# Internet Explorer Question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 6, 2003, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/internet-explorer-question/211642 "2003-11-06T01:11:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MIKE\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@MIKE\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MIKE_P)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2003, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/internet-explorer-question/211642/1 "2003-11-06T01:11:16Z")
When I click to download something in IE, it downloads to a temporary folder instead of My Documents. This is quite annoying and I would like to know how to change it to go to My Documents. ---
**Author:** ![Toddly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/22d042/32.png) [@Toddly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toddly)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2003, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/internet-explorer-question/211642/2 "2003-11-06T01:26:42Z")
I don’t know what version of IE you are using but [here](http://www.tweakxp.com/display.aspx?id=128) are some registry changes that you can make to change the default directory. Please back up your registry before attempting to edit. On my computer a dialog box pops up and I can select where to store the downloads. ---
**Author:** ![Thin\_Ice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@Thin\_Ice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thin_Ice)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2003, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/internet-explorer-question/211642/3 "2003-11-06T01:29:24Z")
When you click to d’load, doesn’t a File Download window open right away then a Save As window to specify where you want to save the file? I think files always d’load to a temp. folder first, then when the file is complete it is saved to the specified location. Some files you have to right-click and then click Save Target As… ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2003, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/internet-explorer-question/211642/4 "2003-11-06T02:26:17Z")
You shouldn’t need to go fiddling with the registry. When you download a file, doesn’t it give you a window in which you can navigate to the folder that you want it to save to? There should be a one-line drop-down box at the top of that window where you can steer the download to any folder on any drive on your PC. And at least in IE6, once you’ve pointed a download to a specific folder, it remembers that folder, so the next time you download something, it defaults to that location. ---
**Author:** ![MIKE\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@MIKE\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MIKE_P)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2003, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/internet-explorer-question/211642/5 "2003-11-06T04:00:44Z")
See the problem is that somehow I checked off a box while downloading and now the window that allows you to change your download directory doesn’t appear. Heres an example of what I mean: [http://invis.free.anonymizer.com/http://mikep.iwarp.com/ieproblem.jpg](http://invis.free.anonymizer.com/http://mikep.iwarp.com/ieproblem.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2003, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/internet-explorer-question/211642/6 "2003-11-06T04:29:46Z")
Ah, yes, I understand. Somewhere along the line, you _un_checked the box that says “Always ask before opening this type of file.” Now, it’s just automatically opening the file, and to do that, it downloads it to a temp folder and launches the sucker. Now, if I could just remember how to _undo_ that action! While I’m hunting and head-scratching, does anyone know this off the top of his or her head? ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2003, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/internet-explorer-question/211642/7 "2003-11-06T04:38:17Z")
Found it at [Microsoft](http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=http://support.microsoft.com:80/support/kb/articles/Q177/9/76.ASP&NoWebContent=1): > [@](#): > > If you want to be prompted for a download location for the file type, follow these steps: > > - Double-click My Computer. > - On the View menu, click Folder Options. > - On the File Types tab, click the appropriate file type in the Registered File Types box. > - Click Edit. > - Click to select the Confirm Open After Download check box. > - Click OK, and then click OK. The file type you’re looking for is a .zip file, which appears to be the one that’s opening automatically. ---
**Author:** ![MIKE\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@MIKE\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MIKE_P)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2003, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/internet-explorer-question/211642/8 "2003-11-06T05:31:37Z")
Thank you very much.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2003, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/internet-explorer-question/211642/9 "2003-11-06T05:47:13Z")
Oh, and it’s a little different under Win XP (same action, but things are in different places, or named differently): - Select My Computer from the Start Menu. - On the Tools menu, click Folder Options. - On the File Types tab, click the appropriate file type in the Registered File Types box. - Click Advanced. - Click to select the Confirm Open After Download check box. - Click OK, and then click Close. ---
**Author:** ![Toddly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/22d042/32.png) [@Toddly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toddly)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2003, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/internet-explorer-question/211642/10 "2003-11-06T07:20:48Z")
My question is will that work for all file types or just the ones that you would select because I get the dialog box for every file I download. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2003, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/internet-explorer-question/211642/11 "2003-11-06T08:17:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MIKE\_P \* > \*\*See the problem is that somehow I checked off a box while downloading and now the window that allows you to change your download directory doesn’t appear. > > Heres an example of what I mean: > > [http://invis.free.anonymizer.com/http://mikep.iwarp.com/ieproblem.jpg](http://invis.free.anonymizer.com/http://mikep.iwarp.com/ieproblem.jpg) \*\* Well that was embarrasing, I just spent a couple of minutes trying to close that window using the “close window” button on the JPG rather than the actual window. D’oh! ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2003, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/internet-explorer-question/211642/12 "2003-11-06T11:27:37Z")
I am not sure i understand the problem. If you click on the link it should “Open” the file and for that it will save it to the temp folder. If you right click on the link you get a menu asking wheter you want to open the taget or whther you want to save it. Click “save target” and you get a choice of where to save it. That’s how it works for me with win98SE and IE6. ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2003, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/internet-explorer-question/211642/13 "2003-11-06T15:23:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Toddly \* > \*\*My question is will that work for all file types or just the ones that you would select because I get the dialog box for every file I download. \*\* Well, that’s normally what you want. When you click on a file to download from a website, most of the time, you want to save it somewhere on your system, not just “run” the file. So, it gives you the dialog box that asks whether you want to Open the file, or Save it. If you choose Open, it will download the file to a temp directory and immediately, automatically, execute it. If it’s a .exe, it’ll run it. If it’s a .pdf, it’ll launch Acrobat and open the file. If it’s a .doc, it’ll launch Word and open the file. When it’s finished, the file, being in a temp directory, will be deleted (or be damned difficult to find, since the normal temp directory is buried deep in the folder structure on your C: drive). Most of the time, however, you don’t want it to do that. You want to download the file, save it somewhere that you specify, and use it later. So, the default setting is “Always ask before opening this type of file.” That’s certainly the safer choice, too. You don’t want to accidentally click on a link on a web page to a .exe file and have it start executing, without any further input from you! If you really want it to always “run” a .pdf, for example, when you go to download one, just uncheck the “Always ask…” button. From then on, whenever you click on a link to download a .pdf file, it won’t ask you whether to Open or Save - it’ll just open it. Other file types won’t be affected by that choice, only .pdf’s. To change your mind about what the download routine does with .pdf’s, follow the instructions I posted above. ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2003, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/internet-explorer-question/211642/14 "2003-11-06T15:27:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by sailor \* > \*\*If you right click on the link you get a menu asking whether you want to open the target or whether you want to save it. Click “save target” and you get a choice of where to save it. \*\* Yes, that will override the setting for the file type in question. You just have to remember to right-click, of course, which is why, in the long run, it’s sometimes easier to reset the default for some file types, so that the usual left-click doesn’t start doing something you don’t want it to do! ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2003, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/internet-explorer-question/211642/15 "2003-11-06T15:41:18Z")
I suggest you install GetRight, the download manager - way way a thousand times better than IE’s own download procedure, and supports resuming.