Bug 261083

Summary:	[GTK] Hide partially downloaded files
Product:	WebKit	Reporter:	Kdwk <kdwkleung>
Component:	WebKitGTK	Assignee:	Nobody <webkit-unassigned>
Status:	NEW ---
Severity:	Normal	CC:	bugs-noreply
Priority:	P2
Version:	WebKit Nightly Build
Hardware:	PC
OS:	Linux

Description Kdwk 2023-09-03 07:30:57 PDT

Currently, partially downloaded files as well as .wkdownload files are shown in the Downloads folder. However, these are incomplete files and users cannot open or view them yet. Moreover, they may be accidentally deleted or moved, in which case the download will fail and has to be restarted. I propose that these files be hidden (by adding a . in front of the file name) until the download is complete, in which case the downloaded file can be unhidden and the .wkdownload file can be deleted.

Regarding the browser crashing while a download is ongoing, resulting in a large hidden file being left, my experience is that I am more likely to accidentally delete or move the partial files and irrecoverably interrupt the download than the browser crashing, so I believe this change is worth it. I guess this can be mitigated by the desktop environment providing a housekeeping feature that deletes files from the Downloads folder after 30 days, like elementary OS does.

Transferred from https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/epiphany/-/issues/2167#note_1836457