Help! I Can't Find My Downloads!

Mel from Tempe, AZ writes:

Help! I clicked the download button to get a new screen saver, but I can’t find it. This sort of thing has happened to me more than once. I say I want to download something and it says it downloads, but I cannot find it anywhere. Sometimes when I download something, a program will open. Sometimes nothing happens, but when I try to download the item again, it asks if I want to replace that file. So where is the file? I use Windows 7 if that helps.

Mel, it’s time to introduce you to your Downloads folder.  Various kinds of programs will go straight there, including set-up files for things like iTunes, screensavers, eBooks and some images and documents. The quickest way to find it is to hit the Start Button and type “downloads” in the search box.

 

 

Then select the Downloads icon from the results.

 

 

 The window for your download folder will open.

 

 

You can sort downloads by Name, Date, Type and Size – just by by clicking on that column header.

 

 

Choosing date is the easiest way to find a recent download.  Here you can see that I downloaded a setup program for iTunes. I had to double-click on that download to launch the installation of iTunes on my computer.

 

 

Downloads will not always be clearly named. bcgavr11 is actually an installation program for a screensaver. That’s why it’s helpful to be able to sort by date and time.

 

 

Here are some eBooks that I downloaded.

 

 

You can select these files and either copy or drag and drop them to another folder. I have a file just for eBooks, so I can put them there.

 

 

 Some files might be “zipped” or compressed.

 

 

 Double-clicking on that folder would open another folder that contained the files.

 

 

Files and photos that you download from places like GoogleDrive may also go into this folder. Downloaded music will usually go into your computer’s Music folder, but if you can’t find it there, check the Downloads folder.

 ~ Cynthia