The Downloads folder is the default location on your computer for storing downloaded content. The default location is in the C drive of the computer. Although the purpose of the folder is to temporarily hold downloaded files until you move them to their permanent location, most people don’t move files to another location.
Since C drive is usually the installer drive, first of all, you should not fill up the drive completely as it may slow down your PC. Secondly, if anything goes wrong, you may have to factory reset the drive and you may lose all your personal files.
If you also forget to move the downloads to another location, you can simply change the default location of the Downloads folder. This way, there will be no hassle of transferring files after each download. Fortunately, changing the default location is very easy and there are several ways to go about it.
1. Change Downloads folder properties
First, open File Explorer by double-clicking on the ‘This PC’ icon. otherwise press windows,I keys on your keyboard.
After that, navigate to the directory where you want to move the folder and right-click on an empty space. Next, hover over the ‘New’ option and select the ‘Folder’ option. Finally, rename it as ‘Download’.
Next, go to the main screen of File Explorer, right-click on the ‘Downloads’ folder and select the ‘Properties’ option.
Afterward, click on the ‘Location’ tab and then click on the ‘Move’ button. This will open a separate window on your screen.
From the separately opened window, navigate and select the ‘Downloads’ folder you created earlier in this section. Then, click on the ‘Select Folder’ button.
Afterwards, on the ‘Properties’ window, click on the ‘Apply’ and ‘Ok’ buttons to save the changes. And that’s it, you have successfully changed the default location of Downloads folder.
You may be prompted to move all existing files to the new location. Click on ‘Yes’ if you wish to do so, otherwise deny the action by clicking on the ‘No’ button.
If you ever want to change back to the default download directory from the ‘Properties’ window, click on the ‘Restore Defaults’ button.
2. Change the Default Download Location for Microsoft Apps
Since Microsoft Apps are controlled by the Store itself, it has a different default download location. Luckily, converting it isn’t much of a challenge either.
Firstly, go to the Start Menu and click on the ‘Settings’ icon to proceed.
After that, make sure you have selected the ‘System’ tab from the left sidebar.
Then, click on the ‘Storage’ tile from the right.
Now, click on ‘Advanced storage settings’ to expand the option and then click on the ‘Where new content is saved’ tile to continue.
Then, click the dropdown menu under the ‘New apps will be saved to’ field and choose the drive you want to save the apps to.
Tip: Change the download directory from the browser
You can also change the default download directory directly on the browser if you don’t want to move the Downloads folder.
To change the download directory for Microsoft Edge, launch the Edge browser on your computer and then click on the ‘hamburger’ icon. Next, click on the ‘Settings’ option to proceed further.
After that click on the ‘Download’ option from the left sidebar.
Then, click on the ‘Change’ button in the right part. This will bring up a new Explorer window on your screen.
Afterward, select a folder using the File Explorer window and click on the ‘OK’ button.
That’s all, you have successfully changed the download directory for your browser.
You can also use the above method to change the download directory on Chrome, Firefox and Brave browsers as the process is the same.
That’s about it, people. Changing the default download directory is a simple and easy task on your Windows 11 computer.
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