Enable or Disable Chrome Download Location Prompt

This guide shows you how to turn on or off the “Ask where to save each file” setting in Google Chrome for 2026. Why do this? It gives you total control over where your files land on your computer instead of having them automatically drop into your Downloads folder. What happens when you are done? Chrome will either show a pop-up window every time you download something or send files directly to your default folder.

Note: In 2026, Chrome uses a “Download Bubble” at the top right of the browser. When you enable the “Ask where to save” setting, the browser will pause the download and open a window asking you to choose a folder before the transfer starts. This keeps your files organized from the start.

Google Chrome is a popular web browser from Google. It is very similar to Microsoft Edge since they share the same base code.

Enable/Disable Download Location Prompt in Chrome

You can change this setting easily through the Chrome menu. Using the search bar is the fastest way to find it, no matter how the menu layout changes.

1. Open Google Chrome browser.
2. Click the three dots in the top right corner and choose Settings.
3. In the search bar at the top of the Settings page, type “Ask”.
4. Look for the setting that says “Ask where to save each file before downloading.”

Click the toggle switch to turn it On or Off.

You can close the settings tab when you are finished.

Enable / Disable Download Location Prompt using the Registry

Advanced users can use the Windows Registry. Warning: Always back up your registry your registry or create a System Restore point before you start. Changing the wrong setting can cause system errors.

We recommend using the HKEY_CURRENT_USER (HKCU) path for your own account. If you want to change this for every person who uses the computer, you can use HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE (HKLM), but this requires administrative privileges.

1. Open the Windows Registry.
2. Go to this path: Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome

If the “Google” or “Chrome” folders do not exist, right-click the folder above them, select New > Key, and name them correctly.

1. Right-click in the empty space on the right, select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value, and name it PromptForDownloadLocation.
2. Double-click PromptForDownloadLocation to edit it.
3. Set the Value data to 1 to force the prompt to appear. Set it to 0 to disable the prompt (this is the default behavior).

If you want to go back to the default settings later, simply delete the PromptForDownloadLocation file you created. You may need to restart your computer for these changes to take effect.

For more technical details, check the Chrome Enterprise Policy.