Duplicate downloads

[Andrey]

Is there a setting to disable downloading a video twice?

I download a lot of videos and often download them again by accident.

The default setting downloads the duplicate and just names it ..."-1"

If there is no feature to turn this off, how do we suggest it?

Thank you

[Wild Willy]

How do you mean "by accident?" Do you mean a few hours later or the next day? If you
download a video, you should get what you can see in the first 3 images I've attached.
But that's if you go look during the same browser session. Once you close the browser,
all of this is forgotten & I suppose you could download the file again. But then, you
ought to get the message you can see in the 4th image. But that assumes you try to
download into the same directory using the same file name, both of which can be changed.
If you are really determined, you can get a second copy of the same video in 2 different
places on your system. But I would have to say you have to really be distracted & not
paying attention. I think VDH has enough safeguards built in to prevent you from
downloading something twice.

[Andrey]

Thanks for your reply.

It's a case of a new browser session sometime later.

If I could get the warning prompt in your image #4 that would totally fix the problem for me, but I don't get that prompt.

It just automatically adds a "-1" to the end of the filename and downloads another copy.

Any idea how I could get that #4 overwrite prompt please?

[Wild Willy]

Are you sure you closed all browser windows? If your browser is still open & you attempt
to download again from the same web page, VDH adds a -1 to the proposed file name. It's
-2, -3. -4, etc. on each succeeding attempt. That is also a clue that you are trying to
download something for a second (or more) time. It is also something VDH does if you
download something from a page & then try to download a different variant of the same
object or a different object off the same page. But in my experience, if you close all
browser windows, then open a new session & go back to the same page, your first attempt
to download from the page in the new session will not have the -1. But if you choose the
same directory, which is something you have to do, and then choose the same file name,
something else you have to do, then VDH will discover that there is already a file by
that name in that directory & give you that prompt about overwriting. So, I ask again,
are you sure you closed all browser windows?

[Andrey]

Yes, definitely closed all browser windows.
No, if browser was still open, it wouldn't let me re-download because download button would change to play button.
What happens instead, is in new session, I get download icon and it lets me download again.
During download keeps original file name and during saving adds suffix due to file name conflict.
I wish it gave me overwrite prompt instead but it doesn't.
Am close to giving up.

[Wild Willy]

I think I'm beginning to suspect something. You say you can't download something again
since the download button changes to a play button. But it's not true that you can't
download it again. If you just click on the variant, then VDH performs the default
action. But even when the button changes from download to play, you can still download
it again. Look carefully at my images again. Instead of just clicking on the variant,
hover the mouse over the right end of the variant. An arrow appears. I show that in the
images I posted above. If you click that arrow, you can indeed download the same variant
again, although as I pointed out above, it would require that you ignore the signals VDH
throws at you to do that. Maybe you should change your default action. I'm going to
guess that your default action is Quick Download. Try changing it Download without the
Quick. If you look at my images, you'll see a checkbox at the bottom of the VDH menu in
my image #3 above, Check the box & then select Download. From that point on, when you
just click on a variant instead of hovering the mouse on the right & clicking the arrow,
it will launch the Download action instead of the Quick Download. See what difference
that makes. The hover/click combination is always available no matter what your default
action may be, so setting a default action doesn't preclude you doing any of the other
functions. It also doesn't preclude you selecting a different default action. How close
are my guesses?

[Andrey]

Feels like we might have different versions of Download Helper maybe. I got 7.6.0 for Firefox 91.

Definitely can't download a second time within same session because download buttons disappear even on the right side menu. In your screenshot you have both play and download buttons after download, I just have play.

But that's probably not too relevant.

Tried the download function for new session. Yes, for duplicates I can now see the "-#" suffix before I save it, which helps, thank you. This saving prompt is slower though. Would have preferred how it works for you in your first post - Quickdownload, and if file name conflicts, then overwrite prompt. Still, this is something.