That's not what is supposed to happen...

What my Firefox does (or what my Windows does) is add a number to the end of the file name (before the extension) to avoid overwriting the existing file. I've attached a screen shot example.

I'm not sure when in the process this happens. For example, it might happen while Firefox is using the Windows temp folder or when it instructs Windows to move the file.

You could gain more control by having Firefox ask you where to save downloads, which also lets you view existing files in that location and edit the file name. This article describes how to set that option: Startup, home page, tabs, and download settings. But that is extra time added to the process...

Same here with Firefox and WinXP. The duplicate file name is appended with a number - (1), (2), etc.

Thank you. Now I see. You are right. So, my issue then is FF doesn't mention it does, while almost all other programs do (one gets used to that); They show you the pop-up-menu with the (default) directory and the (suggested) filename, and when it already exists you get a warning. Mentioning that the file is saved as document(1).pdf would show it doesn't overwrite. Not mentioning anything with this trivial*) name startled me, what had I lost? Thanks again.

• ) I clicked 'save this file', because that's what I meant to do, but only then saw the name.

When you download a file, you should give it a name telling you its content. Otherwise you could spend a long time looking for something.

Go to the Mozilla Add-ons Web Page {web link} (There’s a lot of good stuff here)

I think you might find a download manager that can add the date/time to the file name. There are also download sorters that might help.