Download Manager History Tweak

I found this info on the Firefox Builds board on mozillaZine. Some of you may recall from Firefox 1.5.0.* builds the download manager would keep a history of your downloads. By default it would retain this history until you choose to clear the list or if you changed the settings via a menu option.

Due to possible performance issues associated with having long download list, Firefox 2 by default clears the list as soon as the download is completed. You can change this option by going to Tools -> Options -> Privacy and checking Remember what I’ve downloaded. However there is a third option to retain the list until the browser exits, but this can only be set via an about:config entry:

  • Click the about:config button (if you have the extension) or open a new tab and type about:config in the address bar
  • In the filter field enter browser.download.manager.retention
  • double-click on the entry and enter the corresponding number below:

    • 0 ~ List clears when download is completed
    • 1 ~ List clears when you exit the browser
    • 2 ~ List clears only via ‘Clean Up’ button
  • Click OK
  • Close about:config editor or tab

Keep in mind the “performance issues” were NOT fixed so the change in the default behavior for the download manger was only a band aid.

3 Comments on Download Manager History Tweak

  1. The issue I am having is that when I click the “clean up” button (in FireFox 2.0) it only removes one download at a time – usually the most recent download first. Before the update it use to remove ALL completed downloads. I have tried searching for this, but to no avail, as it seems nobody else is having this issue, or is not reporting it. I also tried many tweaks and such to my preferences; still to no solution.

    I am running Mac OS x 3.9
    I have some management and download extensions that I thought might be the culprit, but I’d like an opinion before removing them;
    Download Statusbar 0.9.4.5.1
    DownloadHelper 2.0
    DownThemAll! 0.9.9.7
    FlashGot 0.5.98.070302
    Ook? Video Ook! 0.6.5
    Session Manager 0.5.3.2 (disabled)
    Tab Mix Plus 0.3.5.2
    VideoDownloader 1.1.1

    Thanks

  2. send me download entention software

  3. @Chandana:

    I was also getting this problem, and I have found a way to fix it (for me atleast). I am running a FireFox extension called ‘Download Status Bar’ which keeps it’s own list of files that I have downloaded. This had almost 150 entries in it, and I found that once I cleaned them out, this enabled the clean up button to do its job and remove all entries from the standard Firefox dialouge.

    I don’t know is will help, but I know how frustrating it is to search and search, and not find anything.

    Cheers.

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