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Thread: Attachment Issue w/Firefox - Opens Gibberish

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Richland, Michigan
    Posts
    429

    Attachment Issue w/Firefox - Opens Gibberish

    There is an attachment issue with Firefox. When I click on any attachment that is not a known extension in Firefox in particular CDR & ZIP it opens directory in another tab -- known basically as gibberish. In addition if you use "Save Link as" you get a prompt for the PHP file name not the attachment name. I am using 2.0.0.1. Searching Google I have found this info:

    ====
    The underlying mechanism is this. File attachments can be served in two ways, depending on the Content-Disposition header sent by the server :

    inline : IE or Firefox then tries to render the file in the browser window (through plugins or whatever)
    attachment : IE or Firefox opens a dialog box offering the user to save the file on disk. Th default filename is correct because it is transmitted by the server in the Content-Disposition header.
    So if you wish your users to be able to display attachments in the browser, you have to send a "Content-Disposition : inline" header.

    Here comes the problem : if a user then wishes to save the file on disk instead of viewing it online, he generally right clicks the link and select "save link as...".

    IE then sends an HTTP request to the server, looks at the response, extract the suggested filename from the headers (Content-Disposition), and pops up a save dialog box with the correct filename
    Firefox developers don't want the user to wait for the server response before displaying the dialog box, so it guesses the filename from the URL and pops up a dialog box with the guessed filename, which generally then have a wrong extension (and/or filename)... For the above example, whatever the file type (video, pdf, ...), the default filename will always be "active.html". Firefox developers seem to want it to behave this way.
    ==================

    I don't know if this represents the problem here, but I can save a link and override the filename, but lots of folks are confused. I am curious if Arron has see this elsewhere.. it's a pain. It works fine in IE 6 & 7
    Mike-in-Michigan (Richland that is) <br> "We never lack opportunity, the trouble is many don't recognize an opportunity when they see it, mostly because it usually comes dressed in work clothes...."

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Gloucester, VA
    Posts
    1,996
    It's been a problem, I believe, since Firefox 1.5.
    I think there are some Firefox extensions you can download which will allow Firefox to mimic this functionality.
    _Aaron_
    SawmillCreek Administrator

  3. #3
    Mike and Aaron,

    Thanks for addressing this. If anyone runs into the fix from either side, let us Firefox users know.
    Please consider becoming a contributing member of Sawmill Creek.
    The cost is minimal and the benefits are real. Donate

  4. #4
    Just ran into this today trying to save a zip file someone posted. I had to open my IE browser to download it.

  5. #5
    I just tried that same zip file from my home computer and when I did the "save as" the window popped up but didn't have the php like it did at work. The file name was "attachment" which was wrong and in the file type it just said "all files", so I typed in the file name followed by .zip and it saved and opened.

    Not sure what is different between home and work.

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