Download history is stored in the downloads.sqlite file in the Profile folder.

Do you see those files in the Download Manager (Firefox/Tools > Downloads)?

If you visit a website then that is considered as history and that is also the case if you left-click a link to open (save) a file, but you get the download dialog because the content type isn't text/html or text/plain.

Edmeister: I've tried deleting that file (before launching Firefox, obviously!) - it doesn't solve the problem.

cor-el: The files I noticed this happening with were really small gifs already on the webpage - (comic strips at http://www.youhaventlived.com/kodt/mle/mle.htm) - the Download Manager would have vanished in less than a second, and is supposed to delete the filenames after downloading anyway.

And I emphasize that I was right-clicking to save these, not left-clicking.

Additional note - I've tried deleting places.sqlite, cookies.sqlite, content-prefs.sqlite, and formhistory.sqlite as well. None of those had any effect on the problem.

(Though the cookies and formhistory files admittedly weren't likely to, I just picked them because they were safe to delete.)

You haven't answered if you only see those files as history items and not in the download manager.

I also see an entry in the history if I save a GIF file from that page.

cor-el:

I changed preferences so that the Downloads window wouldn't go away after the download was finished. The GIFs didn't stay there, so I guess it's fair to say I only saw them as history items.

Though, whether they were in the download manager *while being saved* I couldn't tell - they were very small files and it was over in less than a second.

I changed preferences again to have Firefox remember downloads. This time the GIFs remained in the Downloads window as well as History.

Is it possibly the case that "Remember download history" only applies to the Downloads window, and not the History menu? If so, I think you're trying to tell me that this is how Firefox 8's new "Downloads" history item is supposed to behave - and at this point I can believe it's an intentional change between 7 and 8, not the result of a corrupted file.

Yes, of course. Both use different files to store data. Downloads in downloads.sqlite and history in places.sqlite. So you need to remove files and links in both places,so apparently nothing is wrong in your case.

@jami48 .. The way I solved the downloads being saved in the download history is :

1. 1 "Remember download history" unchecked same as you did..

1. 2 Click on tools > Options > General Tab > Scroll down to Downloads heading > Check box " Save Files To " > Click on Browse> Select Desktop (my choice) or Select Always Ask Me Where To Save Files > Click OK..

1. 3 I save all downloaded files to the desktop then click on the file exe to do the download & when its finished I just delete the file icon & send it to the trash bin..

Don't know if you find this acceptable but its worked for me for years & I never have anything in the download history..

This is about seeing files that are downloaded in the history and not what you see in the download manager window.

I have to say that I consider the wording of the "Remember download history" preference to be misleading if the History menu is going to remember it anyway. Still, that's outside the scope of this discussion.

Cor-el, can you confirm that you're saying this is how it's supposed to work in FF8? Because if you are, you've confirmed that it's not a bug or corrupted file at my end, and I can click "Solved it" and credit you with the solution.

nana41, what you're saying only applies to a very limited class of downloads (i.e. exe files that download other things.) It has no bearing on the gif files I used as an example earlier, and since I'm talking about changed behaviour in FF8, whether or not it's worked for years is irrelevant.

I see this in other Firefox versions like 3.6.24 as well, so it is not a recent change.

Still don't remember this in any prior versions - but I'm going to take Cor-el's word for it, since I don't have these installed to test on.