I use Firefox 4.0.1 on both XP Pro and Vista Home Premium. On Vista, when I download a file with a right-click and Save Link, I get a dialog that allows me to save it anywhere I want. On XP, it saves it to a default directory. I think I can change the default, but I can’t seem to be able to specify file-by-file where to save it.
On both systems, Firefox tells me it is up to date.
Why do they behave differently, and is there a configuration change I can make on the XP box to make it behave like it does on the Vista box?
It’s not a Vista or XP thing, it’s a Firefox thing. In earlier versions of Firefox, you choose the Save Options in the Firefox menu: Tools->Options->General tab. You can then choose a default download location, or whether you want to be able to choose a location with each download. I don’t know how Firefox 4.1 does it, but it might be the same.
The option is still there in FF 4.01 (i.e., the latest general release version) in Windows 7 (and, I am sure, in Vista or XP too). You can either set a default directory for downloads, or you can set it to “Always ask me where to save files.”