Article Download Annoyance - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Article Download Annoyance

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
AvonRekaes
Jun 28, 2008 14:38:23 I am running Firefox 2.0.0.14 and whenever I try to right-click>save-as a Dungeon or Dragon article, it only lets me download "download.asp". In order for me to actually get the article on my computer, I have to left-click the link, wait for it to open in a Firefox tab, and then select "save a copy" from the Acrobat toolbar in that tab.

Please fix this so that right-click>save-as lets me download the actual article.
#2
hellmute
Jun 28, 2008 23:20:40 Upgrade firefox.

How exactly and from where are you trying to save articles?

From the archive, from the article itself? the PDF link?
#3
mudbunny
Jul 02, 2008 23:15:11 I can reproduce the error.

It appears that the OP is trying to save the articles directly from the link in the table of contents.

Unfortunately, the link in the table of contents doesn't go directly to the .pdf file. It goes to a .html page that has the .pdf link on it.

However, havingthe option to directly download the .pdf from the Table of COntents page is a good idea. I will put it in the suggestions thread.
#4
hellmute
Jul 03, 2008 8:41:57 I keep hearing talk of the TOC, but have never seen one. Maybe it is like the current editorial for 365 and just hidden from me.
#5
mudbunny
Jul 03, 2008 9:57:21 When you are at the D&D RPG Home Page, if you click on one of the magazine buttons, you get to a new page that has a short list of items (Table of Contents, Editorial, Features, Columns, Message Boards, Issue Archive) below it.

Click on Table of Contents, and it brings up a nice list of the ToC of the current issue.
#6
hellmute
Jul 03, 2008 11:07:30 :embarrass I just always click the Archives link to see the latest additions with the red NEW beside them. Much quicker that each of the heading tabs. That or use the RSS feed....

That explains why I never saw it.

#7
eleran
Jul 03, 2008 11:38:22 Also take note that both Dragon & Dungeon now are downloadable as entire complete issues. I have started my first ever Dragon magazine collection
#8
Paulon
Jul 09, 2008 20:17:44 I'm suffering the same problem as the OP, using the same Firefox version. I'm not upgrading to v3 until they deal with some more of the issues. Another 6 months or so should do it.
What I'm doing is right-clicking on the link to the PDF on the article page then selecting open in a new tab, since that's the only option that lets me get at the article, eventually. As of about a week ago, I could just save the article, or pull the link into a download manager and let that handle it.
Now I have to open the link in a new tab, wait for the article to finish loading, then save once it's open in my browser tab. I'm on dialup, so this is a real nuisance for the full compiled magazines. Thanks to the somewhat erratic behaviour of Adobe Reader I've experienced under Firefox I have a PDF downloader plugin, but the new behaviour of the article download system even bypasses that.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but the D&D site is painful enough to view at the best of times due to the heavy graphics use. Adding this degree of hassle to getting at the actual content puts me off even wanting to bother with it until it is fixed. As for the idea of paying for it in the future under these conditions...
#9
hellmute
Jul 09, 2008 20:54:49 Have you tried disabling the PDF viewer in the browser and force it to save all PDFs?

I never view a PDF online I always download them all, maybe that is what is allowing me to do it?

Just downloaded the new Ecology of the Dragonborn article with no problems at all.
#10
mudbunny
Jul 09, 2008 22:28:12 Not trying to say your problem isn't important, but I have never had a problem right-clicking and selecting "save link as..."

As hellmute suggested, you might try disabling your .pdf viewer to see if that is causing the problem and interfering with the right click->save as.

What plug-in are you using as your .pdf viewer. Someone who is currently using 2.X can probably try it out for you. While I upgraded to 3.0 a couple of days ago, I didn't have any problems with saving the files directly.
#11
Paulon
Jul 09, 2008 22:36:35 And that solves the majority of my problems with Dungeon and Dragon. Many thanks.

I'd still prefer to be able to use a download manager since that way it's possible to restart a big download if I'm cut off, but at least now it's possible for me to get the files without the risk of losing my entire browser session if Adobe Reader decides to throw a fit digesting something the size of the compiled editions.

Edit: I don't think the actual source of the problems I had today were at my end though. As of last week I downloaded the Artificer article without any problems, while a week later I was having problems without making any changes to my settings.
#12
mudbunny
Jul 09, 2008 22:38:26 Was it the download manager that was causing problems?? What was the name of the manager, I will install it in 3.0 and give it a try to see if the same problem shows up.
#13
Paulon
Jul 10, 2008 2:44:03 I use Getright 6.0 as a download manager, with all the browser integration features turned off. I just drag and drop links and URLs into it to download something I want.

But I think I've found the problem, and it's with the download links on the Dragon pages, not Firefox or Getright.
Compare the download link from the Wolves of the Maldeen article page with the one from the Dragonborn.

The first example page links directly to the PDF file (http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/dragon/ChangedFilename.pdf), while the second goes through a page named 'download.asp' (http://www.wizards.com/download.asp?filename=ChangedFilename.pdf). Guess which one I could download without any problems? Not the new article. It looks to me like someone trying to be fancy with site functionality, but ending up making it harder for some people to get the content.

(I changed the actual file names in case someone got tetchy about giving away what they are.)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 AvonRekaes Jun 28, 2008 14:38:23	I am running Firefox 2.0.0.14 and whenever I try to right-click>save-as a Dungeon or Dragon article, it only lets me download "download.asp". In order for me to actually get the article on my computer, I have to left-click the link, wait for it to open in a Firefox tab, and then select "save a copy" from the Acrobat toolbar in that tab. Please fix this so that right-click>save-as lets me download the actual article.
#2 hellmute Jun 28, 2008 23:20:40	Upgrade firefox. How exactly and from where are you trying to save articles? From the archive, from the article itself? the PDF link?
#3 mudbunny Jul 02, 2008 23:15:11	I can reproduce the error. It appears that the OP is trying to save the articles directly from the link in the table of contents. Unfortunately, the link in the table of contents doesn't go directly to the .pdf file. It goes to a .html page that has the .pdf link on it. However, havingthe option to directly download the .pdf from the Table of COntents page is a good idea. I will put it in the suggestions thread.
#4 hellmute Jul 03, 2008 8:41:57	I keep hearing talk of the TOC, but have never seen one. Maybe it is like the current editorial for 365 and just hidden from me.
#5 mudbunny Jul 03, 2008 9:57:21	When you are at the D&D RPG Home Page, if you click on one of the magazine buttons, you get to a new page that has a short list of items (Table of Contents, Editorial, Features, Columns, Message Boards, Issue Archive) below it. Click on Table of Contents, and it brings up a nice list of the ToC of the current issue.
#6 hellmute Jul 03, 2008 11:07:30	:embarrass I just always click the Archives link to see the latest additions with the red NEW beside them. Much quicker that each of the heading tabs. That or use the RSS feed.... That explains why I never saw it.
#7 eleran Jul 03, 2008 11:38:22	Also take note that both Dragon & Dungeon now are downloadable as entire complete issues. I have started my first ever Dragon magazine collection
#8 Paulon Jul 09, 2008 20:17:44	I'm suffering the same problem as the OP, using the same Firefox version. I'm not upgrading to v3 until they deal with some more of the issues. Another 6 months or so should do it. What I'm doing is right-clicking on the link to the PDF on the article page then selecting open in a new tab, since that's the only option that lets me get at the article, eventually. As of about a week ago, I could just save the article, or pull the link into a download manager and let that handle it. Now I have to open the link in a new tab, wait for the article to finish loading, then save once it's open in my browser tab. I'm on dialup, so this is a real nuisance for the full compiled magazines. Thanks to the somewhat erratic behaviour of Adobe Reader I've experienced under Firefox I have a PDF downloader plugin, but the new behaviour of the article download system even bypasses that. Not to put too fine a point on it, but the D&D site is painful enough to view at the best of times due to the heavy graphics use. Adding this degree of hassle to getting at the actual content puts me off even wanting to bother with it until it is fixed. As for the idea of paying for it in the future under these conditions...
#9 hellmute Jul 09, 2008 20:54:49	Have you tried disabling the PDF viewer in the browser and force it to save all PDFs? I never view a PDF online I always download them all, maybe that is what is allowing me to do it? Just downloaded the new Ecology of the Dragonborn article with no problems at all.
#10 mudbunny Jul 09, 2008 22:28:12	Not trying to say your problem isn't important, but I have never had a problem right-clicking and selecting "save link as..." As hellmute suggested, you might try disabling your .pdf viewer to see if that is causing the problem and interfering with the right click->save as. What plug-in are you using as your .pdf viewer. Someone who is currently using 2.X can probably try it out for you. While I upgraded to 3.0 a couple of days ago, I didn't have any problems with saving the files directly.
#11 Paulon Jul 09, 2008 22:36:35	And that solves the majority of my problems with Dungeon and Dragon. Many thanks. I'd still prefer to be able to use a download manager since that way it's possible to restart a big download if I'm cut off, but at least now it's possible for me to get the files without the risk of losing my entire browser session if Adobe Reader decides to throw a fit digesting something the size of the compiled editions. Edit: I don't think the actual source of the problems I had today were at my end though. As of last week I downloaded the Artificer article without any problems, while a week later I was having problems without making any changes to my settings.
#12 mudbunny Jul 09, 2008 22:38:26	Was it the download manager that was causing problems?? What was the name of the manager, I will install it in 3.0 and give it a try to see if the same problem shows up.
#13 Paulon Jul 10, 2008 2:44:03	I use Getright 6.0 as a download manager, with all the browser integration features turned off. I just drag and drop links and URLs into it to download something I want. But I think I've found the problem, and it's with the download links on the Dragon pages, not Firefox or Getright. Compare the download link from the Wolves of the Maldeen article page with the one from the Dragonborn. The first example page links directly to the PDF file (http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/dragon/ChangedFilename.pdf), while the second goes through a page named 'download.asp' (http://www.wizards.com/download.asp?filename=ChangedFilename.pdf). Guess which one I could download without any problems? Not the new article. It looks to me like someone trying to be fancy with site functionality, but ending up making it harder for some people to get the content. (I changed the actual file names in case someone got tetchy about giving away what they are.)