[Windows 10 Tip] Change Downloads Folder Location in Microsoft Edge Browser

We know that Microsoft’s latest OS Windows 10 comes with a new web browser “Microsoft Edge” which was previously known as Project Spartan. Edge browser comes with a new rendering engine to support modern HTML websites and to provide better compatibility and performance. It is now the default web browser in Windows 10.

You can read more about it in our exclusive review of Edge browser at following link:

[Review] Microsoft Edge (or Spartan) Web Browser in Windows 10

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Although Microsoft has provided several options to customize Edge browser’s UI as well as functionality but there is a big feature missing in the browser which is the ability to change “Downloads” folder location.

UPDATE: The newer versions of Microsoft Edge web browser present in latest Windows 10 builds now allow users to change download folder location. You just need to go to Settings -> View advanced settings and there you can change downloads folder location to any desired folder as shown in following screenshot:

Windows_10_Microsoft_Edge_Advanced_Settings.png

By default Edge browser saves all downloaded files in “Downloads” folder present in the current user’s profile folder i.e. C:\Users\User_name\Downloads directory and there is no option given in Edge Settings to change or customize this folder location. That’s a big issue. Almost all web browsers such as Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera and even Internet Explorer provide options to change the downloads folder location as mentioned in following tutorial:

[Tip] How to Change Downloads Folder Location in Your Web Browser

But don’t worry! Although Microsoft didn’t provide users any option to change downloads folder location in Edge browser, we’ll tell you 2 easy ways to change the folder location to any of your desired folder.

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So without wasting time lets start the tutorial:

METHOD 1: Move Downloads Folder Location Using Properties

Actually Edge browser uses the system default Downloads folder to save the downloaded files and if we change the default Downloads folder path in Windows, it’ll also change the default downloads folder in Edge browser. But remember changing Windows default Downloads folder location may also affect download location in other apps and programs in Windows.

1. Open Edge browser, click on Hub icon to see Download Manager.

2. Now click on “Open folder” link to open default Downloads folder.

Open_Downloads_Folder_Edge_Windows_10.png

3. In Downloads folder, right-click on empty area and select Properties option.

4. Now go to Location tab and click on Move button.

Move_Downloads_Folder_Location_Windows_10.png

5. Select the desired folder in the Browse window and click on “Select Folder” button.

6. Now click on Apply button and Windows will show you a confirmation message asking your choice to move the existing files from old Downloads folder to new download location. If you want to move the existing files, click on Yes button otherwise click on No button.

7. That’s it. Click on OK button and relaunch Edge browser. Now when you’ll click on “Open folder” link in Downloads Manager, it’ll open the new download folder which you selected.

Now Edge browser will always save downloaded files in your new download location.

PS: If you want to restore default Downloads folder location in future, open your new download folder, open its Properties, go to Location tab and click on “Restore Default” button.

METHOD 2: Change Downloads Folder Location Using Registry Editor

If you don’t want to change the system-wide Downloads folder location, you can force Edge browser to use your desired folder to save downloaded files with the help of a simple Registry tweak:

1. Press WIN+R keys together to open Run dialog box. Now type regedit and press Enter to launch Registry Editor.

2. Now go to following key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\AppContainer\Storage\microsoft.microsoftedge_8wekyb3d8bbwe\MicrosoftEdge\Main

3. In right-side pane, create a new String Default Download Directory and set its value to the full path of your desired folder for example E:\Downloads

Change_Downloads_Folder_Location_Edge_Windows_10.png

4. That’s it. Close Registry Editor and relaunch Edge browser. Now click on “Open folder” link in Downloads Manager and it’ll open the new download folder which you selected in Registry Editor.

Now Edge browser will always download and save new files in your desired download location.

PS: In future, if you want to restore default Downloads folder location, just delete the String Default Download Directory from Registry Editor.

NOTE: If you are not familiar with Registry editing tasks, we are providing a ready-made Registry script to do the task automatically. Download following ZIP file, extract it and you’ll get 2 .REG files: one to change Downloads folder location and the other to restore default Downloads folder location:

By default the Registry script will set Downloads folder location to E:\Downloads folder. You can change the location to your desired folder by right-click on .REG file and select Edit option. It’ll open the file in Notepad. Now change E:\\Downloads\\ text with the full path of your desired folder. But remember to use \\ instead of \ in the folder path otherwise it’ll not work. Save the file and run .REG file. It’ll ask for confirmation, accept it.

We hope the option to change Downloads folder location in Edge browser will be added in future builds of Windows 10…

Published in: Microsoft Edge, Windows 10

About the author: Vishal Gupta (also known as VG) has been awarded with Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) award. He holds Masters degree in Computer Applications (MCA). He has written several tech articles for popular newspapers and magazines and has also appeared in tech shows on various TV channels.

Comments

NOTE: Older comments have been removed to reduce database overhead.

  1. VG is there any way to download xap files from windows pone store ?
    Before some days the link was windowsphone.com/en-in/store/app/ & there is option to download for manual installation.
    Now the link changed to microsoft.com/en-us/store/apps/ & no option is found to download files for manual installation.
    Online installation is very bad on Windows Phone Store if net speed fluctuates
    Offline installation on other hand is as good as we do on pc. Have a look in it.

  2. Thanks u, i want 1 software for capture and add weatermark and arows —> , please tell me, i want a soft for simple 🙂

  3. Hey, In step 6 of the first method, I said No, thinking the old folder would still exist and I could decide case by case what to do with the files.

    The old folder though is no where to be found, what happened to the old files (Not in recycle bin)
    Is it archived somewhere? Can I access these old downloads?

  4. ‘download properties’ by right clicking an empty aerea does not show up. What to do?

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