The newest version of Firefox has brought with it a few changes, and one of them is all about showcasing a pop-up window of the download menu whenever an item has been downloaded. Now, not everyone wants to see the Download popup menu each time they complete a download, so can be turned off?
Well, as far as we can tell, Mozilla has not added a feature from within the settings that would allow for disabling the pop-up window, and that’s a massive disappointment. However, there is a way to get the job done, though it will require more time.
How to disable Firefox Download popup box
Getting this done is possible, but the task won’t be a straightforward one. But worry not, Firefox has a few secrets we can take advantage of to gain control of the download menu pop-up window.
The first step to take here is to fire up the Firefox web browser if you haven’t already. This is very important since we cannot disable the pop-up window unless the browser is opened.
If you are having problems launching Firefox, you can look for the icon via the Desktop, Start Menu, or Taskbar.
- Launch Firefox
- Navigate to about:config using the address bar
- In the Configuration page, search for AlwaysOpenPanel
- Set the value of browser.download.alwaysOpenPanel to False
- Restart Firefox.
After opening Firefox, you must type about:config in the URL bar, and from there, hit the Enter key to fully open the page.
The page you’re looking at now should have a message that reads:
Proceed with Caution: Changing advanced configuration preferences can impact Firefox performance or security.
Below the message, you now want to click on Accept the Risk and Continue in order to fully gain access to the about:config page.
From within the search area on the page, we recommend typing browser.download.alwaysOpenPanel, and right away you should see some options to play around with.
From the option that appears, it should be set to True by default. You are required then to change it to False by clicking on the two half arrows pointing in opposite directions. Once done, the changes will be saved automatically.
The next time you download a file using the Firefox web browser, you should no longer see a pop-up of the download menu.
Read: Fix Firefox Network Protocol Error
Is Mozilla Firefox better than Google Chrome?
While it depends on your personal preferences, I personally feel Firefox web browser is better than Google Chrome in terms of privacy, memory and CPU utilization. However, when it comes down to web page rendering, Google Chrome takes the prize in this regard.
Does Firefox sell your data?
According to the creators of Firefox, Mozilla does not sell user data or purchase user data from anyone. However, we cannot confirm this with hard evidence, therefore, you’ll have to choose if you want to believe Mozilla or not.
