Several pieces of software Stardock ex..(theme manager,impulse etc..) has built in use of the engine in IE thus making it the perferred browser for dowloads ,however itt does auto install which can be bothersum at times , I still just copy the link and paste it into FF if I want to keep the dl archived .That is the easiest and quickest most reliable solution as IE will always see them as a default file type!

 While I know it is not what you are looking for it is the best alternative I have found !

1. I have the "Notification Bar" disabled. This is one of the first things I do with ALL versions of IE.

2. As the other respondents above will affirm, nearly every other website where you can download a file, the IE "Download Manager" opens when you click on the download link. For reference it is identical to what happens when you download a file with FF. However, on Wincustomize the "Download Manager" is not evoked and the file is 'silently' downloaded and then automatically installed. THIS is what I'm unhappy with. I prefer to install the downloaded file at my own leisure at a convenient time.

3. Nearly every other website where you can download a file I can right-click on the download link and choose "Download with IDM" (Internet Download Manager) which used to work on Wincustomize before the major update to the site. Now even this option is unavailable.

Lastly, the fact is, the majority of PC users prefer IE for a browser. Most websites are aware of this fact and do code accordingly. Wincustomize is the exception, evidently. Thus my original question asking if there was a way to be able to use my browser-of-choice, IE, to download files to my hard drive without having to be subject to having the file(s) auto install.

I do hope that the above makes things a little more perspicuous. And, I have no interest in debating browser preferences.

The simple answer is... I have no regard for the alleged "security" the Notification Bar offers and thus disabling it allows for an immediate connection/action without having to deal with it. I am an 'puter tech and really have no need of those notifications since all my machines are more than adequately secure... if you know what I mean, Vern?

Precisely. I tried researching the notification bar and security issues with it and found none.

I also doubt SD will re-code anything based on an unsupported request.

Hapkido, if you can document those security concerns, then you should bring them to Stardock's attention. Then, perhaps you'd find a more sympathetic ear.

Having the wba file auto install makes it as idiot proof as possible. Let's face facts folks ( ARRRRR-Harrr... SLAP.. ehem..) there are MANY MANY idiots with computers that don't grasp the idea of, oh let's say... double clicking a file to install it, or for that matter they don't even know what double clicking means. Idiot proof = less support issues. 

My suggestion to you would be (since you are

From your reply and one other, it appears I did not phrase a statement clear enough. Let me try again, re: security concerns. MS is the one which created the "Notification Bar" that is displayed when you click on a download link. It was designed to "protect" the typical PC user, who has been described as one who doesn't "grasp the idea of, oh let's say... double clicking a file to install it, or for that matter they don't even know what double clicking means." I couldn't agree more. The vast majority of my clients are PC illiterates, many of whom didn't know how to move a window or resize it. Okay, back to the "Notification Bar". It is an alleged security measure which prompts the user to think (is that a joke?) before downloading a file which may be hazardous. What I tried to say is that I have no need of such "security" measures since I am very much aware of what I am downloading. Should a file be the product of some miscreant, I have plenty of security provisions installed to deal with that type of garbage. That's why I disable it in the Internet Options (they are named 'options' for a reason, eh?)

Yes, my PREFERENCE is to download ALL files to a location of MY CHOICE and to install them when I WANT TO or perhaps discard them without installing them. So yes, my PREFERENCE is to object to auto install files and/or programs. It isn't just Stardock but anyone's offerings. Can anyone here not grasp this? Is there anyone here who hasn't been rather miffed when installing a program to find out that some 'toolbar' has been automatically installed along with it with no option to opt out?

Bottom line... why is IE singled out for this 'auto install'? If one uses any other browser (assumed) you can download a file from Wincustomize like any other file via the Download Manager. My PREFERENCE is to have that choice with IE too. Do I think that SD is going to recode Wincustomize download scripts just for IE users, never mind me?..... that's a rhetorical question, right? I wouldn't even dream of something like that. It's difficult enough to have a support ticket dealt with in a timely fashion nowadays. Things have certainly changed from what they were in the past. And I've been a loyal SD and Wincustomize customer for many years.

Thanks to all who took the time to reply. Obviously, there is no practical resolution to this issue which I find acceptable. Being forced into using one of the viable methods described appears to be the only way to go... sadly.

Until you can give a reference re:  The Notification Bar's lack of security, any doubts you may have remain in the realm of conjecture.

The yellow rectangular Notification Bar (at the bottom of the screenie) pops up with clicking the download button, Philly.

Problems like this is why I upload all my .wba files inside a .zip file, so issues like this do not occur.

Just out of curiosity I opened IE 9 and went to  this site. I downloaded 'and saved, to my download folder, Lit Blue by firebrick. Zipped up nice and tidy. Now, what was it you said about not being able to do so? No problem. On the bottom it gives you a choice, open or save. But wait...isn't that the notification bar. Disable it and you can't save a download. Makes sense? Not

Notepad:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\AttachmentExecute\{0002DF01-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}]

Rename .reg. Merge. Re-boot.

Or:

Go to the key and delete any file references in the key. Re-boot

Zubish knows no bounds