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How do I change the default save location folder from documents to my desktop for all file types?

I want it to offer me the desktop, instead of the documents folder, to make it easier to locate the folder I want to save various files in.


Mojave 10.14.6

Mac Mini (late 2014)

Posted on Sep 4, 2021 7:27 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Sep 4, 2021 1:42 PM

You can't really close it, you can mark a post solved, even your own to slow down replies.


I wonder if Default Folder X would help, you can add any locations to the Side bar for wasy navigation in the Save Dialog...


Default Folder X (stclairsoft.com)




Similar questions

14 replies

Sep 4, 2021 8:12 AM in response to huntfor

How are you taking the screen shots exactly?

Normally Screenshots (command+shift+3) are saved to the desktop by default.


If using command+shift+5 you can select the location under the Options menu: Take screenshots or screen recordings on Mac - Apple Support




When using Preview however and saving a file it is saved to the location the file was in when opened.

Alternatively, you can hold down the option key when going into the File menu and a Save As option will be available. It will let you select a location to save the file in.




Sep 4, 2021 8:27 AM in response to Phil0124

Also, I just took a screenshot and did nothing. Then I took another one the way I like to take them, which is Command+shift+4, and opened it with preview. I went to finder and saw the first screenshot on the desktop. That's not what I'm trying to get at. I immediately rename screenshots so I know what they are.

Sep 4, 2021 8:44 AM in response to huntfor

This is what I mean. I created a textedit document. I clicked to rename and save it and it brought me to my Dymo label printer folder that I used 3 hours ago. That folder has been closed for 3 hours.


This is a screenshot of where the file landed. It should have gone at least to the folder I was working in for the past hour. Am I missing something?


I want to resolve this but I'm getting puppy dog eyes from my dog who wants his walk. :) Thank you so much for the help!



Sep 4, 2021 7:55 AM in response to BDAqua

Hi, I won't be saving them on the desktop. I want to get to the desktop faster to save them to their respective folders. Sometimes I take screenshots for a project I'm working on, and when I save the screenshots in preview, they go off into the wild! LOL! Any advice, please? Thank you for the reply.


(accidentally marked my post as helpful. sorry. I then marked yours as helpful)

Sep 4, 2021 8:19 AM in response to Phil0124

I'm not just talking about screenshots and preview. I'm talking about when I save a new textedit or a new spreadsheet and on and on. Preview was an example. If I'm already in the folder, the file goes to it, but if I'm working on other things and have saved them, when I come back to save something in the proper folder, it defaults to documents.


It's frustrating but if there's no simple fix, I'll forget it. I'm working on images, spreadsheets, descriptions in textedit and creating labels so it seems as if when I go back to where I was, the file saving system gets confused. :)


Thank you. So should I drop this idea?

Sep 4, 2021 8:25 AM in response to huntfor

How I get around that is Taking the screen shots to the Copy Buffer, for instance Shift+Ctrl+CMD+4 to copy a section to the copy buffer, then since I always have Graphic Converter open I click on it's Dock Icon then do a CMD.+j, which opens a window with that capture, then I can manipulate, annotate, resize, or what ever & dave as any name to any location I want.


I apologize not fully awake & didn't fully understand what you wanted. :)

How do I change the default save location folder from documents to my desktop for all file types?

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