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"Downloads" folder does the opposite of what I want

wordmunger

wordmunger

macrumors 603
Original poster
I was excited about the "downloads" folder feature of Leopard. I get tired of all those downloads stacking up on my desktop when 9 times out of 10 I look at it once and then never need it again.

But I'm finding it to be rather useless. When I want to actually download a file to my disk -- one that I want to keep, like an application, then FireFox puts the file in the downloads folder. Then I need to open the Downloads folder and move it to the place I want it. I can't do this from the Dock; I have to open the folder separately. In cases like this, it would be better if the file just went to the desktop.

If I want to open the file right away and just view it once (if it's a movie or a PDF, for example), then Firefox puts it on the desktop. My desktop gets just as cluttered as before -- full of worthless junk.

Shouldn't the "downloads" folder be the place for these things you want to use once, and the desktop be the place for files you want to download and use later?
 
Why are you unable to drag from the Downloads folder to where you want from the Dock? I do this daily. I download pictures or apps and move around to desktop/apps/trash as needed without ever having to open the folder beyond the Downloads stack. Every once in a while if I'm using Firefox I'll save to the desktop instead, but this is rare. I think the Downloads folder serves it's purpose just fine.
 
Maybe you're not aware that you can drag items directly from the 'fanned out' downloads stack in your dock, onto your desktop. You don't need to open the Downloads folder to do this
 
blodwyn said:
Maybe you're not aware that you can drag items directly from the 'fanned out' downloads stack in your dock, onto your desktop. You don't need to open the Downloads folder to do this
Click to expand...

I'm using the "list" view, so I can't. But I suppose that's an argument in favor of using the "stack" view. I didn't like stacks initially because they only displayed the icon of the "top" item, which was confusing, but now that you can specify to use the folder icon, I'll give that a shot. Thanks!

But I still think Firefox should put everything in the "downloads" folder and not on the desktop.
 
I use the grid layout, personally. It lists from left to right, top to bottom, and you can drag stuff out of it. The fan view is a little too weird for me, and I like how many things are viewable in grid view.
 

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clevin said:
this is what I do

addon automatic save folder allows you save downloads automatically to different folder with pre-set filters.
Click to expand...

You shouldn't need an add-on extension. Just specify that you want firefox to save downloads to 'Downloads' rather than the desktop in the preferences section. I agree that for the mac version this should be the default, but I'm guessing that they didn't set it because not everyone's running leopard, and therefore not everyone has a 'Downloads' folder.
 
pna said:
You shouldn't need an add-on extension. Just specify that you want firefox to save downloads to 'Downloads' rather than the desktop in the preferences section. I agree that for the mac version this should be the default, but I'm guessing that they didn't set it because not everyone's running leopard, and therefore not everyone has a 'Downloads' folder.
Click to expand...

yeah, I guess I gave the wrong impression in previous post.😱

you do NOT need any addon for firefox to save download into any folder automatically.

and

you do NOT need any addon for firefox to ask you where you want to save the downloads.
 
pna said:
You shouldn't need an add-on extension. Just specify that you want firefox to save downloads to 'Downloads' rather than the desktop in the preferences section. I agree that for the mac version this should be the default, but I'm guessing that they didn't set it because not everyone's running leopard, and therefore not everyone has a 'Downloads' folder.
Click to expand...

No, this doesn't work. If you choose to view an item with an application (i.e. open a PDF in preview) it still saves to the desktop.
 
wordmunger said:
No, this doesn't work. If you choose to view an item with an application (i.e. open a PDF in preview) it still saves to the desktop.
Click to expand...

I found that really annoying (it still saves files to the default location even if you specify 'open')
so this extension sorted it for me:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/207

(you may need to install nightly tester tools to get it to run in FF3, or download the version that someone has left in the comments)
 
did you try first set up a folder in preference? Just make sure "desktop" is not the default location (gray out or not)?

PS. I don't know if it will work since I don't have chance to try it now.
 

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clevin said:
did you try first set up a folder in preference? Just make sure "desktop" is not the default location (gray out or not)?

PS. I don't know if it will work since I don't have chance to try it now.
Click to expand...

Yep, I did all that. Still doesn't work. If I choose to view the document rather than save it, it saves to the desktop.
 
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