data transfersafari
There are certain file types that Safari automatically opens natively. Various kinds of video files, for example. Is there a way to configure Safari to not open these files and instead default to just downloading them?
I'm using Safari 5.1 on OS X 10.7.1
Adobe's Safari plugin for their PDF Reader doesn't work in 64 bit mode (and they don't supply a Firefox/Mac plugin at all!).
Try this Adobe kb article to see if setting 32-bit mode for Safari will work for you. I had similar isses a while back, and I had to reinstall Reader (after upgrading to Snow Leopard) after doing this tip.
One minor workaround is to have the Downloads folder in your Dock, set to Stack. That way, at the very least, you can see the status of the most recent download without needing to open/manage a separate window by just glancing at the Dock. It's not the same obviously, but it's something.
Best Answer
I don't know about permanently, but you can hold down the option key when clicking on a link, and that will always download it instead of opening it. Similarly, if you put a URL into the address bar and type option-return, that will download it as well.