This article will describe how Firefox handles downloads for different types of files and how you can change that behavior. For help with download problems, see What to do if you can't download or save files.; For help with embedded media on web pages, see Fix common audio and video issues.; For help changing the e-mail program that Firefox uses, see Change the program used to open email links. So I've been wondering about this for a while and I just found out the answer (at least on a macbook pro running OS X El Capitan 10.11.1). I did the following in order and it worked instantaneously for me: 1. Open safari browser 2. Locate and highlight (select) the file type or extension that you want to revert back the file download behavior to ask for open or save confirmation and stop the automatic opening or saving of downloaded file. Click on Advanced button. You have to log on or login on user account with Administrator or Power User privileges to use this function.
Safari User Guide
Download music, PDFs, software, and other items by clicking links on webpages.
Important: If a download contains software, an alert appears when you open the item. To be safe, don’t open it if you weren’t expecting a software program or if it’s not from a trusted source.
Download an item
In the Safari app on your Mac, click anything identified as a download link, or Control-click an image or other object on the page.
Choose Download Linked File. (Some webpage items can’t be downloaded.)
Safari decompresses files such as .zip files after it downloads them.
Note: If you download an item that you previously downloaded, Safari removes the older duplicate so it doesn’t take up space on your Mac. See Optimize storage space on your Mac.
See items you downloaded
In the Safari app on your Mac, click the Show Downloads button near the top-right corner of the Safari window.
The button isn’t shown if the downloads list is empty.
Do any of the following:
Pause a download: Click the Stop button to the right of the filename in the downloads list. To resume, click the Resume button .
Find a downloaded item on your Mac: Click the magnifying glass next to the filename in the downloads list. If you move a file or change the download location after downloading it, Safari can’t find the file.
Tip: To change where downloaded items are saved on your Mac, choose Safari > Preferences, click General, then click the “File download location” pop-up menu and choose a location.
Clear the downloads list: In the downloads list, click Clear. To remove one item, Control-click it, then choose Remove From List.
By default, Safari automatically removes an item after one day. To change when items are automatically removed, choose Safari > Preferences, click General, then click the “Remove download list items” pop-up menu and choose an option.
See alsoAdd passes to Wallet in Safari on MacIf you can’t download an item from the web using Safari on MacChange Websites preferences in Safari on Mac
This article will describe how Firefox handles downloads for different types of files and how you can change that behavior.
For help with download problems, see What to do if you can't download or save files.
For help with embedded media on web pages, see Fix common audio and video issues.
For help changing the e-mail program that Firefox uses, see Change the program used to open email links.
Table of Contents
When you click a link to download a file, you may see a dialog asking whether you want to save the file or open it with a specific application, if Firefox cannot handle the file internally. The Media type, also called the MIME type or Content type, as configured by the web server, will determine what action Firefox will take.
Note: Firefox will not be able to properly handle a file download if a misconfigured web server sends it with an incorrect Content type. For example, Firefox may display the content as plain text instead of opening the file in an application or asking you what to do. (To learn more, see Properly configuring server MIME types at MDN web docs.) You can contact the website in such cases or you can try a Firefox extension such as Content-Type Fixer to work around the problem.
When you tell Firefox to open or save the file and also check the option to 'Do this automatically for files like this from now on' (see below), a new Content Type and Action entry for that type of file will appear in the Applications section of the General panel in Firefox OptionsPreferences.
You can change what action Firefox takes for defined content types. This will not affect media embedded in a web page - only links to the files themselves.
Click the menu button and select ..
In the General panel, go to the Applications section.
Select the entry for the file type you want to change.
Multiple entries for the same file format or extension? Some file types can include more than one Internet Media type.
The Action column will give you a drop-down menu, with options on action to take, whenever you click that type of file.
Preview in FirefoxOpen in Firefox: Select this if you want Firefox to display the content. It only applies to a limited number of file types that Firefox is able to decode, such as Portable Document Format (PDF).
Always ask: This will prompt you to select what action you want Firefox to take when you click on that type of file. This can be useful if Firefox is automatically saving a file type or is always opening it with a certain program and you want to be asked what to do.
Save File: This will always save the file to your computer using the Downloads window, whenever you click that type of file.
Use ... : Open the file with an application of your choosing.
Close the about:preferences page. Any changes you've made will automatically be saved.
When you click on a link for a type of file that doesn't have a set content type and download action, Firefox will ask you how to handle the file:
Open with: Saves the file to a temporary folder and opens it in the default application for that file type. To select an application, click .
Warning: Do not choose Firefox to always open a certain file type, as doing so can cause a problem where Firefox repeatedly opens empty tabs or windows after you click on a link.
Save file: Saves the file to the download folder (specified in the General panel of Firefox OptionsPreferences).
Do this automatically for files like this from now on: Check mark this setting and then click to add a new entry to the Content Type list for that file type.
Is Do this automatically for files like this from now on disabled? This can happen if the website's server incorrectly specifies the Internet Media type of the file. It also can happen if the server assigns 'Content-Disposition: attachment' to the file.
If you are having problems with how Firefox is handling file downloads that you can't resolve, or if you just want to start fresh, you can restore the default content types and actions by manually deleting the file that stores these settings.
Prevent Download Of Pdfs Automatically Macbook Air
This will remove all customized content type actions. You will have to make those changes over again after you take the following steps.
Prevent Download Of Pdfs Automatically Macbook Pro
Open your profile folder:
Click the menu button , click Help and select Troubleshooting Information.From the Help menu, select Troubleshooting Information. The Troubleshooting Information tab will open.
Under the Application Basics section next to Profile FolderDirectory, click . A window will open that contains your profile folder.Your profile folder will open.
Note: If you are unable to open or use Firefox, follow the instructions in Finding your profile without opening Firefox.
Close Firefox. Click the Firefox menu and select Exit.Click the Firefox menu at the top of the screen and select Quit Firefox.Click the Firefox menu and select Quit.