just the same day as last month, on the 8th, since we just passed February and it's been just four weeks, Mozilla has released a new stable version of its browser. If last 8 they released v97, a few moments ago have thrown Firefox 98, a version with which some user will encounter the unpleasant surprise of see how some search engine disappears. But don't worry, Google will continue to be there, and it will be by default.
As is happening with Chrome, the world's most used desktop web browser, Firefox 98 is an update that changes its numbering, which makes us think that it comes with important new functions, but it does not. It does streamline things under the hood, and it does highlight one thing above it: a new way to manage downloads.
Highlights of Firefox 98
- New streamlined download flow. Instead of prompting you every time, the files will be downloaded automatically. However, they can still be opened from the download panel with a single click. Options include:
- Always open similar files: Make Firefox automatically open downloaded files of the same type with the system's default application.
- Show in folder – Open the folder containing the downloaded files.
- Go to download page – Displays the download reference page even after you leave the site or close the tab.
- Copy Download Link – Copy the download link for sharing, saving, or any applicable use.
- Downloaded files can now be deleted directly from the download panel and other download views using the context menu.
- Remove from history: A file can be removed from the list of downloaded files.
- Clear preview pane: You can clear the list of downloaded items in the preview pane that opens when you start a download.
- Now we are no longer asked what to do with each file by default. You will not be prompted to choose a helper application or save to disk before downloading a file, unless you have changed the download action settings for that type of file.
- And now, every time we start a download, Firefox will automatically show the default download panel. This means that we will experience minimal interruptions and that we will easily find our downloaded files. Also, to avoid having to close it multiple times, the panel will not be displayed if multiple downloads are in progress.
- A file in the download panel can now be clicked to open it even before it has finished downloading. Firefox will open the file as soon as it is available.
- Any file we download will be immediately saved to it. Depending on your current settings, they will either be saved to your preferred downloads folder, or you'll be prompted to select a location for each download. Windows and Linux users will find the downloaded files in the destination folder. They will no longer be put in the Temp folder.
- Firefox allows users to choose from a number of built-in search engines to set as their default. In this release, some users who had previously set a default engine might notice that their default search engine has changed, as Mozilla was unable to get formal permission to continue including certain search engines in Firefox.
- Now, you can set a default application to open a file type. We can choose the application we want to use to open files of a specific type in the Firefox settings.
- After upgrading to Firefox version 98, the “Always ask” download actions will now be restored.
- Various security fixes.
- Some news for developers
Firefox 98 is available for download since yesterday if we downloaded it from Mozilla server, but today can now be downloaded from the official website. Linux users can download the binaries, and in the next few hours the new packages will appear in most Linux distributions.