Limited options in Chrome when clicking links

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OldGeek

133 posts

Master Geek

Topic # 111635 9-Nov-2012 17:49
Whenever I clink on a link to a file (such as an exe or pdf file etc, Chrome will pop up a dialog with the only option being to SAVE or Cancel - no RUN or OPEN option. I then have to download the file and open/run it separately. Looking in Chrome options I cant find anything likley to affect this. Is there anything I can do to get this functionality? TIA.

mjb

902 posts

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Reply # 714851 9-Nov-2012 17:54
You save it, and then click the file on the download bar at the bottom of the page to open/run it when the download completes. another click will cancel the open/run (but not stop the download). contentsofsignaturemaysettleduringshipping

OldGeek

133 posts

Master Geek

Reply # 715102 10-Nov-2012 12:10
mjb: You save it, and then click the file on the download bar at the bottom of the page to open/run it when the download completes. another click will cancel the open/run (but not stop the download). To do this I have to click SAVE, selection a location for the file, wait for the download to complete then OPEN. Too many steps - why cant I just RUN to start with?

JamesL

336 posts

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Reply # 715105 10-Nov-2012 12:16
Under settings make sure the option "Ask where to save each file before downloading" is unticked Then when you download a file you can set the default action to take

OldGeek

133 posts

Master Geek

Reply # 715125 10-Nov-2012 13:29
Again this is not the solution - I dont want to download the file - I just want to run it.

farcus

580 posts

Ultimate Geek

Reply # 715143 10-Nov-2012 14:09
you do realise that in other browsers when you select to run something instead of save that you are still downloading it. The difference is that browsers like firefox save it to a tmp folder before running it. Chrome doesn't have this option but as I understand it there is a longstanding bug report on it.

freitasm

BDFL
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Reply # 715157 10-Nov-2012 14:33
OldGeek: Again this is not the solution - I dont want to download the file - I just want to run it. The file is *ALWAYS* downloaded. In some browser if you click RUN instead of Save it just downloads the whole thing to a temporary location. There is no way to run a file that is not in your computer. Mauricio Freitas (Geekzone Admin, Devil's Advocate, my blog, technology disclosure, my tweets, Web Performance Optimization) Geekzone Price comparison \| Amazon Kindle order page \| How to get the best out of Geekzone \| New Zealand IT Jobs \| Geekzone News \| Jinglebugs

JamesL

336 posts

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Reply # 715239 10-Nov-2012 17:25
As above, the file doesn't run from the destination, it still downloads locally albeit into a temp folder.

farcus

580 posts

Ultimate Geek

Reply # 715242 10-Nov-2012 17:30
oh, Chrome does come with a built in pdf viewer that can be enabled to avoid the save dialogue Check the instructions here on how to enable it http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/how-enable-built-pdf-viewer-google-chrome.htm

JamesL

336 posts

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Reply # 715265 10-Nov-2012 18:38
Sorry, I mean run from source not destination :D

OldGeek

133 posts

Master Geek

Reply # 715315 10-Nov-2012 21:40
Many thanks to all those who have responded. While I understand that running any program requires it to be downloaded first, the fact remains that chrome does not do this as seamlessly as other browsers. I also have an unrelated problem with chrome repeatedly freezing (workaraound is to open or use another tab). The combination of both problems is leading me to go back to IE.

MurrayM

524 posts

Ultimate Geek

Reply # 715829 12-Nov-2012 13:34
While we're talking about Chrome and downloading, one thing I do often is saving images from websites. My main browser is Opera and using this I can right-click an image and choose Save Image from the right-click image, and the image is saved. On Chrome when I do this the image is saved but also added to the download bar, thus causing me to have to remove it. Is there any way I can just save the image without it being added to the download bar?