Change The Location (And Shortcut) For The Download Folder In Windows

Tweaking Windows’ built-in functionality usually involves a trip to the Registry, but sometimes you get lucky. Take the venerable Downloads folder and its shortcut in Windows Explorer — it’s extremely simple to change.

While there’s no pressing reason to change the location of the Downloads folder, it can be beneficial in a few cases. For example, if you’re worried you’re going to wear out your SSD, or you’re running bit short of space on your main drive.

In my case, I’d unofficially moved my downloads to my E: drive, but hadn’t taken the time to let Windows know. So to access the folder, I found myself manually typing “E:Downloads” into Windows Explorer. Yeah, not the brightest of things one can do.

By default, the Downloads folder can be found at C:Users{Username}Downloads, but this can be altered by finding the Downloads shortcut in Windows Explorer, right-clicking it and selecting “Properties”.

Then, click the “Location” tab. From here, you can browse for a new folder and even restore the defaults.

This will also change where the built-in “Downloads” shortcut takes you. Sometimes it’s the small tweaks that make the biggest difference.


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