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When I look at code samples on the web that are linked to as a .c, .cpp, .h etc file, chrome will download it for me as a file.

Is there a way to get it to open the file (which is really just a text file with a different extension, and chrome does open text files in a tab window) in a tab window?

I would rather not have my downloads folder littered with all of these small code files.

I have looked in the chrome preferences, but have not found anything that relates to this.

Running the dev build of chrome, but I would take the option in any current build of the browser.

EDIT: Is there a way to change the way that chrome handles some mime types like text/x-chdr or others?

soandos
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5 Answers5

22

I did a bunch of tests and found that some types always trigger a download from remote location. For example, .bat files always try to download while the similar .cmd type opens as text. Likewise, .cpp files always trigger a download while my own .inc type which is an identical copy of the .cpp with the “cpp” changed to “inc” opens as text.

I haven’t checked the source, but I suspect it’s a built-in behavior. They must figure that if it’s a local file (file:///…), you already have it so it is assumed to be trusted, so open it. If however it is a remote file, don’t open it, instead download it so that any anti-virus software on the system can have a look to be safe.

Surprisingly there do not seem to be any other complaints about this on the Chrome bug tracker. o.O I have submitted a report, so we’ll have to see what they say.

Synetech
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Great question.

I can be achieved via an extension:

boardtc
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I used to use Syntaxtic! for Chrome, worked for me. It opens source code in a new tab and then applies syntax highlighting.

slhck
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Xyzodiac
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Google Chrome

Now its possible to open source code directly from browser. I tested on version 61.0.3163.91 64 bits.

Firefox

Here it isn't yet. To avoid this, do the following:

  1. Right-click on .c or other source code file;
  2. Copy link option
  3. Press CRTL-T to open new tab;
  4. Type "view-source:"
  5. Paste the link copied before.

Done! Firefox will show the source code of the file, in this case, the file itself.

Community
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Rafael Perez
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I was looking for the same question and found the answer from Danny B. at: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/14952514/how-to-force-open-links-in-chrome-not-download-them.

To make certain file types OPEN on your computer, instead of Chrome Downloading...

You have to download the file type once, then right after that download, look at the status bar at the bottom of the browser. Click the arrow next to that file and choose "always open files of this type". DONE.

Now the file type will always OPEN using your default program.

To reset this feature, go to Settings / Advance Settings and under the "Download.." section, there's a button to reset 'all' Auto Downloads

Community
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Did
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