Add ~/Desktop/Downloads folder and pre-configure it in Firefox for download

[Amber Graner]

Binary package hint: firefox-3.0

The "other" operating systems they have a downloads folder, why doesn't Ubuntu? It would be really nice if 1) there was already one created and if 2) Firefox was preconfigured to put downloads into this folder. "Other" Operating systems already do this. This would ease the transition for people moving to Ubuntu.

It was really confusing to me after using a Mac not to see a downloads folder at least. I did not realize that it automatically put the downloads on the desktop. After hunting for the downloads (which were covered by the windows I had open), I found them on the desktop, very frustrating. It would also be nice to see the button that says see where download is located. (Which I can do on my Mac) I figured it out though. On the Mac I didn't have to worry about this. There was a downloads folder and Safari just puts stuff there.

[Duane Hinnen (duanedesign)]

User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:1.9.0.6) Gecko/2009020911 Ubuntu/8.10 (intrepid) Firefox/3.0.6
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:1.9.0.6) Gecko/2009020911 Ubuntu/8.10 (intrepid) Firefox/3.0.6

The "other" operating systems they have a downloads folder, why doesn't Ubuntu? It would be really nice if 1) there was already one created and if 2) Firefox was preconfigured to put downloads into this folder. "Other" Operating systems already do this. This would ease the transition for people moving to Ubuntu.

It was really confusing to me after using a Mac not to see a downloads folder at least. I did not realize that it automatically put the downloads on the desktop. After hunting for the downloads (which were covered by the windows I had open), I found them on the desktop, very frustrating. It would also be nice to see the button that says see where download is located. (Which I can do on my Mac) I figured it out though. On the Mac I didn't have to worry about this. There was a downloads folder and Safari just puts stuff there.

Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1.Fresh install of Firefox 3.0 on Ubuntu or an install using the default download location.
2.Download something off of a website
3.
Actual Results:
When you download something from a website it is placed on the desktop. Using Firefox on Linux the default location is the desktop.

Expected Results:
Firefox should create a downloads folder in the users Home directory. When you download something using the download manager it should download to the Downloads folder in the Home directory.

This bug was filed on Launchpad against Ubuntu>firefox-3.0:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/firefox-3.0/+bug/330826

[Duane Hinnen (duanedesign)]

 Thank you for your bug report. This bug has been reported to the developers of the software. You can track it and make comments at:
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=479000
Please submit any more bugs that you may find in the future.

[Kevin Brosnan (kbrosnan)]

*** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of bug 237093 ***

[John Vivirito (gnomefreak)]

How is not having a downloads folder a mozilla issue? Ubuntu/nautilus would be the problem since we dont offer that folder on file system?

[Amber Graner (akgraner)]

I think it is both. Firefox/Mozilla should be preconfigured to put things
in the downloads folder for ease of transition from other OS systems. SO
why can't both teams fix it together. Or can it just be reassigned the
package team.

It's a problem on both sides. There needs to be a downloads folder and
Firefox needs to be pre configured to put downloads there.

Since I am a new user, this is one of the issues that made it confusing to
switch systems.

On Wed, Feb 18, 2009 at 3:10 PM, John Vivirito <email address hidden> wrote:

> How is not having a downloads folder a mozilla issue? Ubuntu/nautilus
> would be the problem since we dont offer that folder on file system?
>
> --
> Firefox Useability issue
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/330826
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of the bug.
>
> Status in The Mozilla Firefox Browser: New
> Status in "firefox-3.0" source package in Ubuntu: New
>
> Bug description:
> Binary package hint: firefox-3.0
>
> The "other" operating systems they have a downloads folder, why doesn't
> Ubuntu? It would be really nice if 1) there was already one created and if
> 2) Firefox was preconfigured to put downloads into this folder. "Other"
> Operating systems already do this. This would ease the transition for
> people moving to Ubuntu.
>
> It was really confusing to me after using a Mac not to see a downloads
> folder at least. I did not realize that it automatically put the downloads
> on the desktop. After hunting for the downloads (which were covered by the
> windows I had open), I found them on the desktop, very frustrating. It would
> also be nice to see the button that says see where download is located.
> (Which I can do on my Mac) I figured it out though. On the Mac I didn't
> have to worry about this. There was a downloads folder and Safari just puts
> stuff there.
>

--
Just me Amber.

'No arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is as formidable as
the will and moral courage of free men and women.'- Ronald Reagan

[Fabián Rodríguez (magicfab)]

Funny, I do this on all my installations during my first session: create "Downloads" on Desktop, configure Firefox to use it. Same with Tornado (bittorrent client).

As can be seen in upstream, this won't be fixed by Mozilla. This actually fits Ubuntu's mission.

Since Firefox already saves directly to the Desktop, I don't see any problem creating the directory there.

[Fabián Rodríguez (magicfab)]

Kevin, this is not a duplicate of 237093. This is about setting a different default save location.

[Fabián Rodríguez (magicfab)]

I commented on the upstream's decision to (wrongly) mark it as a duplicate of another different bug.

[Shawn Wilsher (sdwilsh)]

(In reply to comment #2)
> Kevin, this is not a duplicate of 237093. This is about setting a different
> default save location.
You can do that in the preferences window.

[Fabián Rodríguez (magicfab)]

Changed title to reflect the actual report's request.

[Martin Mai (mrkanister-deactivatedaccount-deactivatedaccount)]

reassigning the upstream bug since it was a duplicate

[Martin Mai (mrkanister-deactivatedaccount-deactivatedaccount)]

uh...forget what I have done...

[John Vivirito (gnomefreak)]

Upstream will not fix this and i doubt we would want to but please join #ubuntu-mozillateam and ask asac

[Fabián Rodríguez (magicfab)]

(In reply to comment #3)
> You can do that in the preferences window.

I would if I could :)

[Alexander Sack (asac)]

Hi,

firefox honours the XDG_DOWNLOAD_DIR setting ... which is "Desktop" by default in ubuntu. You can change that locally or try to get the ubuntu wide default download dir changed.

[Alexander Sack (asac)]

btw, the decision to use "Desktop" as download location in ubuntu is not undebated ... but this bug is the wrong forum to push for a change. I am not sure who is the one pushing most to keep it that way. Personally, I think that having a real Download location would be better - but we also need to be sure that _any_ user would be able to find it ... which is pretty difficult assuming that most users dont understand the concept of filesystems, nor do they even look in the "Places" menu in the panel.