Download's vs Documents folder!

Hi,


I am trying to figure out what the differences are on a Mac.

As I understand ALL the downloads are collected in your "Download folder", and the "Document folder" is what you create out of your download folder/files/images, is this correct?

If that is the case, this means you might have almost all files double, right i.e. once in your download folder and at least once in your document folder!

In that case, I wonder how do you organize your files in both folders if at all, to avoid having the same files/folders/images!

With a Windows based system you are told that you have a file and are asked to change the file name, but with Mac this is not the case!

Is there a way your Mac could tell you, that you have a certain file/folder/image on your system?

The download folder is the default folder for files downloaded from the internet, although you can change your preferences in Safari or Firefox to select a different folder or to ask you every time a file downloads.

The download folder is not really intended for long term storage or creating a complex file structure. I regularly delete mine - I just use it for DMG downloads, downloading pics that I then import to iPhoto or delete, or PDFs/Documents that if I choose to keep I'll file somewhere permanent.

As for the documents folder, well it's like MyDocuments in Windows... you can store files here in whatever form you like in whatever folder structure you like. And BTW, both Vista and Win7 now have a 'download' folder, it's only XP that didn't.

If you want to search for any image or document, use Spotlight or the search box in the top right of any window. Every version of a matching file will show.

You are free to use the folders as you see fit. As zoolook has noted, the Downloads folder is the default for files downloaded in Safari and Firefox but this can easily be changed. You are responsible for organizing files and folders as you see necessary.

If you want more info on the filesystem structure in OS X, take a look at this.

Plus since you would move files to your documents folder, they wouldn't be copied, so no duplicates.

fncos said:

With a Windows based system you are told that you have a file and are asked to change the file name, but with Mac this is not the case!

Click to expand...

Well, not quite.

If you're talking about the Documents folder:
Attempting to move or copy an item there with the same name as an existing one will produce a warning asking if you want to overwrite it.

(Do you want a tome on the difference between moving and copying in OSX?)

If you're talking about the Downloads folder:
If you download something twice, the Mac assumes you have a reason for doing so, and will not overwrite the first one. Instead, (lets say it's called "file") the second one will be called "file1", the third "file2" etc. The only way to avoid this is to first (before downloading) rename "file" to "vile" or whatever.

Hi,


thank s for the details and especially for the above informative link.

I am a newbie - still trying to figure out what Mac and all its default settings are about, only than I might be able to customize it to meet my needs!

I found out now, that if you use the "copy tab" while being on a folder/file as I did recently (I am using FF) you will get the same that you have already in your download folder, a second file/folder with the added "copy" to the file/folder name.

Furthermore, if you are not careful after reading a file that you want to save, I said save not "copy" you might end up duplicating files/folders! Duplication, in this case happens by means of adding a number to the file name, you should click once on the save botton!

But subsequent searching on your system about the file name, will only reveal the file with the file name only and not the duplicated one's, this I am still trying to understand why that is the case!

Also, I am still trying to figure out how to see details while hoovering over a folder/file to get to see basic details; as you can on a windows based system i.e. creation date, exact file/folder name, size etc

fncos said:

Also, I am still trying to figure out how to see details while hoovering over a folder/file to get to see basic details; as you can on a windows based system i.e. creation date, exact file/folder name, size etc

Click to expand...

You can't. Mac OSX does not have that feature. To get that info, you have to highlight the file or folder, then use the appropriately named Get Info command. There are several ways to do that.

Do Command-I (⌘-I) on the keyboard. That is, both of those keys simultaneously.
Go to the Menu Bar, click: File > Get Info
Hit the blue Get Info button in the Toolbar of the Finder Window (that's the window in which you see the file or folder)

If you don't have a blue Get Info button, right click (or control-click) on the Toolbar (top) of the Finder Window and select Customize Toolbar...
From the pop-down pane, drag the Get Info button up to the Toolbar and release the mouse. Do that for any other item you fancy from that pane.

Hope that helps!

Hey,


thanks for your inputs...

toMACsh said:

Well, not quite.

If you're talking about the Documents folder:
Attempting to move or copy an item there with the same name as an existing one will produce a warning asking if you want to overwrite it.

(Do you want a tome on the difference between moving and copying in OSX?)

If you're talking about the Downloads folder:
If you download something twice, the Mac assumes you have a reason for doing so, and will not overwrite the first one. Instead, (lets say it's called "file") the second one will be called "file1", the third "file2" etc. The only way to avoid this is to first (before downloading) rename "file" to "vile" or whatever.

Click to expand...

I would like some of my other folders to behave like the Downloads folder does which is it will not overwrite files with the same name. Is there a way to do that or some sort of workaround. I know about using Command when copying files to keep both files but that doesn't work with downloading or saving files.

Thanks,

Ted

Ted, welcome to the forum. That is the default way OS X works. AFAIK it's been that way for a long time. If you use Finder, it will ask what to do, retain both or overwrite. If you tell it to retain both, then what OS X does is create the new file with a number added to the name to distinguish them. So if you copy ABC.XYZ to a folder where ABC.XYZ already exists the new copy will be named ABC(2).XYZ. Is that not happening?

As I said in my post, "I know about using Command when copying files to keep both files but that doesn't work with downloading or saving files." I have tried many times to save a file to a folder and it always gives the choice of overwrite or cancel. The only time it assigns a new name is if you save to the Downloads folder. Is it possible to have a folder other than the Downloads folder assign another name to a file?

If download is not permanent then how long files will be in the download folder ?

ramdutt said:

If download is not permanent then how long files will be in the download folder ?

Click to expand...

Welcome to the forum.

First, you tagged into a twelve year old thread last posted to four years ago. The dates of the posts are in the header bars so you can tell if the thread is recent or not.

Second, files are in the Download folder as long as you leave them there. That can be forever, but most of us clean out the downloads periodically to put things where they should be to be findable later on.

ramdutt said:

If download is not permanent then how long files will be in the download folder ?

Click to expand...

Yeah...if you no longer need stuff in the downloads folder...and if you have an Apple computer with not a lot of internal storage...definitely trash what's not needed to recover some space.

Nick