Firefox: Are there any plans to fix the horribly redesigned file download process?

[HMK]

I frequently DL 5-100 files all at once.  I really don't need to click [OK] on 100 separate dialog boxes.  Also, if I don't take the step of DLing just one first, in order to pre-set the save location, I have to change each one individually, or attempt to [esc] out of all of them, or save them one-by-one to the selected folder, then move them later. 

There's no way for me to tell when all of the dialog boxes have 'loaded'.  There's no counter, there's no message telling me it's ok to start hitting [Enter] repeatedly for the next 5 minutes.  Often, when I attempt to start hitting [Enter] (or even [Esc]), if not all of the DL dialog boxes are open, all of a sudden, it locks up on me and I get a loud {Beep}.  I can't find which of the many many dialog box windows is yelling at me.  Everything is locked.  I can't even cleanly shut down FF, I have to use the Force Quit on my Mac to kill the program, then start over.

I am aware that I can uncheck the 'Always ask you where to save files' checkbox, so that they always save in on place, but that's not the desired behavior. 

Here's how to fix it (assuming the above mentioned box is checked):

If I'm DLing one file, ask me where I want to put it.  Done.

If I'm DLing more than one file, bring up a dialog box asking me where I want to put the files.  Include a sticky checkbox which asks, 'Put all files in this DL session into the same folder.'  If that box is checked, DL all files to that selected folder using the FF DL manager.  No need for any additional dialog boxes.  Just do the work on the back end the way that I know FF can.

If the user doesn't check that box, then ask for every single file the way you do now. 

Solved.  Please fix this.

[jscher2000]

When you enable "Always ask you where to save," Firefox typically records the location chosen on a per-site basis, and then defaults to that location for that site until you change it. So it sounds like that is working, but for files 2-99, you would prefer that Firefox use that location without asking you to confirm for each individual file.

This is the part I'm not sure about:

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@HMK wrote:

If I'm DLing more than one file, bring up a dialog box asking me where I want to put the files.  Include a sticky checkbox which asks, 'Put all files in this DL session into the same folder.'  If that box is checked, DL all files to that selected folder using the FF DL manager.  No need for any additional dialog boxes.  Just do the work on the back end the way that I know FF can.

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How would Firefox distinguish the normal situation from the bulk downloading scenario where you want it to disregard the "Always ask you where to save" instruction for a period of time? Would this involve some kind of AI pattern recognition or a special checkbox/shortcut or ???

Also, I'm not sure Firefox can modify the Windows "Save As"/folder browsing dialog with an extra checkbox like "Use this folder and stop asking for the next 5 minutes" (or whatever it ends up needing to say). Maybe it would be more reliable to add a context menu item on the Downloads toolbar button. For example, click a menu item for "Auto-save to last-used folder" until you are done and then click again to turn it off?

[HMK]

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@jscher2000 wrote:

When you enable "Always ask you where to save," Firefox typically records the location chosen on a per-site basis..

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No it doesn't. They tried to implement that as the only DL option 10 or 15 years ago and it failed miserably, as it should have. Instead, it simply remembers the last place you saved to for the current session, and also has a default location.

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How would Firefox distinguish the normal situation from the bulk downloading scenario where you want it to disregard the "Always ask you where to save" instruction for a period of time? Would this involve some kind of AI pattern recognition or a special checkbox/shortcut or ???

Also, I'm not sure Firefox can modify the Windows "Save As"/folder browsing dialog with an extra checkbox like "Use this folder and stop asking for the next 5 minutes" (or whatever it ends up needing to say). Maybe it would be more reliable to add a context menu item on the Downloads toolbar button. For example, click a menu item for "Auto-save to last-used folder" until you are done and then click again to turn it off?

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As stated, the user would select the checkbox that says
'Put all files in this DL session into the same folder.'

If the user checks that box, a single File Save dialog box is displayed where the user selects the folder. All files are then saved in the background to that folder. If the user doesn't select that checkbox, they'll get a File Save dialog box for every single file, which is the way it works today.

I have no idea why you're talking about 'some period of time' or why you're attempting to overly complicate things talking about 'AI pattern recognition' or 'changing the Windows (or Mac) File Save dialog box interface'. I'm not sure if you're being intentionally obtuse or maybe English isn't your first language, but I've been a developer for ~40 years and what I'm proposing is a simple approach. There's no need to make it so convoluted.

[jscher2000]

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@HMK wrote:

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@jscher2000 wrote:

When you enable "Always ask you where to save," Firefox typically records the location chosen on a per-site basis..

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No it doesn't. They tried to implement that as the only DL option 10 or 15 years ago and it failed miserably, as it should have. Instead, it simply remembers the last place you saved to for the current session, and also has a default location.

That's odd. Mine stores folders by site. I do not clear history at the end of my session and I use private windows sparingly. Maybe there is a difference there?

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@HMK wrote:

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@jscher2000 wrote:

How would Firefox distinguish the normal situation from the bulk downloading scenario where you want it to disregard the "Always ask you where to save" instruction for a period of time? Would this involve some kind of AI pattern recognition or a special checkbox/shortcut or ???

Also, I'm not sure Firefox can modify the Windows "Save As"/folder browsing dialog with an extra checkbox like "Use this folder and stop asking for the next 5 minutes" (or whatever it ends up needing to say). Maybe it would be more reliable to add a context menu item on the Downloads toolbar button. For example, click a menu item for "Auto-save to last-used folder" until you are done and then click again to turn it off?

As stated, the user would select the checkbox that says
'Put all files in this DL session into the same folder.'

If the user checks that box, a single File Save dialog box is displayed where the user selects the folder. All files are then saved in the background to that folder. If the user doesn't select that checkbox, they'll get a File Save dialog box for every single file, which is the way it works today.

I have no idea why you're talking about 'some period of time' or why you're attempting to overly complicate things talking about 'AI pattern recognition' or 'changing the Windows (or Mac) File Save dialog box interface'. I'm not sure if you're being intentionally obtuse or maybe English isn't your first language, but I've been a developer for ~40 years and what I'm proposing is a simple approach. There's no need to make it so convoluted.

Where would the checkbox be?

[HMK]

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@jscher2000 wrote:

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That's odd. Mine stores folders by site. I do not clear history at the end of my session and I use private windows sparingly. Maybe there is a difference there?

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No it doesn't.  Go to CNN and save an image to a folder.  Now go to Fox news and save an image.  It will default to the folder you used for CNN.

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@jscher2000 wrote:

Where would the checkbox be?

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Really? This has become a complete waste of my time. Have a good day.