How do I make Edge always Save As when downloading files?

Question

I switched over to Edge from Chrome based on some of Google's very anti-consumer practices, and so far I really like it minus this one issue. It's very annoying to start a download, then navigate all the way up to the downloads menu to select "Save As" and then select my download location every time. I usually bulk download files, and having to do this every time is ridiculous. Like, I'm actually considering finding yet another browser just over this one issue.

I do not want files to automatically download to one singular location. I want to start a download and have the file explorer pop up so I can select where to save it. I don't want to be asked if I want to Save the file or Open it every single time. Is there a way to do this, or a workaround? Or do I need to find another browser?

Answer 1

Hello axel,

My name is Damien and I'm happy to help you

Thank you for sharing detailed situation. After reviewing your request, I want to let you know that Edge is not configurable to behave as you wish. I completely understand how this can be disappointing, especially if it’s something that would be valuable to your workflow or use case. 

When you navigate to Setting> Downloads you will see "Ask where to save each file before downloading" toggle.

• By disable this, you won't see the prompt where you can choose "Open", "Save as", "Save" when download a file, but you cannot choose the location of the downloaded file, it will be default to the set location at the same page.
• If you want to choose the download location for each file, you can enable the option, and it will ask if you want to open, save as or save the file.

For this situation, you can submit a feature request by following these steps:

1. On the new tab page, click on the 3-dot on the top right corner.
2. Select Help and feedback> Send feedback
3. Describe your request.
4. Include the screenshot and your email for follow up (optional)

Thanks again for your understanding, and please don’t hesitate to reach out if there’s anything else we can support you with. 

Answer 2

Beautiful example of a waste of explanation of something the questioner already knows while the only correct answer at this point is "No". Edge cannot skip those prompts and show the dialog to choose location and filename directly.

Answer 3

I also find it frustrating to click on "Save as" for each file to be downloaded and more frustraing to see this long but useless response from the Microsoft representatives. They should make their response aligned with the questions rather than sharing everything that they know.

Looks like I also need to find another browser than Edge. More than the prouct itself, the suport is more disappointing.

Answer 4

Hello axel,

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Q&A Forum regarding the issue you're experiencing, and I'm here to help you resolve this. 

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To enable the “Save As” prompt for every download, follow these steps: 

1. Open Microsoft Edge. 
2. Click the three-dot menu (⋯) in the top-right corner and go to Settings. 
3. Navigate to Downloads. 
4. Toggle “Ask me what to do with each download” to On. 

This setting ensures that Edge will prompt you with options like Save, Save As, or Open for each download. To specifically trigger the File Explorer “Save As” dialog, you’ll need to click “Save As” when prompted. 

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I look forward to receiving your update and I'm willing to collaborate with you till we resolve the issue. Please keep me informed.   

Warm regards, 

Hendrix-MSFT | Microsoft Q&A Support Specialist 

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