How do I replace the "DOWNLOADS" icon on the dock?

click on the house icon in the sidebar. this will open your home directory. drag the downloads folder from your home directory to the dock. that's how you make a stack out of any folder. there is nothing special about the Downloads folder.

If V.K.'s answer didn't solve it for you, perhaps you could explain in more detail what it is you need replacing exactly?

Open finder and go to your home folder (/Users/<username>), you will see downloads.

Grab it and drag it to the dock.

Ta-da !

Thankyou, bfdtpkt, for asking this question. I did the exact same thing, trying to drag a file to the trash and accidentally put the whole Downloads folder in the trash and then could not retrieve it. I have used the explanation for dragging the downloads folder from the Finder back to the dock from the previous post (I'm sorry, I forgot the name) and that worked to bring the downloads to the dock but it did not get the original Downloads folder either. I discovered that if you Right Click the Downloads Stack that you just put on the dock, there is an option to display it as a folder or a stack. Select the folder and Hooray! you get the original folder back. I too am a PC to Mac user - love it, but am having a learning curve.

For the new Mac people, see these:

Switching from Windows to Mac OS X,
Basic Tutorials on using a Mac,
Mac 101: Mac Essentials,
Anatomy of a Mac,
MacTips, and
Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual, Snow Leopard Edition.

Additionally, *Texas Mac Man* recommends:

Quick Assist.
Welcome to the Switch To A Mac Guides,
Take Control E-books, and
A guide for switching to a Mac.

I just read SCSilver Fox's answer as I have the same problem but I don't have a mouse with a right click facility. I'm also new to Macs - any help please?

Aha! I've just answered my own question. Continued searching help on Mac and found I have to 'contol - click' to get to the options of what to do with this type of mouse. Hope it helps someone else.