Sudden problem with SAVE AS box
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barth33 last edited by
Hi, I use Opera a lot these days, it's my primary browser, so trivial problems with it are more significant now. Today, for example, when I clicked Control S to save a document, the SAVE AS box, which has always appeared on my screen as a small box, perhaps 3 inches X 3 inches, suddenly is filling the entire screen, and also takes longer to appear. I wasn't conscious of doing anything to cause this change, and the SAVE AS box just has an X in the corner, and doesn't have a minimizing icon to restore it to the smaller size. What do I do?
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barth33 last edited by
leocg, the question is "HOW does someone resize the SAVE AS box, when it only contains an X in the upper right corner, and no minimizing icon?" Let's compare it to, say, Notepad. Notepad on my computer opens to the same small size as the SAVE AS box, or as the SAVE AS box did until last night. If however somehow Notepad should suddenly fill the screen, then I just click on its minimizing icon and it's restored to the small size. I looked in vain for such an icon-- or the equivalent--elsewhere in SAVE AS, and I didn't find it.
I was hoping that when I turned on my computer this morning everything would be restored to normal, but no, the SAVE AS box is still filling the entire screen!
The other way of resizing Notepad-- by putting the pointer on the edges, having it turn into a two-headed pointer, and then physically shrinking the dimensions with it-- doesn't work with SAVE AS because with SAVE AS taking up the entire screen, the pointer, while trying to become two-headed, simply doesn't have enough room to do so. So that method fails.
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barth33 last edited by
Oh, by the way, what do you have to do in order to receive email notifications when there's a new reply to a thread? I didn't know I'd gotten a response to my question until many hours after it was posted, because I got no notification.
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sgunhouse Moderator Volunteer last edited by
Only program windows have a Maximize, Minimize or Restore, but you can drag edges or corners to resize. If it is too large to see any edges, use the keyboard: Alt+Space to display the window menu, whatever the accelerator (underlined letter on the menu) is for Size, the arrow keys to move to an edge (obviously the cursor will be off the screen at this point), then the opposite arrow key to move the edge onto the screen (Repeat as necessary). Once it is the size you want, tap Enter to accept the new size or Esc to cancel and start over.
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barth33 last edited by
sgunhouse, actually it turned out to be easier than you (or I) imagined! When I pressed Alt+Space, and got the Menu, while my conscious mind was pondering the next step according to your instructions, out of the corner of my eye, I must have subliminally noticed the very first item on the menu, and subconsciously decided that THAT item, "Restore", might fit my desire perfectly. Without even thinking, I immediately clicked on it, and "Voila!", instant success!!
Incidentally, sgunhouse, since you seem to be a paragon of Opera knowledge, could you tell me if there's a way to make Opera treat saved pages the way Chrome does-- i.e. listing them on the bottom of the screen until you X them out-- because as it is with Opera-- where they only remain briefly on the right top of the screen-- very often by the time I finish reading the article I've already saved, I've forgotten whether I've already saved it or not!! And only when I try to save it again (to make sure I've actually saved it) do I learn that I've already saved it-- an annoying waste of time.
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leocg Moderator Volunteer last edited by
could you tell me if there's a way to make Opera treat saved pages the way Chrome does-- i.e. listing them on the bottom of the screen until you X them out
What screen? Pages are saved in a folder/directory chosen by you.
because as it is with Opera-- where they only remain briefly on the right top of the screen--
We are really talking about saved pages?
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barth33 last edited by
leocg, you misunderstood me. I wasn't referring to the actual saving of pages, just to the way that Opera indicates to the user that a page has in fact just been saved. Chrome puts the words of the page title in a small rectangle at the bottom left-hand corner of the screen and leaves it there, and when additional pages are saved, the first one gets pushed farther and farther to the right but doesn’t disappear. Of course, the user always has the option of deleting these notifications at any time.
Opera, on the other hand, flashes a notification of a saved page in the upper right-hand corner, but as soon as the user clicks on anything anywhere for any reason, the notification disappears. As I briefly explained when I first brought this up in my earlier post, what Chrome does is very, very useful to someone like me, and Opera's failing to do exactly what Chrome does is frankly a great impediment. Why? Because many of the articles I read are long and complicated, and invariably I become very engrossed not just in reading an article but in pondering its implications, and savoring its nuances. And it is a fundamental part of my nature that, very often, while thoroughly immersed in the aforementioned reading, pondering, and savoring, I will, without being consciously aware of it, press Control S and save the page.So now, flash forward 15 or 20 minutes, when I've finished the article and recognize that it's one that's well worth preserving for future reference. But then, even before I make the actual movements with my hands to preserve it by pressing Control and S, the internal debate begins with my muttering to myself, "Wait a minute!! Have I ALREADY saved the article, instinctively--but was I so totally engrossed in it at the time that I wasn't aware of saving it, as has happened literally thousands of times in the past OR was I so COMPLETELY captivated by the article-- even more than I usually am-- so that even my INSTINCTS were effectively rendered null and void, and as a result I, on this occasion, DIDN’T save it after all, something that has also happened literally thousands of times over the years. Now, if I'm using Chrome the internal debate ends after a nanosecond-- I simply glance down to the bottom of the page and see whether or not I've actually saved the page. If I'm using Opera, however, the debate continues... and continues... and continues, because my innate laziness wants me to just move on, to keep me from the unnecessary effort of trying to save it a second time (only to be told by Windows Documents that it's already been saved) but, on the other hand, my strong determination to preserve forever that wonderful article I just read is trying to compel me to press Control and S, if not to actually save the article, then at least to MAKE SURE that I have in fact ALREADY preserved it without realizing it! And because Opera doesn’t line up every notification of having saved an article on the bottom of the screen the way Chrome does, the internal debate triggered by my laziness on the one hand, and my determination to save the article on the other hand, continues for many seconds, because very often the two contrary impulses are in equipoise!
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leocg Moderator Volunteer last edited by
I wasn't referring to the actual saving of pages, just to the way that Opera indicates to the user that a page has in fact just been saved
Opera doesn't indicate that a page was saved, it just indicates that something - in this case the page - was downloaded.
Chrome puts the words of the page title in a small rectangle at the bottom left-hand corner of the screen and leaves it there,
It just happens that Chrome's download dialog appears there, it's not something specific for saved pages.
In fact I'm not even sure if saved pages should be listed as downloads.
If I'm using Opera, however, the debate continues... and continues... and continues, because my innate laziness wants me to just move on, to keep me from the unnecessary effort of trying to save it a second time
You can see if you already saved it by opening the downloads list.
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barth33 last edited by
I said, "I wasn't referring to the actual saving of pages, just to the way that Opera indicates to the user that a page has in fact just been saved"
To which you, leocg, replied, "Opera doesn't indicate that a page was saved, it just indicates that something - in this case the page - was downloaded."
leocg, I think even a "Philadelphia Lawyer" couldn't make a distinction so fine! I congratulate you on pointing out a difference so subtle, so nuanced that I'm left agog!!
However, I must say that in this particular case, the distinction you made DOESN'T APPLY, because the download was INITIATED by the act of Saving the page-- therefore, the downloaded page has to have been saved as well!
And the same is true with Chrome-- so effectively all these downloaded pages are also saved.
Now, to move on to your much more substantive, relevant, and important point-- you say, "You can see if you already saved it by opening the downloads list."
My initial reaction upon reading your words was to frown, shake my head, and mutter, "That would be just as inconvenient as finding out by trying to save the page a second time!" But then I thought, "Well, wait a second. If I open the Download Page once-- when I first open Opera at the beginning of the session--and leave it open, then all I have to do to see if I've already saved a page is to click on the Downloads tab and see what the latest download is!" (I checked, and the Downloads Page, once opened, automatically updates itself with each additional saved page!)
Now, admittedly, that isn't quite as easy as glancing down to the bottom of the screen, as I do in Chrome, but hey, even someone as crotchety as I has to happily acknowledge that your suggestion improves the situation enormously by eliminating half of the wasted time, and three quarters of the wasted physical movement of the method I'd been using (trying to SAVE the page to see if I'd already done it). So, congratulations, leocg-- although I'd still like Opera to do what Chrome does and list all saved pages at the bottom of the screen, you've presented me with an acceptable alternative in the meantime. You know, without your suggestion, leocg, I would have had to consider abandoning Opera, as much as I like it for other reasons, because these constant internal debates were driving me crazy!!
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sgunhouse Moderator Volunteer last edited by
Click on the icon in the corner over there that indicates download status - you get a list of the 8 most recent downloads. Not enough - or want more details? Click on the Show more button to get the Downloads tab (also available from the main menu or the sidebar) where you can see dozens of your recent downloads. What advantage is Chrome's system giving you?
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barth33 last edited by
sgunhouse, I have to admit that complaining further (now that you've improved-- through streamlining-- the already good suggestion of leocg) verges on nitpicking! Since I have had a lifelong visceral dislike of the nitpicking kind of complainer (also known as the 'petulant whiner'!), the last thing I want to do is BECOME one of them!! Nonetheless, you challenged me, in the last sentence of your post, by asking, "What advantage is Chrome's system giving you?" and I won't evade your question or lie in response to it: To slide the pointer from some random spot on the screen all the way to the upper right hand corner where the download status icon is takes about two seconds of activity on the touch pad, then a click, then perhaps a half a second wait for the recent download list to descend. I've already freely confessed (no threats or torture necessary!) that such a procedure is quick enough to silence serious complaints about it, but it is still not remotely comparable to the speed and ease of Chrome's, WHICH REQUIRES NO TIME OR EFFORT AT ALL!!! Nothing but a GLANCE is necessary with Chrome! C'mon sgunhous, as much of a partisan of Opera as you are-- and, hey, I've mentioned in a previous post that I love it too, it's become the browser I use the most!-- you have to admit that, in that one particular respect, Chrome's system is ideal-- honestly, sgunhouse, it's perfect. And as I already explained-- at great length!-- Chrome's system fills a very important need for people like me who habitually save pages using only about 17 neurons, which are really acting entirely on their own-- certainly without conscious awareness-- and who therefore requires having a way of checking up on those 17 neurons and confirming that they've done the job. A confirmation method that is both instantaneous and effortless is ideal. Only Chrome provides that.
To repeat: I still love Opera... but I'd love it even more if Opera incorporated into itself that feature of Chrome.
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A Former User last edited by
I know of no extension in Opera that will cause a list of downloads to be displayed automatically after something was downloaded. Opera 12 had a download list which opened in a new tab (which was useful because you could get to it in the same way as you'd move from tab to tab). In the new Opera, you can open the Downloads list by pressing Ctrl+J (and you can customise that shortcut).
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barth33 last edited by
ugcheleuce, your suggestion inspired me-- someone rarely inspired in the cyber-realm!-- to not just follow your recommendation but to add to it in order to make it even more effective at achieving my objective! So I googled "How to customize keys in Opera" and followed the instructions. I wanted to reduce the effort required to conjure up the Downloads list, so that instead of having to use two keys-- Control + J-- I added j (WITHOUT the Control key) as a Downloads list shortcut. But then, when I wanted to create another one-key shortcut to instruct the computer to close the Downloads list tab, I ran into a problem. First I designated k to be that key-- but it didn't work. Then I tried l, but again it didn't work. Why? At first I was mystified, but then I noticed there was a box on the Downloads list page "Search Downloads" and the k and then the l were simply appearing in that box. So I then looked for a suitable Function Key-- one that had alternative ways of achieving whatever that Function Key did in Basic Shortcuts-- and I selected F8. First, I X'd out F8 as a shortcut for that purpose in Basic Shortcuts, and then typed F8 in as an additional shortcut for the Close Tab command. I immediately tested it out, saving a page on Opera, and then, after a while, pressing J to make the Downloads list appear, and then F8 to go back to the prior tab. To my slight surprise and utter delight, it worked perfectly. So thank you ugcheleuce for your marvelously helpful post-- you make my craving for what Chrome does to be incorporated into Opera even less urgent than it was-- although I still wish it were so. And, hard as it is to believe, I'd never before customized a shortcut--and its reversal-- and it's really interesting (and satisfying!) to see how easily a mere vaporous desire can be converted into a concrete reality with a few properly directed clicks and keystrokes!
leocg, how often do suggestions left in the Suggestion Box actually lead to a change in Opera? (I hate doing things that are destined to almost certainly prove futile!)
By the way, leocg, I followed your directions re how to Edit Preferences in order to receive an email notification when someone has responded to a post, and it worked-- but only once! Four of the five comments that have been posted in this thread since I made the change-- including two of three of yours-- have not led to notifications to my gmail address! Isn't that a surprising malfunction of the Opera notification system?