Every browser that you have on your Mac has a folder where it places all of the files you’ve downloaded. For example, the Safari browser places all of the files you’ve downloaded using it in the Downloads folder located on your Mac. It’s the default folder for all of the files that you download using Safari.
While there’s no harm keeping the Downloads folder as the default folder for saving downloaded files in Safari, sometimes you might want to change the folder to a more convenient place, such as your desktop. If your work or your downloading requires you to have a folder other than the Downloads folder for placing downloaded files, then you can ask Safari to change the default downloads folder.
Changing the folder for saving downloaded files in Safari is as easy as going through a few steps outlined below. Once you’re done with these steps, you should see that all of your files go into your specified folder and not into the default Downloads folder.
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Changing the Default Downloads Folder for Safari on a Mac
You don’t need a third-party app to do the task as Safari does have the option you need.
1. Launch Safari on your Mac by clicking on Launchpad in your dock and searching for and clicking on Safari. You can also launch it from the Dock of your Mac by clicking on its icon.
2. Click on the Safari menu at the top and select Preferences and it’ll take you to the settings panel for Safari.
3. When the settings panel opens, make sure you’re inside the General tab. If you aren’t, just click on General on the top and you should be there.
In the General tab, you’ll find a drop-down menu with the label File download location. Click on the dropdown menu for it and select Other to have another folder as the default downloads folder in Safari.
4. A Finder window should open letting you select whatever folder you want as the default Downloads folder for Safari. Click on any folder and then click the button that says Select in the bottom-right corner of your screen.
5. Get back to the General tab and you should see that the File download location dropdown menu now shows the folder you’ve chosen for saving downloaded files. This indicates that the changes are in effect now.
From now on, any files that you download using Safari will be saved in the folder you chose in the above steps. The files will no longer go into the Downloads folder as they used to.
What’s great about this is that you can have any folder as the default Downloads folder for Safari. The folder doesn’t have to be a specific one, it could be a folder deep down in other folders, or it could be your Desktop for quickly accessing the downloaded files. It’s up to you to choose which folder you’d like to have as the default downloads folder.
