Usher wrote:

johnlgalt wrote:Is there a benign file at that site you can link me to so I can test on my Nightly build?

At what site?

I was replying to the post above mine.

now it's completely random. In http://www.emu-france.com it works for one download, but not for other, ON THE SAME SITE...

this one works: http://www.emu-france.com/?wpfb_dl=2666 (it didn't a few hours ago)

this doesn't: http://www.emu-france.com/?wpfb_dl=7341

FDM extension 3.0.6 works perfectly in my "Admin" account on my Windows 10 machine. However, in my "User" account (without admin privileges), the FDM extension isn't catching links in Firefox 57.0.3--even on the download button on the FDM homepage. Also, the "Download with Free Download Manager" context item doesn't appear when I right-click once; I have to right-click twice in order to make it appear, and even then, it doesn't catch the link.

I uninstalled and reinstalled FDM at least a dozen times while trying different things and tried following the FDM FAQ (i.e., deleting all traces of FDM in the registry and Firefox profile files--except my FDM download history and settings files), but that hasn't helped in my "user" account. It must be something in my "user" account, but I have no idea how to fix it. Any ideas on what I could try next?

Thanks!

JimmyG

jvidalw wrote:now it's completely random.

No, it isn't. It depends on file extension. When there is no file name in download link, Firefox may recognize some file types that are internally supported (zip, pdf) and pass other files to FDM (7z, rar…) Download 7341 is zip file that can be open directly in Firefox, but download 2666 is 7z file. If you know that the download is zip or pdf file (or if you don't know file extension at all), use right click to call context menu and select "Download with FDM" option - it works in most cases (also for download 7341).

Note that some redirections via request parameters may lead to external sites that don't allow direct linking - in such cases right click won't work.
Edit: It was also the case of download 7341 - it wasn't (directly) available for some time in the past and the external site used non-standard redirection to homepage rather than just show standard "404 Not found" error message.

JimmyG wrote:It must be something in my "user" account, but I have no idea how to fix it. Any ideas on what I could try next?

Test FDM with a new Windows user account.

Usher wrote:

JimmyG wrote:It must be something in my "user" account, but I have no idea how to fix it. Any ideas on what I could try next?

Test FDM with a new Windows user account.

Thanks for the suggestion! I think the FDM extension would work fine in a new Windows user account, but I don't really want to migrate everything in my current user account to a new one unless it is absolutely necessary. I also tested in Chrome, and the FDM extension exhibits the same behavior in Chrome as it does Firefox.

JimmyG wrote:

Usher wrote:

JimmyG wrote:It must be something in my "user" account, but I have no idea how to fix it. Any ideas on what I could try next?

Test FDM with a new Windows user account.

Thanks for the suggestion! I think the FDM extension would work fine in a new Windows user account, but I don't really want to migrate everything in my current user account to a new one unless it is absolutely necessary. I also tested in Chrome, and the FDM extension exhibits the same behavior in Chrome as it does Firefox.

He is not saying move everything to a new Windows account, he is saying test it in a new account just to see if it is something in your current account causing the issue or not - a new limited user account is easy to set up, the applications are already there, just a matter of making sure FDM is set up correctly in the new Fx profile that is created when you run Firefox for the first time in the new user account.

johnlgalt wrote:

JimmyG wrote:

Usher wrote:Test FDM with a new Windows user account.

Thanks for the suggestion! I think the FDM extension would work fine in a new Windows user account, but I don't really want to migrate everything in my current user account to a new one unless it is absolutely necessary. I also tested in Chrome, and the FDM extension exhibits the same behavior in Chrome as it does Firefox.

He is not saying move everything to a new Windows account, he is saying test it in a new account just to see if it is something in your current account causing the issue or not - a new limited user account is easy to set up, the applications are already there, just a matter of making sure FDM is set up correctly in the new Fx profile that is created when you run Firefox for the first time in the new user account.

Thanks for the reply! I understood Usher asked me to just to test. I just thought the FDM extension would work in the new limited account and then someone might advise, "Well, your old limited account is b0rked. Use your new limited account from now on...", which would necessitate moving all my stuff for just the minor inconvenience of the FDM extension not working.

To satisfy my curiosity, I created a new limited account. FDM extension 3.0.6 / 2.1.42 doesn't work in the new limited account either, in Firefox or Chrome.

So I have Limited Account 1, Limited Account 2, and Admin Account.

In all three accounts, right-clicking once does not make "Download with Free Download Manager" appear. If I right-click again after the first right-click, then "Download with Free Download Manager" appears. That happens in both Firefox and Chrome. The "Download with Free Download Manager" context item catches links in the Admin account, but does nothing in both limited accounts.

In both limited accounts, left-clicking does not catch links, in either Firefox or Chrome. Left-clicking catches links in my Admin account. Also, when I say "links", I mean just the FDM download button on the FDM homepage. I figure that FDM should have no problems catching that link.

Any other suggestions? I was hoping an FDM user or a FDM developer might have seen this scenario before, but maybe I have to be the guinea pig!

JimmyG wrote:To satisfy my curiosity, I created a new limited account. FDM extension 3.0.6 / 2.1.42 doesn't work in the new limited account either, in Firefox or Chrome.

I think that full integration will be possible, when you run and configure FDM as Administrator. It seems to be a standard system behaviour if applications are installed for all users. After configuration close FDM, run it again as limited user and report how it works. Note that both browser and FDM MUST be run as the same user.

You can also test reverse action - install FDM extension using your browser. Close FDM, then:
* Run Firefox, open Add-ons on Extensions tab, click sprocket wheel button, select "Install add-on from file…" and install extension.xpi from Firefox subfolder of your FDM installation.
* Run Chrome, open Chrome Web Store, find FDM extension and install it.
Report how integration works in this case, please.

JimmyG wrote:

johnlgalt wrote:

JimmyG wrote:
Thanks for the suggestion! I think the FDM extension would work fine in a new Windows user account, but I don't really want to migrate everything in my current user account to a new one unless it is absolutely necessary. I also tested in Chrome, and the FDM extension exhibits the same behavior in Chrome as it does Firefox.

He is not saying move everything to a new Windows account, he is saying test it in a new account just to see if it is something in your current account causing the issue or not - a new limited user account is easy to set up, the applications are already there, just a matter of making sure FDM is set up correctly in the new Fx profile that is created when you run Firefox for the first time in the new user account.

Thanks for the reply! I understood Usher asked me to just to test. I just thought the FDM extension would work in the new limited account and then someone might advise, "Well, your old limited account is b0rked. Use your new limited account from now on...", which would necessitate moving all my stuff for just the minor inconvenience of the FDM extension not working.

To satisfy my curiosity, I created a new limited account. FDM extension 3.0.6 / 2.1.42 doesn't work in the new limited account either, in Firefox or Chrome.

So I have Limited Account 1, Limited Account 2, and Admin Account.

In all three accounts, right-clicking once does not make "Download with Free Download Manager" appear. If I right-click again after the first right-click, then "Download with Free Download Manager" appears. That happens in both Firefox and Chrome. The "Download with Free Download Manager" context item catches links in the Admin account, but does nothing in both limited accounts.

In both limited accounts, left-clicking does not catch links, in either Firefox or Chrome. Left-clicking catches links in my Admin account. Also, when I say "links", I mean just the FDM download button on the FDM homepage. I figure that FDM should have no problems catching that link.

Any other suggestions? I was hoping an FDM user or a FDM developer might have seen this scenario before, but maybe I have to be the guinea pig!

In addition to what Usher suggested, I'm curious if you have any aggressive anti-malware programs or an anti-keylogger running - the inability of FDM to show in the context menu until you call it twice is very weird, particularly on both the admin account as well as the fresh limited user account with a brand new Fx profile with nothing but FDM installed.

Something has to give here - either this behavior you describe is occurring everywhere, at which point I have to believe something else on your system is interfering with the context menu, or it only occurs at a few very specific sites, which is not the behavior you've described, but would explain why the context menu is being altered - because of those specific websites.

Running Windows 10 latest Insider Preview build (17063), Firefox Nightly builds (updated daily), and FDM x64 (latest version) and I have very few problems with the FDM context menu item showing when right clicking only once - except on very specific sites.

Thanks for the replies!

My earlier troubleshooting attempts involved installing FDM "Run as administrator" in my User account on several different occasions, but that didn't help. Launching FDM "Run as administrator" in my User account doesn't help either. I tried installing the 3.0.6 extension via the "Install Add-on from File..." option in Firefox and the 2.1.42 extension via the Chrome Web Store, but that didn't help.

I use Avira Anti-Virus and don't have tons of anti-malware programs running. FDM worked perfectly until Firefox 57 and the FDM 3.0.3-3.0.6 extensions. I rarely use Chrome, so I don't know when the FDM extension in Chrome started acting up though.

This morning, I uninstalled FDM and reinstalled it, this time, making sure to right-click and choose "Run as administrator" to launch the installer in my Admin account. I'm not sure if I did that the last time I installed FDM, but I believe I get prompted by the same Windows User Account Control prompt regardless of whether I or not launch an installer with right-click "Run as administrator". I'm not sure if that helped or if it was something else I did, but now in my Admin account, one right-click brings up the "Download with Free Download Manager" context item as it should.

But I still need two right-clicks in my limited User accounts to bring up the FDM context item (and it still doesn't catch the link). I should clarify what I mean by "two right-clicks".

Example 1: My first click is a right-click on a link. The FDM context item should appear, but it doesn't. Then if I right-click again on the same link or any other link, then the FDM context item appears.

Example 2: My first click is a right-click on whitespace. This should not bring up the FDM context item because there is no link. Then if I right-click on a valid link, the FDM context item appears.

I can also right-click on a link once (no FDM context item), right-click on whitespace five times, left-click on a download link (to bring up the browser's download prompt), cancel the download, and then right-click on any link and the FDM context item appears. However, left-clicking on a non-link (e.g., some whitespace) "breaks the chain" and I need two right-clicks again to make the FDM context item re-appear. This behaviour happens everywhere I've tested, even on the FDM website.

Here are some other tests I did.

In both User accounts, "Run as administrator" Firefox and Chrome, FDM off. Left-click catches link. Right-click (once) brings up FDM context item and catches link. The FDM is the Admin copy (with history and settings as if I logged into my Admin account and launched FDM).

In both User accounts, "normal" Firefox and Chrome, "Run as administrator" FDM. Left-click does not catch link. Right-click (twice) does not catch link. The FDM is the User copy (with history and settings as if I launched FDM normally in my User account) even though I ran FDM as Administrator.

In both User accounts, "Run as administrator" Firefox and Chrome, "Run as administrator" FDM. Right-click (once) brings up FDM context item, opens the FDM main window (instead of catching the link), and raises a pop-up error after I close the FDM main window: "Free Download Manager is not properly installed! Please reinstall Free Download Manager. If you want to download with your browser please disable FDM extension in it. Error code: 80080005." The FDM is the User copy (with history and settings as if I launched FDM in my User account) even though I ran it as Administrator. Left-click raises the same error.

All this methodical testing is driving me nuts--it's kind of like designing and going through test cases for a programming project at work! LOL!

It seems launching my browser with the "Run as administrator" option "works", but it's the same as surfing the Internet in my Admin account--which I don't really want to do.

Sorry for the long post, but I want to be thorough!

goddamn extension keeps failing!!!
yesterday, it just stopped working, I didn't do anything and it just stopped working. no clicks catched, no "download with fdm" on context menu, nothing. had to uninstall it, reinstall it, enable it, disable it, enable/disable monitorign in FDM severa tiems until it finally worked again.
This has happened way too many times, it's getting really annoying!!!

it stopped working AGAIN!!!! and i didn't do ANYTHING. it just stopped working!
what the hell is going on??????

edit:
This is gettig ridiculous!!! I just right-clicked on a link several times, until the option "download with fdm" appeared (of course, clicking it didn't work). then I IMMEDIATELY right clicked again and the option disappeared!!!! yes, just like that!!!!
There is something VERY WRONG with this extension!

JimmyG wrote:Thanks for the replies!

My earlier troubleshooting attempts involved installing FDM "Run as administrator" in my User account on several different occasions, but that didn't help. Launching FDM "Run as administrator" in my User account doesn't help either. I tried installing the 3.0.6 extension via the "Install Add-on from File..." option in Firefox and the 2.1.42 extension via the Chrome Web Store, but that didn't help.

I use Avira Anti-Virus and don't have tons of anti-malware programs running. FDM worked perfectly until Firefox 57 and the FDM 3.0.3-3.0.6 extensions. I rarely use Chrome, so I don't know when the FDM extension in Chrome started acting up though.

This morning, I uninstalled FDM and reinstalled it, this time, making sure to right-click and choose "Run as administrator" to launch the installer in my Admin account. I'm not sure if I did that the last time I installed FDM, but I believe I get prompted by the same Windows User Account Control prompt regardless of whether I or not launch an installer with right-click "Run as administrator". I'm not sure if that helped or if it was something else I did, but now in my Admin account, one right-click brings up the "Download with Free Download Manager" context item as it should.

But I still need two right-clicks in my limited User accounts to bring up the FDM context item (and it still doesn't catch the link). I should clarify what I mean by "two right-clicks".

Example 1: My first click is a right-click on a link. The FDM context item should appear, but it doesn't. Then if I right-click again on the same link or any other link, then the FDM context item appears.

Example 2: My first click is a right-click on whitespace. This should not bring up the FDM context item because there is no link. Then if I right-click on a valid link, the FDM context item appears.

I can also right-click on a link once (no FDM context item), right-click on whitespace five times, left-click on a download link (to bring up the browser's download prompt), cancel the download, and then right-click on any link and the FDM context item appears. However, left-clicking on a non-link (e.g., some whitespace) "breaks the chain" and I need two right-clicks again to make the FDM context item re-appear. This behaviour happens everywhere I've tested, even on the FDM website.

Here are some other tests I did.

In both User accounts, "Run as administrator" Firefox and Chrome, FDM off. Left-click catches link. Right-click (once) brings up FDM context item and catches link. The FDM is the Admin copy (with history and settings as if I logged into my Admin account and launched FDM).

In both User accounts, "normal" Firefox and Chrome, "Run as administrator" FDM. Left-click does not catch link. Right-click (twice) does not catch link. The FDM is the User copy (with history and settings as if I launched FDM normally in my User account) even though I ran FDM as Administrator.

In both User accounts, "Run as administrator" Firefox and Chrome, "Run as administrator" FDM. Right-click (once) brings up FDM context item, opens the FDM main window (instead of catching the link), and raises a pop-up error after I close the FDM main window: "Free Download Manager is not properly installed! Please reinstall Free Download Manager. If you want to download with your browser please disable FDM extension in it. Error code: 80080005." The FDM is the User copy (with history and settings as if I launched FDM in my User account) even though I ran it as Administrator. Left-click raises the same error.

All this methodical testing is driving me nuts--it's kind of like designing and going through test cases for a programming project at work! LOL!

It seems launching my browser with the "Run as administrator" option "works", but it's the same as surfing the Internet in my Admin account--which I don't really want to do.

Sorry for the long post, but I want to be thorough!

No, long posts with detailed explanations are always good. Trust me, you can never supply too much information or do too much testing.

It looks like you've covered all your bases. I have to ask a couple of things really quickly:

1) You are using different Fx profiles for each of the logins, correct? So Admin account has one profile, and each limited user account has its own profile, right?

2) Are these the same profiles that you were using prior to Firefox 57's release? If so, what happens if you use brand new profiles in all three installations?

Wrt the last two issues about it disappearing incessantly:

2) What happens if you remove Avira? (at least temporarily, I'm not advocating running without an AV for any real length of time, of course)

Also, are you fixated on using Firefox 57? You could always revert to the latest Extended Service Release (Firefos ESR, see https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/ ) and then try your tests again.

FWIW: I'm running Windows 10 x64 Pro (with Insider Preview builds installed on top, currently at IP build 17063) and Firefox Nightly builds (currently 59.0a1 (2018-01-01) (64-bit)) with a brand new profile that I set up when Firefox Nightly first rolled out the 57.0 a1 builds (well before Fx 57 was released publicly, and thus with none of my legacy addons in Firefox that stopped working in 57+) and I am not having the issues that you describe with the context menu missing the Download with FDM, AFAICT - but I will do some more testing. Also, I do not have a limited user account to test that, either, but if you're willing to allow me some time, I can try it on my end (again with a clean profile for that limited user as well).

Please reply, and I understand your frustrations, but keeping a cool head will make things go a lot easier.

johnlgalt wrote:1) You are using different Fx profiles for each of the logins, correct? So Admin account has one profile, and each limited user account has its own profile, right?

Yes. Each of my Windows accounts has a separate Firefox profile.

johnlgalt wrote:2) Are these the same profiles that you were using prior to Firefox 57's release? If so, what happens if you use brand new profiles in all three installations?

Yes, my User Account 1 and Admin Account have always used the same (separate per account) profiles ever since I installed Firefox years ago. Creating a new Firefox profile in my User Account 1 didn't help. I created a new Windows limited acount a few days ago, so it had a fresh Firefox profile, but it didn't help. I haven't tried creating a new Firefox profile in my Admin account because FDM works perfectly there.

johnlgalt wrote:Wrt the last two issues about it disappearing incessantly:

2) What happens if you remove Avira? (at least temporarily, I'm not advocating running without an AV for any real length of time, of course)

I disabled Avira in my User Account 1 and it still needs "two" right-clicks for the FDM context item to appear. Even with Avira enabled, one right-click makes the FDM context item appear in my Admin account.

johnlgalt wrote:Also, are you fixated on using Firefox 57? You could always revert to the latest Extended Service Release (Firefos ESR, see https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/ ) and then try your tests again.

I'm not fixated on using Firefox 57, but I'm fine with Firefox 57 and I don't want to go through the trouble of installing Firefox ESR, setting up everything, and possibly losing my browsing history. If I was having major problems with Firefox 57 or FDM 3.9.7, then I would be more willing to install Firefox ESR, but everything is fine except the FDM extension is not catching links in my limited accounts. Chrome would be my second browser choice, but its FDM extension seems to exhibit the same behavior as in Firefox.

johnlgalt wrote:FWIW: I'm running Windows 10 x64 Pro (with Insider Preview builds installed on top, currently at IP build 17063) and Firefox Nightly builds (currently 59.0a1 (2018-01-01) (64-bit)) with a brand new profile that I set up when Firefox Nightly first rolled out the 57.0 a1 builds (well before Fx 57 was released publicly, and thus with none of my legacy addons in Firefox that stopped working in 57+) and I am not having the issues that you describe with the context menu missing the Download with FDM, AFAICT - but I will do some more testing. Also, I do not have a limited user account to test that, either, but if you're willing to allow me some time, I can try it on my end (again with a clean profile for that limited user as well).

Please reply, and I understand your frustrations, but keeping a cool head will make things go a lot easier.

I'm running Windows 10 Pro 64-bit Version 1703 Build 15063.786. Based on my tests, it seems to me that the FDM extension might have issues with Windows limited accounts. However, nobody else seems to have issues with the FDM extension in limited accounts.

I'm not frustrated at all; it's just a quirk--probably with my computer--that's a little annoying. I can almost always work around it by copying the download URL as a new download in FDM.

I'll probably assemble my next computer later this year when the Cannonlake CPUs come out (hopefully) and I'll re-install everything from scratch.