nope, just shrink the window size if it takes up too much screen real estate. I prefer it as all my downloads are in 1 window instead of "lots" if you want to clean it up just click the "clean up" button at the bottom.
What use is the download manager anyway? I really can't see any use for a history of past downloads.
It allows you to open previously downloaded files without having to hunt them on the filesystem and locate them. (which is /very/ handy when you realise you saved it in the wrong place)
I'd really much prefer the old download system whereby one got a little window popped up for each download which disappears for ever when completed (with the option of keeping it until you dismiss it yourself). By default it produces little screen clutter but it can cope with multiple, simultaneous downloads quite happily.
The new system is just a nuisance.
Heh, I found the old system a nuisance mainly due to getting dozens of download windows if you were downloading lots of things and then not being able to find them again, if I was being daft. I also found it annoying to have to play "hunt the download window" when trying to see where things were going.
Adam
On Mon, Nov 08, 2004 at 01:19:13PM +0000, adam@thebowery.co.uk wrote:
On Mon, Nov 08, 2004 at 12:49:23PM +0000, Chris Green wrote:
Does anyone else find the 'download manager' in Firefox really annoying? You have to actively clean up the old entries if you want it to stay sensibly small instead of occupying a huge chunk of screen.
Nope, just shrink the window size if it takes up too much screen real estate. I prefer it as all my downloads are in 1 window instead of "lots" if you want to clean it up just click the "clean up" button at the bottom.
Yes, but I have to do *both* those things *every time* I do a download. With the old system I didn't have to do anything to have it work the way I liked it.
What use is the download manager anyway? I really can't see any use for a history of past downloads.
It allows you to open previously downloaded files without having to hunt them on the filesystem and locate them. (which is /very/ handy when you realise you saved it in the wrong place)
I save *all* my downloads in a dedicated /ins directory tree so that's not an issue for me.
On Mon, Nov 08, 2004 at 03:16:49PM +0000, Chris Green wrote:
Nope, just shrink the window size if it takes up too much screen real estate. I prefer it as all my downloads are in 1 window instead of "lots" if you want to clean it up just click the "clean up" button at the bottom.
Yes, but I have to do *both* those things *every time* I do a download. With the old system I didn't have to do anything to have it work the way I liked it.
I know you don't like it, all I can suggest is adjusting the preferences.
First off there is an option
"remove files from the download manager" Manually|When Firefox Exits|When downloaded successfully
Changing that should help you with the list of downloads having to be cleared. Personally I prefer all my active downloads in one window as it is easier for me to watch the status for all of them at the same time (but then again if I am downloading large files I tend to use wget in screen)
The other option for your firefox woes would be to take a look at some of the plugins for firefox, there are plenty that do download type things, there is a good chance that one exists that will do what you want.
Adam
On Mon, Nov 08, 2004 at 03:56:21PM +0000, adam@thebowery.co.uk wrote:
On Mon, Nov 08, 2004 at 03:16:49PM +0000, Chris Green wrote:
Nope, just shrink the window size if it takes up too much screen real estate. I prefer it as all my downloads are in 1 window instead of "lots" if you want to clean it up just click the "clean up" button at the bottom.
Yes, but I have to do *both* those things *every time* I do a download. With the old system I didn't have to do anything to have it work the way I liked it.
I know you don't like it, all I can suggest is adjusting the preferences.
First off there is an option
"remove files from the download manager" Manually|When Firefox Exits|When downloaded successfully
Where's that option? All I have in the Downloads section of Firefox is options for "Download Folder" (where to save files), and "Download Manager" (when to show Download Manager). I've can't see anything like the option you're talking about. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong place.
It certainly sounds like it will make Firefox closer to what I want.
The other option for your firefox woes would be to take a look at some of the plugins for firefox, there are plenty that do download type things, there is a good chance that one exists that will do what you want.
I might take a look but I really prefer to keep my browser as standard as possible because I have it on three different systems to keep in step.
On Mon, Nov 08, 2004 at 04:38:19PM +0000, Chris Green wrote:
Where's that option? All I have in the Downloads section of Firefox is options for "Download Folder" (where to save files), and "Download Manager" (when to show Download Manager). I've can't see anything like the option you're talking about. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong place.
It certainly sounds like it will make Firefox closer to what I want.
Edit > Preferences > Privacy Settings > Download Manager History
(god knows why)
The other option for your firefox woes would be to take a look at some of the plugins for firefox, there are plenty that do download type things, there is a good chance that one exists that will do what you want.
I might take a look but I really prefer to keep my browser as standard as possible because I have it on three different systems to keep in step.
Possibly, I quite like the plugins to be honest. My current favourite is flashblocker, It replaces all flash movies with a placeholder that needs to be clicked to activate them.
Adam
On Mon, Nov 08, 2004 at 04:48:05PM +0000, adam@thebowery.co.uk wrote:
On Mon, Nov 08, 2004 at 04:38:19PM +0000, Chris Green wrote:
Where's that option? All I have in the Downloads section of Firefox is options for "Download Folder" (where to save files), and "Download Manager" (when to show Download Manager). I've can't see anything like the option you're talking about. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong place.
It certainly sounds like it will make Firefox closer to what I want.
Edit > Preferences > Privacy Settings > Download Manager History
So it is, thanks! :-)
(god knows why)
Quite!
On 08-Nov-04 Chris Green wrote:
On Mon, Nov 08, 2004 at 04:48:05PM +0000, adam@thebowery.co.uk wrote:
On Mon, Nov 08, 2004 at 04:38:19PM +0000, Chris Green wrote:
Where's that option? All I have in the Downloads section of Firefox is options for "Download Folder" (where to save files), and "Download Manager" (when to show Download Manager). I've can't see anything like the option you're talking about. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong place.
It certainly sounds like it will make Firefox closer to what I want.
Edit > Preferences > Privacy Settings > Download Manager History
So it is, thanks! :-)
(god knows why)
Quite!
I had been puzzled too! Who'd have thought of looking under "Privacy" for download manager options?! (Especially when there's a whole preferences section for Downloads).
Cheers, Ted.
-------------------------------------------------------------------- E-Mail: (Ted Harding) Ted.Harding@nessie.mcc.ac.uk Fax-to-email: +44 (0)870 094 0861 [NB: New number!] Date: 08-Nov-04 Time: 19:17:05 ------------------------------ XFMail ------------------------------
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adam＠thebowery.co.uk -
Brett Parker -
Chris Green -
Matt Parker -
Ted.Harding＠nessie.mcc.ac.uk