[Tip] Restore Missing “Downloads” Button on Firefox Toolbar

UPDATE: Check out following updated tutorial to learn about new method to always show “Downloads” button in Firefox toolbar:

[Tip] How to Always Show “Downloads” Button in Mozilla Firefox Toolbar

As a part of the new “Photon UI” in Firefox newer versions, Mozilla is adding/removing several features and UI elements. You can learn more about these changes in our exclusive Firefox Nightly Updates topic.

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Mozilla has removed the search box from the toolbar which can be added back using a built-in option present in Preferences page as mentioned here. Mozilla has also redesigned Preferences page and the main Firefox menu which can be reverted to the classic look using following tutorials:

Now Mozilla has also removed the “Downloads” button from Firefox toolbar. Previously the “Downloads” button was always visible on the toolbar but now it only appears on the toolbar when the browser is downloading something, otherwise it remains hidden.

Downloads_Button_Mozilla_Firefox_Toolbar.png

Today in this tutorial, we’ll tell you how to restore the “Downloads” button on Firefox toolbar and force it to always show on the toolbar.

Actually Mozilla has applied a new “Auto-Hide” attribute to the “Downloads” button so it remains hidden until a new download begins in the browser. But with the help of this tutorial, we can disable the “Downloads” button’s auto-hidden feature and force Firefox to display “Downloads” button all the time.

To add the “Downloads” button back to Firefox toolbar, follow these simple steps:

METHOD 1: Using Toolbar Customization Window

1. Right-click on the toolbar or tab bar and select “Customize” option. It’ll open toolbar customize window. You can also select the customize option from Firefox main menu.

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2. Now you’ll notice that the “Downloads” button is already present in Firefox toolbar. Click on the “Downloads” button and you’ll get an “Auto-hide” pop-up menu. This menu contains a checkbox which is set to enabled by default.

Remove_Auto_Hide_Downloads_Button_Mozilla_Firefox_Toolbar.png

3. Uncheck the “Auto-hide” checkbox and click on “Done” button.

That’s it. Now the “Downloads” button will always remain visible on Firefox toolbar.

Thanks to our reader “Ahmad” for sharing this tip…

METHOD 2: Using About:Config Page

1. Open Mozilla Firefox and type about:config in the addressbar and press Enter. It’ll show you a warning message, click on “Accept the Risk and Continue” button. It’ll open Firefox’s hidden secret advanced configuration page i.e. about:config page.

2. Now type autohidebutton in Search filter box and look for following preference in the window:

browser.download.autohideButton

The preference value is set to true by default, which means the “Downloads” button is disabled and not displayed in Firefox toolbar.

3. To enable and always show “Downloads” button in toolbar, double-click on browser.download.autohideButton preference and set it to false. Alternatively, you can click on the Toggle icon given next to the preference name.

Always_Show_Downloads_Button_Mozilla_Firefox_Toolbar.png

That’s it. It’ll immediately show missing “Downloads” button in Firefox toolbar.

Thanks to our reader “MoGrace2u” for sharing this tip…

Also Check:

[Tip] How to Remove Firefox Account (Sync) Icon from Toolbar

Published in: Mozilla Firefox

About the author: Vishal Gupta (also known as VG) has been awarded with Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) award. He holds Masters degree in Computer Applications (MCA). He has written several tech articles for popular newspapers and magazines and has also appeared in tech shows on various TV channels.

Comments

NOTE: Older comments have been removed to reduce database overhead.

  1. Many thanks. I had been tearing my hair out trying to find current downloads. This worked beautifully.

  2. Actually on Win10 Pro you have to go to about:config to make this change.
    Search for ‘download’ and look for the autohide setting – toggle to false

  3. Thanks. about:config autohide must be disabled by default, since in 89.0 we can’t find it in customise toolbar.

  4. On FF99.0.1 -64 bit, this dumb program keeps checking for updates about every 2 seconds!!! No matter how many places we turn it OFF, it still is doing this. May have to dump this, because it seems to have NO WAY to actually stop it! We have a sound file play whenever a program opens, so we hear every few seconds the effort by FF to check for updates. We click on HELP and can see the little icon circling around, then we get a green checkmark.

    Our program is UP TO DATE!! Why do you build this sort of aggravation into FF??? GRRRR!

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