Prevent IE from Auto opening files

[kuramo]

How do I prevent IE6 from auto opening files (.asf)when I click the d/l link. Why is it not prompting me to save the file?

In some instances I know you can right click on the link and then do a "save target as" but not when downloading an attachment from Hotmail. I have seen this question before but no replies that fix the iussue.

thanks

 

[reghakr]

kuramo,

Try going to View>Folder Options, click the File Types tab, scroll to Advanced Straeming Format File, click the Edit button and check the "confirm open after download" box. Do the same for Advanced Srtreaming Redirector File.

reghakr

 

[kuramo]

reghakr,

Thanks for your reply, I did so for .asf and .asx type files but the problem still exists. Every time I go to a web page and click on the download link the browser opens the media player....

kuramo

 

[reghakr]

kuramo,

If you can't right-click and choose Save As..., then they don't want you to be able to save the file (copyright issues). Only one thing to suggest:

Certain sound cards (my Sould Blaster Live Value, for example) have a setting called "What you hear". It allows you to save streaming audio as a .wav file. You will then need to conmvert it because of the size.

To see if you may have this setting, right-click on the speaker icon in the tray and choose Open Volume Control. Click Options>Properties, then click the Recording radio button and scroll through the list. Put a checkmark in the box for it to appear.

reghakr

 

[kquest]

I think the previous reply is probably much more likely on target to the situation than my reply will be. Nevertheless there is one item that could be worth a quick glance. It is this location in the registry.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\Accepted Documents

I've had use for that registry location to edit out when sneaky creatures like MS Word try to sneak themselves in there; so I keep an eye on it. For me personally, there is very little, filetypes for MSIE to auto run, that I allow there.

That location in the reg, I am basing it on what I have in my w98se config, but I expect it is the same for 2000 & XP (?).

 

[kuramo]

kquesT,

I checked, I have MS word in there, will take it out, but looks like XL and PPT aswell, but that's about it.

Also I disagree with reghakr, w.r.t the copy right issue, it sounds valid (and is probably true for some websites), but why when I download an .asf attachment from Hotmail (my real issue), the browser starts to play the clip.

To confuse the issue further, when I do this from the office - Win2000 and IE6, it works ok and as expected, but from home - Win XP and IE6, it is then that I have this problem.

 

[kquest]

You know, if it were a site other than Hotmail, I'd add it to the Restricted Sites Zone, so that it is prevented from auto-doing a thing. But since it is Hotmail, its functionality depends on it being allowed to run some scripting. The problem still must have something to do with the scripting command it is doing for those files. Next time you're there, it could be informative to do a View Source and see what command it is invoking for your click on those file links. It may even turn out that you can find some one to turn off part of Hotmail's level of permission and still have the rest of the site work. Configure a special Security Zone for it... But it'd take a lot of probing and time, trying to work it out that way. And myself, not a Hotmail user, cannot offer any bits of info about what kinds of scripts Hotmail likes to run.

About the autoplay of multimedia in general, there is another MSIE setting to consider. Accessed from the MSIE
menu bar -

_Tools > Internet _Options > "Advanced" Tab.
Multimedia:
[x]play animations [x]play sounds [x]play videos

You could in theory put a pair of .reg files on your favorites or links menus to toggle on and off those multimedia autoplay settings. On my w98 system, the reg files that work are below. On an NT+ system, the first line I think is REGEDIT 5, and the registry key itself, be best to confirm that it's at the same location.


--------------MULTIMEDIA-AUTOPLAY-ON.REG-----------------
REGEDIT4

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main]
"Play_Animations"="yes"
"Play_Background_Sounds"="yes"
"Display Inline Videos"="yes"
--------------------------------------------------------

-----------MULTIMEDIA-AUTOPLAY-OFF.REG------------------
REGEDIT4

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main]
"Play_Animations"="no"
"Play_Background_Sounds"="no"
"Display Inline Videos"="no"
--------------------------------------------------------

I think that approach would work. Although it is not the most desirable. Having to remember to click the .reg files on and off each time you're at Hotmail. This multimedia settings here unfortunately are global; I can't see that it is one of the things where you can assign sites to specific security zones.

Another possible approach? A different browser, specifically for visiting Hotmail. Opera maybe. Or one that you should experiment with for this: OffbyOne.com. The OB1 browser has multimedia toggles directly on the menu bar.

I use OB1 myself anytime I visit msdn.microsoft.com, since it is the only browser on my machine that makes that site functional and easy to read.

So those are the workarounds that I can think of. As to the heart and truth of the matter, it sounds at this time like it has something to do with the kind of scripting Hotmail is using...something you might examine with a view source on those *.asf links.

But what to do about it, once you have some of that info, well I don't know. I'm thinking of all the time I've spent battling the site I was mentioning -- msdn.microsoft.com --with its not rendering things in a civilized matter....and I cannot say that I even gained any real knowledge. Only a workaround (using a non-MSFT browser for that MSFT website).

Best,

 

[kquest]

[update]

Kuramo,

I think I ought to delete my tangent into the reg settings for MSIE multimedia options. I use IE5.5 and it is now that it is occurring to me now that your situation very likely has to do with something specific to the IE6.0: the Media Bar.

About turning off the autoplay of media content:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/using/howto/customizing/mediabar.asp

More about autoplay preferences, as well as some as some types of html that a site can use to make the media files play automatically, when the user is running IE6:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/workshop/author/behaviors/reference/mediabar_ovw.asp#inc_behavior

So I'm wondering, that if you poked around with these prefs with the media bar/player, would the Hotmail site then behave long enough to let you download your attatchments ?

Best,