SOLVED

Announcing the Open/Save as/Save and Delete prompts for downloads!

Microsoft

Update: Open/SaveAs is now available on Edge Stable ( version >= 86.0.622.38)

 

Greetings, Microsoft Edge Insiders! 

 

As a part of our top feedback, we have been looking at implementing features from Microsoft Edge legacy. One of those items is a feature asking users if they want to Open, Save As, Save, or Cancel a download. This week, we're excited to announce that this setting is now available in our Dev and Canary channels! We expect all builds with version >= 87.0.629.0 to have this feature.

 

opensaveas.JPG

 

To enable it, navigate to edge://settings/downloads and toggle on, "Ask me what to do with each download." Once you download a file after enabling that setting, you will see options to: 

  • Open the file, which downloads it to a temporary folder and opens the file. This temporary folder will attempt to clear itself whenever you start a new browser session 
  • Save as, which opens the file explorer, allowing you to rename and choose where the file is saved 
  • Save the file, located under the ... button, which saves the file to your default downloads folder (you can also change this on the Downloads settings page) 
  • Cancel the file download entirely, this is also located under the ... button 

Another feature we're adding is the ability to delete downloads directly from the browser itself. If you head to the Downloads page, you can now right-click on a downloaded item (or the ... menu for the item in the download shelf/bar) and select "Delete file." Once you do this, the file will be deleted from your computer. We hope that this will help users who like to download files automatically while still keeping their downloads folder clean. 

 

delete.JPG

 

We encourage you to give these changes a try! Have a suggestion on how to improve these new download features? Navigate to the browser's ... menu > Help and feedback > Send feedback to let us know your thoughts. 

 

- The Microsoft Edge Product Team 

149 Replies

@i-am-kent Thanks for this. Am using it already.

This is still an issue, both in the newest full developer's Edge as in the standard failed browser

NOT FIXED!!!

Will only download to the greyed-out folder in Settings even when I select 

'ask me first ' .... etc.!

If I try to change the location Microsuck informs me that  "there is no such file .. etc. ...,"

After that when  I try to move the file, M states that I don't have permission, even though I am an administrator.

Don't tell me how to get around this, because it doesn't work  it's a BBAD PROGRAMMING BUG!

Try Googling this problem and you'll see all who have problems with this issue.

Btw Chrome works perfectly with downloads, if you are now indeed scripting in Chrome OS how the hell did you manage to mess up this feature?

I don't see what you are showing ... fiction

@i-am-kent 

 

This is as far as it gets, not the nice graphics you show !!!

Yes just had the last very slow system & Edge idate.

@IshaiH, yes, you are missing something. :)

 

The previous "Open" option required first saving the file. This created not just an extra click, but a whole workflow change compared with Legacy Edge and IE to deal with files that are intended to be opened once for a few seconds, but not saved -- pictures, audio files, executables (just run them), etc. Before this change, you either left the files to accumulate or had to add a step to your workflow to manually navigate to the folder (potentially difficult if you save downloads to different locations) and remove the files that you never wanted to save in the first place. This is a HUGE improvement.

 

Having said that, I agree with the criticism that Save As should not always revert to the Downloads folder. I would prefer that it remember and go to the last Save As location. 

@i-am-kent. THANK YOU!! I love this addition. This massively improves my workflow. I can finally stop opening IE when I know I'll be performing a lot of file downloads (following new Edge replacing Legacy Edge and taking away this capability from Edge). Edge is now my hands-down favorite browser with virtually no need for any others. (Now looking forward to the return of web page inking and the upcoming Vertical Tabs).

 

However, I do agree with the issue raised by many here that the Save As option ought to default to the last saved location, not the Downloads folder. 

@the-truth-of_Billie, whatever you're describing doesn't sound like it has anything to do with Edge. It sounds like you have fouled the permissions on your directories and Edge is also being affected by those changes. 

@i-am-kent seems to agree with me, and it is a time consuming and cumbersome way of saving files compotes to other browsers. Yes I have udes the roundabout way, which suddenly deemoed to work after my complaint.
Instead of ging ho blindly defensief yourself and childishly blaming the other party, maybe you should have Some zelf critism and try to get the app up to the level of the better browsers

@i-am-kent I agree with what most comments say, this new update has destroyed my workflow I am forced to use FDM now because the new update slows me down a lot and I can't have that. If the edge team does not give us at least and option for the old way I might find myself migrating back to chrome no matter how much I like Edge.

@i-am-kent An excellent addition, thanks to your dev team for listening to the community and making these things reality, I have enjoyed using it since it arrived in the Canary channel!

Can we add a button to open file location

@ethanmenzel, that's already there. After you download the file, it provides the same option under the 3-dot Options menu we've always had in new Edge to "Show in folder". 

@the-truth-of_Billie, was that to me? I don't work for Microsoft. Just a fan of Edge and very glad they've added this improvement. HUGE time saver for me. Sorry, I couldn't follow your post, just because of typos. Happy to discuss further if you could clarify your post. 

That's a great idea, David.

Perhaps there could be a tool-tip type mouseover window that appears displaying something like:
- Progress (graphical, percent, time elapsed / remaining and bytes downloaded)
- Download speed
- Total file size to be downloaded, if reported by the server
- Source URL (since sometimes due to redirects the downloaded file receives a different filename than was in the URL) and/or MIME type
Based on the other replies to this post, it seems half the people hate this change and half think it's better. That means you need to have both options available.

I've pretty much stopped using Edge Dev and switched to the released version for now (since a windows update force installed it anyway) but once this change makes it's way to that version I'll ditch Edge and go back to Chrome. Yes, this change is that annoying.

@jchow It might be a nice idea to always open the last location a file downloaded to when you clicked 'Save as', but doesn't that risk that sometimes you might inadvertently lose a file you have downloaded? If this is the case.

 

Something I am missing is that the 'Downloads' option no longer shows the location of where files have been downloaded to.

 

In Classic Edge this didn't matter too much because the nice little 'Downloads' tab was incorporated into the Favourites and Reading List button, but hunting for where files have been downloaded to in Chromium Edge takes at least two more clicks and becomes cumbersome.

 

As shown in the attached screenshot on a mac, the current 'Downloads' button from the Settings and more button no longer shows WHERE the item is kept - it just provides a link to 'show in finder' (or File Explorer on Windows 10)

 

@i-am-kent I'm really not a fan of this change. All it's really done is increase friction for me, doesn't solve any problems I had, and only creates new ones. I get why people wanted this feature, but it's a problem I solved ages ago in my workflow so all this really does is add a second prompt I need to click for every file I download.

 

I hope this feature becomes optional soon.

How to disable the “do you want to open or save this file?” prompt Launch Registry Editor (Start >> Run >> regedit.exe) Expand HKEY_CURRENT_USER. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ Shell. If it doesn't exist, create the AttachmentExecute key.

@Lewis-H  Hi, I really need help, in the directory HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ Shell I dont have AttachmentExecute key so I created one, but what I need to write there? I just need to create it or what? I will really appreciate if you answer me.

@Colin - That's an odd behavior to me but you do you, I guess. 

 

For me, it's rare that I download a file for a single use and want it deleted. It's definitely not worth the extra clicks on every download. 

 

What would make sense is to make this an option. If you want a new download hidden at the bottom of the screen waiting for you to hit Save As instead of the file dialog just showing up, fine, for those of us who don't want that option, let us turn it off.


People who download a lot of files will find this new feature very annoying. I know I do.
In fact, now that it's made it's way to the prod version of Edge, I'm switching back to Chrome.

I really only checked this page to see if @i-am-kent ever responded to the many comments complaining about this feature.