Feature request: drag file from HTTP Downloader to another window (copy/move)

[redactedscribe]

There's a feature named "Set date and time of file from server response" which is rather nice (enabled by default). However it does create the less than convenient issue of trying to locate the file (say in a Downloads folder) due to being unable to sort File Explorer by the modified or created date column and quickly seeing the file at the top.

Using the "Open Directory" context menu option doesn't help much because the file in question isn't automatically highlighted / scrolled to, so once again you must manually locate the file. I think some programs do this when opening a file in File Explorer.

The outlined issues could possibly have the following solutions:

• Set date and time for: [ ] Modified [ ] Created ([ ] Accessed?), so one could keep the modified date, but let the OS set the created date.
• When opening in File Explorer, highlight the file (which should scroll to it I think), but this may not work for other file managers, so not a complete solution.

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All of this lead me to thinking of a feature request: It'd be convenient if there were a way to drag-and-drop from HTTP Downloader to another window, say File Explorer, and a copy of the file be made. In my case, I'd appreciate if the option could be augmented so that HTTP Downloader would attempt to move the file instead of copy it. Benefits:

• No need to locate the folder the item was downloaded to and move it (quite a repetitive task): just drag-and-drop from HTTP Downloader to your final destination.
• Would be faster than using the Add URL(s) window to navigate to the destination path and set it for each new task, mainly due to often having the destination already open in File Explorer.
  • The Firefox extension doesn't have a way to interactively navigate to a path when setting the download directory (Advanced tab), so you must paste the path each time.

If a file was moved via drag-and-drop, I assume context option "Remove and Delete" would not affect the moved item, but attempt to delete the file from its original download location.

If this were implemented, it may be convenient to limit the dragging and dropping activation to the Filename column. Although, a more flexible approach would be to disallow dragging and dropping if the drag is started in the "#" column (so that you could initiate box selection without having to scroll to a blank area), but allow drag-and-dropping for all other columns. The latter approach would be better say if you're horizontally scrolled to compare file timestamps and want to initiate a drag from there (Filename column may be out of view).

Potential issues:

• If a drag-and-drop is sent to a window, say a media player, what would happen? Would it work like a drag-and-drop from File Explorer to the media library (e.g. add to the playlist), or would it attempt to do some kind of actual copy or move? I'd just need it to work for file manager windows, but ideally it'd work like File Explorer drag and drops.

Thanks for your consideration!

[erickutcher]

The Open Directory command should work properly. It'll open a folder and highlight the appropriate file. Try it without using XYplorer.

I could have the program not set the Last Accessed time, but it wouldn't make much sense since it would be a later date than the creation and modified times. I think the best compromised would be to just disable the option in the Advanced options. Unless you're mirroring a site's files, the original time doesn't serve much of a purpose.

If you have "Override browser's download manager" in the extension's options, then it'll download the file to Firefox's default download location. And if you have Firefox set to "Always ask you where to save files", then the extension will use the folder you select when Firefox's Save As dialog comes up.

As far as dragging things out of the program, I'm probably going to avoid that because I don't want to turn this into a file manager.

[redactedscribe]

The Open Directory command should work properly. It'll open a folder and highlight the appropriate file. Try it without using XYplorer.

I'll have to investigate further.

I could have the program not set the Last Accessed time

I think people interested in the server date and times would likely want timestamps as they are for all three. As you suggest, disabling the option is probably the best compromise, but in that case, I'd like to suggest making the "Set date and time..." feature more accessible.

If you have "Override browser's download manager" in the extension's options, then it'll download the file to Firefox's default download location. And if you have Firefox set to "Always ask you where to save files", then the extension will use the folder you select when Firefox's Save As dialog comes up.

I didn't think about since I've had a default download location set for a long time. The issue is, I'm trying to reduce the number of steps/clicks needed doing repetitive download tasks, and your suggestion means I'd now be having to provide the location (navigate / copy-paste path from File Explorer) for the first download (when I already likely have the location open in File Explorer due to related work). Each subsequent download would also need confirming of the save location (it's memorised, but still needs OKing). It's more involved than having a default location set: I just drag-and-drop links/images/etc to the Firefox Downloads button (in some cases, avoids the small Firefox pop-up and its dopey OK button that would appear) and HTTP Downloader downloads them.

Though you're against duplicating some functionality that a file manager is capable of, dragging and dropping from HTTP Downloader would mean no need to open the Downloads directory, no cutting and pasting, and no need to close the no longer needed Downloads directory, small tasks but I end up doing them a lot. A slightly less convenient but still usable solution could be a Move context menu option, but this again requires navigation or providing a path; hence drag-and-drop 🙏

These are all the arguments I've got, so if you're still against it, then I'll have to live with how things are. Life is better with HTTP Downloader, than without, so it's still better than nothing 🙂