Stop zip files unarchiving in Firefox

[Dave2002]

I use Firefox a lot, though it's not the only browser I use.

Is there a way to stop .zip downloads automatically expanding when downloaded? On my MBP this simply doubles the storage, and complicates things. What I want to be able to do is to download then export almost immediately to external storage, and expand the zip files on external devices, or indeed within different computers.

The MBP laptop is convenient for getting some things done, but not so useful as a large storage device, hence the desire for this feature.

[Bryn]

I use Firefox a lot, though it's not the only browser I use.

Is there a way to stop .zip downloads automatically expanding when downloaded? On my MBP this simply doubles the storage, and complicates things. What I want to be able to do is to download then export almost immediately to external storage, and expand the zip files on external devices, or indeed within different computers.

The MBP laptop is convenient for getting some things done, but not so useful as a large storage device, hence the desire for this feature.

I use Firefox as my main browser and have never experienced it expanding zip files. I simply download them via Firefox, unopened, then move them to a new directory/folder, open them, copy the files within to the root of the folder I moved the zip to, then delete the zip file itself.

[french frank]

I use Firefox as my main browser and have never experienced it expanding zip files. I simply download them via Firefox, unopened, then move them to a new directory/folder, open them, copy the files within to the root of the folder I moved the zip to, then delete the zip file itself.

I think I've found the same (using FF for Mac). I start with an unopened zip file on the desktop, open it and move the new file to wherever I want it, and ditch the zip. But I've no idea whether the zip has automatically opened and already placed its file somewhere else. Has it?

[Pulcinella]

Probably unrelated (as I use Safari not Firefox, and I don't think that the files concerned are zip files, ) but a similar(ish) thing happens on my Mac if I click on a link to a google doc (say in a mail message I've been sent). The file goes shooting off into my Downloads folder. A minor annoyance that I've learned to live with, but sometimes I'd prefer to drag and drop it in another folder (it's often secretarial stuff for the choir I'm in).

[french frank]

Probably unrelated (as I use Safari not Firefox, and I don't think that the files concerned are zip files, ) but a similar(ish) thing happens on my Mac if I click on a link to a google doc (say in a mail message I've been sent). The file goes shooting off into my Downloads folder. A minor annoyance that I've learned to live with, but sometimes I'd prefer to drag and drop it in another folder (it's often secretarial stuff for the choir I'm in).

Sooo … I may have a downloads folder chockablock with zip files? I wouldn't know because I don't have storage problems. I tend to delete files after I've read/used them.

[MrGongGong]

I tend (like others) to use multiple browsers
so would use Safari for downloads
but right-click should give you the option of saving it somewhere else and not unzipping ?
Or Opera ?
Or Chrome?
Or ZX Spectrum etc etc etc

[Pulcinella]

Sooo … I may have a downloads folder chockablock with zip files? I wouldn't know because I don't have storage problems. I tend to delete files after I've read/used them.

Always worth doing a bit of housecleaning in your Downloads folder, even if you're not short of space.
I've no idea if Time Machine spots duplicates if one copy is there and another elsewhere: surely it should?

[Pulcinella]

I tend (like others) to use multiple browsers
so would use Safari for downloads
but right-click should give you the option of saving it somewhere else and not unzipping ?
Or Opera ?
Or Chrome?
Or ZX Spectrum etc etc etc

I'll try that with the next message I want to deal with and see if it works even for the google docs. I keep forgetting about right click!

[Dave2002]

I tend (like others) to use multiple browsers
so would use Safari for downloads
but right-click should give you the option of saving it somewhere else and not unzipping ?
Or Opera ?
Or Chrome?
Or ZX Spectrum etc etc etc

Now you're talking. I've still got one somewhere ...... Anyone got a ZX81? (or ZX80 ...)

[french frank]

As I'm using Firefox on a Mac like Dave2002 - I had 560 files in my downloads and only 2 were zip files (from 2010), now deleted. I have set files to download always to my desktop, so I deal with them straightaway and dispose of the redundant zip. That may be the answer.

[Dave2002]

As I'm using Firefox on a Mac like Dave2002 - I had 560 files in my downloads and only 2 were zip files (from 2010), now deleted. I have set files to download always to my desktop, so I deal with them straightaway and dispose of the redundant zip. That may be the answer.

Indeed - I think you have your system set up slightly differently. Were the other 558 files ones you wanted in the Downloads folder?

Perhaps many people don't realise that there is a Downloads folder, and it can get full of junk - zip files are one common form of clutter, and those can be rather large. Other files which can sometimes find their way on to machines are .ipa files, associated with iOS. File which get generated during installation - perhaps if an installation fails - can also contribute to the mess.

I sometimes check for duplicates, for example using Gemini.

[french frank]

Indeed - I think you have your system set up slightly differently. Were the other 558 files ones you wanted in the Downloads folder?

Almost certainly not. They may very well be duplicates because, since the downloads appear on the desktop, I can then file in the dedicated folder for the work when I've used them. That said, I think the 558 files only seem to be 500MB, doing a Get Info on the folder. Can that be right?

[Bryn]

Now you're talking. I've still got one somewhere ...... Anyone got a ZX81? (or ZX80 ...)

I held back from the ZX80 but got a ZX81 and added a memory expansion dongle and proper keyboard before moving on to an Amstrad CPC 464. The CPC464 is long gone but the ZX81 is still in the loft, somewhere, as is a QL. I also still have an Amstrad PCW8256 (with memory upgrade and a variety of peripherals, also in the loft}. That was a superb implementation of 'mature' (long-in-the-tooth) technology, the Cambridge Z88 even moreso, eeking the last dregs out of the Z80A processor.

[Dave2002]

Almost certainly not. They may very well be duplicates because, since the downloads appear on the desktop, I can then file in the dedicated folder for the work when I've used them. That said, I think the 558 files only seem to be 500MB, doing a Get Info on the folder. Can that be right?

Probably, yes. If you can be bothered you can eyeball the files, and then clear them out if you think they're either duplicates, or now unwanted files.

You may have more than enough spare space on your drive that this is nowhere near critical right now.

[Dave2002]

I held back from the ZX80 but got a ZX81 and added a memory expansion dongle and proper keyboard before moving on to an Amstrad CPC 464. The CPC464 is long gone but the ZX81 is still in the loft, somewhere, as is a QL. I also still have an Amstrad PCW8256 (with memory upgrade and a variety of peripherals, also in the loft}. That was a superb implementation of 'mature' (long-in-the-tooth) technology, the Cambridge Z88 even moreso, eeking the last dregs out of the Z80A processor.

Ah, but do your Microdrives still work?