[RESOLVED] File type handling in Firefox
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Thread: [RESOLVED] File type handling in Firefox

  1. #1
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    Resolved [RESOLVED] File type handling in Firefox

    Something happened to Firefox on my computer - all bookmarks ditched, password registry blanked, all settings restored to default, etc. Pretty much effectively a fresh download. I'd like to restore it to where it was before Mozilla trashed it, but failing that...

    One of the things I'd like to do is restore my choices as to how it handles file types. The present list is four file types, and there seems to be no way to add new ones. There is a search box above the list, but it does nothing. Type a suffix in it and nothing happens. Press [enter] key and nothing happens. There is no action key or [search] button. So how does one add a new file type to the list?

  2. #2
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    It sounds like the profile got corrupted. You might be able to recover some of the data, but no guarantees.
    https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb...an-old-profile

    What version of FF are you using?

    You can't directly add Application actions for file types. You'd have to try to download a file, and then set a default action:
    http://kb.mozillazine.org/File_types...wnload_actions

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Midknyte View Post
    What version of FF are you using?

    You can't directly add Application actions for file types.

    You'd have to try to download a file, and then set a default action:
    http://kb.mozillazine.org/File_types...wnload_actions
    Oops, should have specified the version: 69.0.3 (64 bit)

    Can't directly add file types? Wow, not nice of them to drop that. You used to be able to. Type the suffic in the search box and hit [enter].

    Download a file and set a default action is fine, but it apparently already has a default action which does not show in the box. Click on an mp4 file and it simply starts running in Firefox. I don't want it to do that, I want it to open another viewer and run in that. I used to be able to have it do that.

  4. #4
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    I don't recall being able to add new file types manually. The link I posted is pretty old. You could change the action if the file type was already listed.

    A New File Type
    As noted above for file types not already in the Applications tab, the first time you attempt to download a new file type the window at the right pops up.
    Click on an mp4 file and it simply starts running in Firefox. I don't want it to do that, I want it to open another viewer and run in that. I used to be able to have it do that.
    That's different. If you want to change the action of an existing file type, you should be able to do that.
    What is your default video player? I use VLC, so .mp4 is listed as VLC media file in FF.

  5. #5
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    Yes, VLC is my preferred option.

    There are only four filetypes listed in the box. They are irc and ircs (both "always ask"), mailto (which I changed to Gmail) and pdf ("preview in Firefox').

    No media filtypes are listed and, as I seem to have found out and you confirm, filetypes cannot be added. That seems weird. There's a search box above the list, but it appears to be nonfunctional.

    I seem to recall at one point that filetypes could be added by modifying a configuration file, but I can't find which one. I sort of think the modification was made by means of an "about:something" line in the url box, but I'm not sure.
    Last edited by Bill Heffner; October 16th, 2019 at 01:44 AM.

  6. #6
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    Instead of clicking on the video link, try right-click and click download. That should bring up the prompt.

    I haven't tried it myself, but you could try editing MimeTypes.rdf. Or try copying the MimeTypes.rdf from your old profile folder.
    http://kb.mozillazine.org/MimeTypes.rdf

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Midknyte View Post
    Instead of clicking on the video link, try right-click and click download. That should bring up the prompt.
    Unfortunately, that merely downloads the file to the default location without query or prompt of any sort.

  8. #8
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    Can you post the video link? Something isn't adding up here.

  9. #9
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    I finally found a way to ask the question at Firefox help and got a reply:

    You can set this pref to false on the about:config page to prevent Firefox from playing media files via the HTML5 media player.

    media.play-stand-alone = false
    That solution worked fine. First time I clicked on a link to a MP4, the popup asked me what to do, including the "always do this" box.

  10. #10
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    Ah, interesting. Mine is set to true, but that's good to know. Thanks for following up.

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