Filed under: Mac 101
Mac 101: Easy Downloads
I mentioned simple Safari downloads in my recent iPhone ringtones post. Several readers contacted me asking if I could give a step-by-step description how to do this trick.
The problem with downloading audio and video through Safari is that if you paste the link directly into the Address bar, the resources load into the Safari window. They don't download directly to disk.
The easiest way to handle this is by right-clicking (control-clicking) a music or video link and selecting Download Linked File from the pop-up menu. However if you get your URL outside Safari and don't have a link to right-click, that method won't work. In the ringtones example, the URL was copied from a text file.
To download a URL directly then, go into Safari and select Window -> Downloads. The Downloads windows open. Select it and paste your URL (Edit -> Paste or just type Command-V). The download begins immediately without having to open the file in an intermediate window and then save to disk.
This trick has been tested with Safari 3, and several people have told me that it works for them in Safari 2. Let me know in the comments how it works for you. I tried it out in Firefox and can confirm it does not work there.
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jeff said 4:20PM on 8-03-2007
Or you could just hold down option key as you click the link, but to each their own.
Reply
Jon said 4:21PM on 8-03-2007
I'd like to know how to do the opposite. Sometimes clicking on a video clip opens it in the browser window (Firefox 2) whereas other times (probably specified by the author of the page) it opens up a download dialog and I have to download the file and THEN play it, which can get annoying. Is there a way of forcing them to play in the browser window?
Reply
Al said 4:39PM on 8-03-2007
Paste URL in address bar, option-enter. DONE.
Reply
Mike said 4:44PM on 8-03-2007
Others have said it, but that sounds decidedly LESS simple than just pasting the URL into the address bar and hitting option+enter.
Reply
pluto198 said 7:37PM on 8-03-2007
Or instead of copying and pasting, you could drag the highlighted link right into the Downloads window.
Reply
Kit said 10:20PM on 8-04-2007
I've been using this technique for ages, but for a different reason:
Open the Safari Activity window (might require the Debug menu; I don't remember. Just Cmd+Opt+A), Cmd+click on the resources on the page you want to download (for instance, a YouTube video, or cool Flash ad), then Cmd+C to copy, click on the Downloads window, Cmd+V to download ALL the selected resources.
Very awesome. Just wish you could drag+drop
Reply
Gerald Buckley said 9:28AM on 8-04-2007
Erica -
Your tips and TUAW entries this morning are top notch. I'm not much caring which of the three or four ways to do this new downloading trick... Fact is, I now have three or four new options I didn't know about ten minutes ago (all are equally usable info). Many, many thanks (esp for the iPhone screen shot deal! The whole tip jar goes to you today!)
Gerald
Reply