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VAR downloads from Patreon auto-renamed to ZIP?!

MacGruber

MacGruber

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I just discovered that a VAR attached to a Patreon post is automatically renamed to ZIP when you download it. For me it works fine when downloading with Chrome or Edge, but for some obscure reason Firefox thinks its a good idea to just rename the file....sure why not....which means VaM can't handle it anymore! 😤 However, for others it seems to happen with Chrome as well, so not sure what the pattern is.

I would assume this is a Patreon issue, probably some mess with the MIME type. Did any other Patreon owner run into this as well and/or find a solution for it?

@meshedvr, might this be the reason for so many people not understanding the VAR package system and try to extract things all the time?
 
For me on Firefox, var files download correctly. I _think_ it might not be actually renaming the file, but instead it's configured to open in 7zip UI or something like that, and then people save the file from there, which results in .zip?

Manage file types and download actions in Firefox | Firefox Help

Learn how Firefox handles files with different content types and how to change what Firefox does when you click on or download a file.
support.mozilla.org support.mozilla.org

I'd suggest looking at this first, can you reproduce the problem yourself?
 
I guess it's this one: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=642333
Closed as "Wont Fix" 10 years ago...it's a "security feature". I don't see what security you gain from it 🤬

This is what Patreon is sending, it's the same for Chrome and Firefox. But only Firefox ends up with a .zip file. Even if you specifically save the file as .var while downloading, you just end up with .var.zip
1609835122512.png

Patreon officially supports only a few files types for attachments, I don't think it's realistic to get Patreon to support VAR files and change the MIME type to something like "application/octet-stream" for Firefox browsers.

So, what's the best practice? Put some disclaimer in every post that people should rename the file after downloading?
 
I think best practice for users is to download content from within VaM. For Patreon owners, i guess it would be to recommend that, and warn about the renaming problem. Maybe in big, bold, capital letrers, as most people don't seem to read the description before downloading.
 
Bummer, never had any issue when downloading .var files from patreon using firefox (always ask option) and 7-zip (v19.00)

Try checking filetype options on browser (what Acid Bubbles linked for firefox)
and filetype options on windows/your compression app (winzip, winrar, 7zip...etc)

out of curiousity just checked Scamp's Gisela look that is patreon hosted and downloads normally. :confused:
0155142.jpg
 
Hi MacGruber, just to let you know I had the same issue downloading content from other creators out there, I honestly can't remember if it's happened every time, but it certainly wasn't just from your site.

Also, as I said before I am using Chrome, so I don't think it's limited to Firefox. (I do have firefox installed on my PC but I haven't used it in ages, I don't know if that's relevant or not)

Speaking as a noob to VAM, I honestly would suggest that creators do put an easily visible comment somewhere about this issue and perhaps advising to rename, although this is based on the assumption doing so won't cause problems.
 
I did some testing with reinstalling 7zip and setting 7zip as default for ZIP files instead of WindowsExplorer and some other things, but I can't convince Firefox to not rename the file.

The problem I see is that Windows 10 with default settings does not even display file extensions. If you have a ".var.zip" file you just see ".var". As a noob user, changing a file extension is not easy.

If nobody else jumps first...on the weekend I will rig a guide "How to download a VAR from Patreon" with lots of screenshots and put it here on the hub as a resource. Still hoping to convince Patreon to change the MIME type to avoid all this mess, though.
 
MacGruber said:
@RandomVAMUser How did you create that VAR entry there? I don't have it. Did 7zip make that entry for you?
Click to expand...
I didn't add anything inside firefox, when firefox comes upon new/unknown/unasigned filetype it checks with windows registry for asigned app (usually from HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT).
But on fresh 7-zip install usually no filetypes are autoasigned,
so i set 7-zip as my default app for .var and all other formats inside 7zip settings or by adding 7zFM.exe to "open with" list, if not auto asigned after settings).

MacGruber said:
...The problem I see is that Windows 10 with default settings does not even display file extensions. If you have a ".var.zip" file you just see ".var"...
Click to expand...
Not in my case, file extensions are enabled/shown.
 
Did some testing and for love of god i can't force firefox to download .var as .var.zip
But maybe by reseting firefox mimetypes to default inside your firefox profile can temp fix it.

Since windows explorer stores all types inside windows registry HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
(for me .var and var_auto_file keys pointing shell>open 7zFM.exe, that is if .var is specified to open with 7-zip in first place)

also for me firefox specifies:
.7z as x-7z-compressed
.rar as x-rar
.zip as zip
.var as x-zip (also inside handlers.json "application/x-zip":{"action":0,"ask":true,"extensions":["var"]} )
sounds about right since windows explorer detects compressed archives as application/x-zip-compressed,
also since firefox pulls info about filetypes from windows


So if everything inside windows is asigned right, reseting mimetypes for firefox is only thing i can think of.

1-type about:support inside adressbar
2-look for Profile Folder and click Open Folder (this will open your entire firefox profile with all settings,bookmarks,....etc)
3-inside folder look for handlers.json (previously known as mimetypes.rdf)
4-close firefox
5-make backup of handlers.json and delete it
6-open firefox (all mimetypes inside firefox should be reset to default inside Tools/Options/General/Applications)
7-now try downloading .var from patreon
 
Hi RandomVAMUser, I've said before in this thread, I am using chrome and I get files renamed. I honestly think looking at individual browsers here is a red herring. I know some users of chrome aren't having this issue, but I can't believe I am the only one. Whatever is causing the issue, I do not think it is browser-dependant.

" Speaking as a noob to VAM, I honestly would suggest that creators do put an easily visible comment somewhere about this issue and perhaps advising to rename, although this is based on the assumption doing so won't cause problems. "

Is there something about this solution you don't like? Surely it is simpler than a 7 step process for firefox users, which would then have to have a solution found for for users of other browsers like myself?
 
Well, couldn't vam just accept .var.zip as a valid .var and move on @meshedvr ?

To keep things clean like there's already something that moves "legacy folders" on startup, it could rename .var.zip to .var. It's a little bit hacky, but easy.
 
@Acid Bubbles Note that it could be .var, .var.zip or .zip depending on what crazy thing the browser does. I would not change the handling of VaM since a .zip might be something that is not actually a VAR package, just loosely packaged files.

@booyakshaka My plan so far was to make a guide:
  1. How identify a download that is a VAR on Patreon
  2. That it needs to go into AddonPackages
  3. How to see if the file was renamed to .zip and further steps are needed.
  4. How to enable display of file extensions in Windows 10 (while any sane person has those probably enabled, hiding known extensions is the is the Windows default when you make a fresh install)
  5. How to change the extension back to .var
So it's still a 5 step process :D Everyone making a Patreon post that has a VAR attached could like to the guide. We also could make a general announcement to raise awareness.

However, first I'm gonna try if @RandomVAMUser 's steps actually change something for me. I tried some messing with the Windows registry yesterday, but that didn't do anything. I think the main problem is likely that Patreon is simply sending the wrong MIME type in the first place, see third post in this thread, so the browser is not actually looking at the file extension. Considering the general quality of Patreon services, I would not be surprised if different Patreon CDN servers simply deliver different MIME types to the users. That would explain why it is working for some users and not for others?
 
I would not be surprised if different Patreon CDN servers simply deliver different MIME types to the users. That would explain why it is working for some users and not for others?
Click to expand...

Wouldn't that experience be the same across browsers tho? iirc you were getting var files from chrome, but zip from firefox?

And yes I agree, there is very little difference in number of steps once they are broken down :)

As far as me personally, now I know I just need to rename the files, it's easy to do, I just think there are enough PC users like me who only start adjusting settings if they really have to. VAM is a pretty steep learning curve as it is, I am only in favour of identifying it on downloads for noobies to make it easier across the board.

I think there is a potential for people to think patreon creators are uploading borked stuff or VAM doesn't work/requires to much effort/tinkering.

I came on the forum to check what was going wrong, (and bless you for helping me!) human nature being what it is I think it's fair to say some won't and won't figure out why something isn't working
 
Made a guide how to install VAR packages, including downloading dependencies, etc.

Guides - Installing VAR packages from Patreon

How to install VaM content? The easiest way to installed VaM content is to use the "Hub Browse" window directly inside VaM. It will take care of all the things for you, including downloading all dependencies you might need. Obviously that only...
hub.virtamate.com hub.virtamate.com

Also I figured out how to fix the issue for Firefox and added it to the guide. @RandomVAMUser was right, you have to mess with this handlers.json. But resetting it does not help, you need to add "var" to the list of possible extensions for "application/zip".
 
Last edited:
A temporary way to force Firefox to save it with the right extension is to put it in double-quotes when you save it. e.g.

"MacGruber.Life.12.var"

Of course, most people will not remember to do this just for one file type, so it's not a great solution.
 
This problem is occurring for myself now. It was working fine a month ago but now it's auto-converting patreon Var files into zip.
 
im using Chrome and i try changing the name and it looks right but it dose not show up in game
 
Are you sure it wasn't a zip file to begin with? If it was a var to begin with, and you changed the extension back to var, it should show up in Vam. If it doesn't, there's something wrong with the file. You could try re-downloading it.
 
Sounds like a broken var. What's the link? I'll take a look.
 
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