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Google working on improved download handling in Chrome
I won't lie -- my download folder is a mess. It's packed with files that I've downloaded for testing purposes, archives that have long since been extracted, and .PDF and .DOCX files that were only required for the 45 seconds they took to open and print. I'll place a portion of the blame on Chrome -- which doesn't currently provide an option to open (rather than save) downloaded files like (gasp!) Internet Explorer.
Change is on the way, however. In the Chromium design docs, there's talk of building robust temporary download handling in to Google Chrome. As the doc describes it, the change would "provide a nonintrusive way to open downloaded files with another application without permanently storing them on disk." An addition would be made to Chrome's context menu allowing you to "download and open" a file -- like a .torrent -- without having to save it first.
Files downloaded that way would still appear on your shelf (the chrome://downloads page), but they'd be marked with an icon indicating their unsaved status. You can work with your "download and open" files as you would a normal download -- but Chrome would remind you that you have unsaved temporary files when you close the browser in case you want to save them permanently.
Change is on the way, however. In the Chromium design docs, there's talk of building robust temporary download handling in to Google Chrome. As the doc describes it, the change would "provide a nonintrusive way to open downloaded files with another application without permanently storing them on disk." An addition would be made to Chrome's context menu allowing you to "download and open" a file -- like a .torrent -- without having to save it first.
Files downloaded that way would still appear on your shelf (the chrome://downloads page), but they'd be marked with an icon indicating their unsaved status. You can work with your "download and open" files as you would a normal download -- but Chrome would remind you that you have unsaved temporary files when you close the browser in case you want to save them permanently.
Reduced file system clutter like mine is one benefit, but it would also be advantageous for Chrome's Incognito mode. Sign into your email, open and print your docs, and close Chrome -- when you confirm the prompt, the temporary files would be purged.
So, when can you expect to see the changes? Don't hold your breath -- this is actually related to a Chromium bug filed back in September of 2008.
Comments
8
Subscribe to commentsDavid LevineJul 27th 2010 11:40AM
This would be great. I would also like to see an option similar to Firefox's where the download will clear from the list when it is complete or the downloads window will clear when the browser is closed. Even that option without implementing temp downloads would put a smile on my face.
As an aside, Firefox and Safari work the same way as Chrome. Safari on Mac (I'm not sure about Windows) makes it look like it's only opening a file, but it really downloads it and keeps it in the download folder.
This seems to be one area where Microsoft got it right.
Ilya PanasenkoJul 27th 2010 1:17PM
The most useful feature that has FF and doesn't have Chrome is that I can remove downloaded file directly from browser (downloads page or download statusbar)
I've been waiting for this feature in Chrome since very beginning and I'm still waiting. Hope it will come to Chrome some day
EhJul 27th 2010 1:52PM
I HATE the way Chrome does downloads. This will be a welcome feature but they need a complete redo, it has no redeeming qualities to be found. I cant stand having a whole page in a tab as a download window, I want a separate little download manager window like all the other browsers, I shouldnt have to leave the page Im on just to check my download status. Then closing the browser window kills the download. augh. Its the most unintuitive download manager Ive ever used.
The download manager is an ugly stain on an otherwise good browser.
ProlornJul 27th 2010 2:23PM
By "all the other browsers" you mean Firefox and Safari? Opera also has downloads in a tab, and IE (AFAIK) doesn't have a real download manager.
Personally, I like having downloads in a tab. I don't really see how having it in a popup window would be better. I rarely open the Downloads tab, anyways, since I just use the downloads bar that pops up with downloads. When I setup a new installation of Firefox, Download Statusbar is always one of the first addons I install.
dominicneagleJul 28th 2010 7:15AM
Personally, I think that not having an 'Open' button alongside the 'Save' and 'Cancel' is a concious choice, made for security reasons.
Say a user was about to download a malicious executable file. In IE, you could choose to open it directly, meaning the file would run and the user would be infected. By not allowing the user to open the file immediately, and making them download the file to a specified location first, this gives the anti-virus software a chance to catch the software before it runs.
Lee MathewsJul 28th 2010 7:21AM
Dom-
Even if you _tell_ your browser to "open" a file from the web, it still downloads the complete file first -- and most antivirus apps are set to scan/block on create or execute, so they'll still be scanned before anything bad can happen.
It might be a conscious decision, but I'm not sure that makes it a good one ;)
dominicneagleJul 28th 2010 7:30AM
True enough. I didn't realise AV software caught files as they were downloaded to the temp folders.
Jérémie BelmonteSep 21st 2010 5:48PM
Yep.
It also lacks the automatic search into the page without hitting Ctrl+F (another good point for FF)