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Provide run / open / save / save as options when downloading files - Discussion

Microsoft

Hello everyone and thanks for your significant interest in our feedback item of “Provide run / open / save as options when downloading files”. This has been a very interesting problem to think through. The downloads team would love your thoughts on whether we have identified the main customer needs such a feature would need to address.

We believe that there are three main things being asked for:

  1. You would like a way to open a file without having to keep it on your computer so that your downloads folder remains “clean” (eg. You want to view your bank statement, but want it deleted after you are finished looking at it)
  2. You would like a way to choose the filename and location to save the downloaded file so that you can better organize your downloads (eg. You download a family photo IMG_1502.jpg and want to rename it to Reunion2019.jpg and save it in your Photos folder)
  3. You still want a light-weight downloads process that does not require many clicks (eg. User wants to download multiple photos in succession and move them in bulk afterwards without having to click “Save” each time). This is what our downloads flow currently addresses; one click to download.
  4. You would like a way to easily switch between (1), (2), and (3) for different files you are downloading; one size does not fit all (eg. For bank statements, you want to just open it, and have it deleted afterwards. But for family photos, you want to be able to rename and save to a specific location).

Do you think we are thinking in the right direction? We are still exploring possible solutions to this problem and any additional feedback is most welcome!

216 Replies

Hello @Elliot Kirk,

 

Since I've also suggested this option, I'm very glorified that You are considering this option to realise.

 

As far as I have read suggestions and critics, I've come to a conclusion - suggestion that could adapt to as much users as possible:

  • In situations listed below, Run would show up when file is executable (.exe, .msi, .reg?) but otherwise it should be Open (like it's now in oEdge)
  • In the Settings there would be an input of default directory (as it is now) and select field "Ask to do with downloadable file:" with 3 options:
    • Ask before downloading
    • Ask after downloading
    • Do not ask
  • Ask before downloading - It will act as it is in oEdge, but options should change to "Run/Open | Save | Save as" and a cross at the end - currently there's "Cancel" button, but it's pretty useless because of that cross at the end. Benefit of it could be -1 click when wanting to "Save As". 
  • Ask after downloading - It will download file in default directory and then will ask what to do - "Run/Open | Open & Delete | Move".
    • Run/Open - action understandable I guess (same as it's now in cEdge - click and it will open);
    • Run/Open & Delete - Edge will move file to some temp-dir and after closing browser it will delete (or shutting down pc, idk how that works);
    • Move - will open dialog to select folder to move file;
    • Maybe there would be need for "Show in folder" instead of "Move" but that is debatable.
  • Do not ask - this will just download file. I believe there You can keep the current cEdge behaviour. 

I'd also want kind of "old-style" download prompt as in oEdge when it pops up at bottom center but there would be a suggestion for UI from me:

  • In the situations below where "ask ... downloading" is selected I'd love that items would show up differently: the oldest status (waiting for action, downloading, downloaded) should move to end of right. For example in ask before situation - when user downloads a file in the bar it will show up first aligned in left, when user downloads another file it will append at right of the first item and both have statuses "Waiting for action". When the status changes, it moves at the end of list. AND when you click on the item representative DL prompt (pop-up) shows up with info - whether prompt with buttons, download progress etc. but not opening file [when DL is done].
  • When selected Ask before downloading - File would show up in current bottom DL bar with text "Waiting for action" under filename (see attached image) and the DL prompt shows up for the first item. If clicked to download multiple then users can switch between items in bottom bar.
  • When Ask after downloading is selected - File will show up in bottom bar and downloads. When finished shows prompt (if that pop-up isn't already active), changes item status to "Waiting for action" (see attached image) and moves it in bottom bar to the end of list. User can switch between items in bottom bar.

I truly believe this would be pretty challenging and different than other browsers provide but also quite cool. But developers should keep an eye on performance changes - if it's drastically increasing then we don't need this feature. :lol:

 

By the way - oEdge = old Edge; cEdge = Chromium Edge; DL = download.

@Elliot Kirk I think you understand the features needed.  Is it expected to have these features at release date?

@Elliot Kirk yes absolutely you are thinking in right direction..please provide these feature as fast as possible.

A save as option would be most useful to me to put files where I want them to go first time.

Run and Open are sometimes needed

 

Excellent! Function similar to the Edge HTML browser.
Like good old IE and Edge HTML did!

There is already an option to turn the "Save As" dialog on in the current Edge.

However I would really like to have an "Open" option so the file is places somewhere in the Temp Folder and will get deleted automatically at some point in the future.

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@Elliot Kirk I would just like the behaviour fixed when saving PDF that are opened in EdgeDev. When I open an online PDF and click the save button it shows up in the Downloads Bar. This is excellent because then I can drag and drop it back into the browser to upload to online storage like OneDrive. However, when I open and save a PDF file that I've already downloaded (I do this to rename the file, and remain in Edge) it no longer shows up on the Downloads Bar, and I need to switch windows to drag and drop to the online storage site, or switch to the online storage site and click add file and then select from the popup dialog. I think this is the behaviour of the new PDF reader that's been implemented. Older versions of Edge had the behaviour where all PDFs saved, local or online, would show up in the Downloads Bar.

@Elliot Kirk Wanted to mention that I am not using the native PDF viewer and am using an external program and only have the option to download a PDF.  Would be great if it just opened in the default PDF program and then you could save the PDF if needed from the program.

Last night / this morning, I discovered something annoying about Edge Insider's download manager. Most people probably don't know this, but you can drag and drop files from the download bar directly into file explorer and other programs! I had maybe around 30 PDF files that I needed to download and organize, so I opened up file explorer, turned off "choose destination for every file" in Edge, and began downloading about 4 files at a time, navigating to where I wanted to put them in File Explorer, and dropping them into place. This was great for moving a ton of files to many different destinations... or so I thought.


It turns out that dragging and dropping a file from Edge's download bar doesn't work like drag and drop within File Explorer. Edge duplicates the file instead of moving it. This means, by the time I was done, I had two copies of every file. My default download location is my desktop, but I didn't know what was happening because I had Edge and File Explorer covering it up. Cut to this morning, and I discover that I have 30 so files nicely tucked away in their folders, and also randomly strewn across my desktop.

 

I can understand why it was designed like this: if you're dragging a downloaded file into an existing tab, to say, upload it to social media, you would want the file to also remain at its source. If you're dragging and dropping a file into an application like Photoshop the file shouldn't move from its original location. However, Windows 10's default drag and drop behavior already accounts for this. When dragging into a folder, Windows 10 transfers the file instead of creating a copy. When dragging a file into an application, Windows 10 keeps the original file in its source location. Edge's Download bar should have the same behavior, if at all possible.

 

@Elliot Kirk 

@Elliot Kirk 

 

I think the most important thing to keep in mind is that in the end you don't have to choose one or the other. Just enable us to choose. Give us options. 

 

From a design perspective, I would say keep it simple. Have an Open and a Save button. 

If people want more options, allow them to enable them in the settings. 

Really need these options, (and corrected the bug that once out of 2, when I choose the desktop as a destination, the file does not appear, forced to actualize or F5)


And to have a small download window (like IE) to be able to close the browser and still have a visual on the download (without it being an entire browser window)

@Elliot Kirk 

 

For my perspective there is no further need for discussion. Please just implement. Thanks

@Elliot Kirk 

When downloading the previous Edge shows time in hours and minutes remaining from the start to the end. New Edge only shows hours left first, then minutes only when it is ending.
Example a 2 hour 30 minute download will just be shown as 2 hours left, 1 hour left then mins till completed. Please show full actual downloading time like EdgeHTML, it would be great. Thank's !

@DinosaurTim What you think about my proposal on the first page? It was about a "save/move to... " to recent locations. Could you also consider the total amount of clicks needed to download three photos into three different folders? The count is similar but the navigation clicks go **bleep** high.

@Elliot Kirk 

Could you please wrap this topic up and post a conclusion and your plans about it? it's been more than 1 month now

@WolfIcefangCool discovery. Maybe the chromium people didn't want to bother tracking a moved file so it could be opened from the browser, or maybe they don't care about leaving duplicate files littered around a PC. Either way, this should be changed to a move functionality like you said.

 

This could be an opportunity to add a checkbox-style select button for each download, so multiple downloads can be moved via drag-and-drop.

For me it's always the right direction


Above all to be able to "open" a file, attachment in an email, etc .... without having to save it on the PC

 

And if it would be possible to have a smaller download window (like Internet Explorer for example) with download information, file name, speed, remaining time, etc ....
It would allow to close Edge but still have this little download window in visual (in place of the current web page)

 

In fact, I find the IE system very successful :smile:
But this browser has had several years of "development"

I think it needs a big change in the browser and how it handles everything. right now when browser is closed, everything is closed with it too, even the feedback system.
I once requested before to put the feedback and problem recording system on a different process so that when the browser crashes or hangs, problem recording stays responsive to record what happened, but the developers said it's so hard to implement and they can't currently do that.