Chrome, Google’s cross-platform browser, known for its ubiquitous nature serves as the primary gateway to the internet for a lot of people. For many, it is also the tool they use to acquire data via downloads. These downloads that often consist of documents, images, videos, audio or installers can steadily stack up over time and become highly unorganised, Multiple downloads at once can also hinder tracking their progress, thus affecting overall productivity.

In this guide, we’ll help you track downloads made in Chrome, locate them on your device and organise them for easy accessibility and a smoother workflow.

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How to track Chrome Downloads on Android?

• Tap on the three-dot icon in the top-right corner of the screen.
• Select Downloads.
• On the next page, you will be able to see all the files that have been downloaded via Chrome. You can also search amongst them or share, rename and delete these files.

If you want to move these to a different location on your internal storage or better organise them, you will need to use your file manager.

If you pay attention to the top-right corner of the screen, you will notice a gear icon. Tapping on it allows you to see where the downloaded files are actually located within your internal storage. Additional options that allow you to choose the save location for the downloaded files or decide whether news articles should be pre-downloaded are also available here.

Ongoing downloads show up within the notification, from where you can see their progress.

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How to track Chrome Downloads on Windows?

Step 1: In the top right, click on the three-dots option.

Step 2: From the dropdown list, click on Downloads option.

Following these steps will show you an entire list of downloads made on your computer. Over here you can click Show in folder to locate the file via File Explorer. The Remove from list option — indicated by the cross icon — will clear your download history but not delete the file.

Apart from this, any ongoing downloads will show up at the bottom edge of the Chrome window from where you can see their progress and perform actions such as Resume, Pause, or Cancel the download. Once a download is complete these are replaced with Open and Show in folder options.

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Tips and tricks to handle Chrome downloads

While your browser may be the only source of downloads on your computer, on a mobile device that is not the case. Several applications — for example, Gmail — also store their downloaded files within the ‘Downloads’ folder on the internal storage. This can often lead to a little mayhem, specifically with file names made up of a string of numbers and letters that do not make sense.

Hence, mentioned below are some steps that we think may be worth your while to help better manage the way downloads are stored on your devices –especially if your smartphone is an integral part of your workflow.

Create sub-folders within Downloads

File management on Android is not as robust as it is on Windows. Smaller screens and obscured information can make interaction with files a living hell. Thus, to help better manage downloads on your smartphone, we recommend creating sub-folders according to file types that you may often download. Naming them with, context-related terms (like months, year or dates) and underscores can help you sort them in a way that the most important ones show up first and you know where to find them when required.

This will also make searching the downloads via the file manager in your device easier in the future.

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Decide locations for downloads made in Chrome

Having created sub-folders on your device, this next tip aims to help minimise the amount of effort required for sorting files at a later time. To decide where your downloaded go follow the steps mentioned below:

On Android

• Select the gear-shaped icon available within the Downloads section of the Google Chrome app.
• Toggle Ask where to save your files On.
• The next time you make a download, a dialogue box will show up allowing you to choose the save location.
• Choose a suitable folder for your download.

On Windows

Step 1: Click on the triple-dot icon in the top-right and select Settings.

Step 2: Scroll to the bottom of the Settings page and click on Advanced.

Step 3: Under the Downloads sub-heading, look for an option titled Location. and then click on the Change button and choose your desired location for saving files.

Turning on Ask where to save each file will allow you to choose download locations for files, one at a time.

Similar steps may also be applicable to other browsers that you happen to use.

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Sort By

If your Downloads folder is an unorganised mess, the Sort by feature can be quite the time-saver. This feature is especially useful when you remember certain details, such as the size, date or file type of the download, which allow narrowing down your search. Listed below are the steps to help sort items according to your requirements.

To perform this action, you will need access to a File Manager on your phone and File Explorer on Windows.

On Android

• Open your file manager.
• Locate the Downloads folder.
• Tap on the triple-dot icon in the top-right.
• Tap on Sort by, you can sort files according to the option below:
  • File name (A to Z)
  • File name (Z to A)
  • Modified (newest first)
  • Modified (oldest first)
  • File type (A to Z)
  • File type (Z to A)
  • Size (largest first)
  • Size (smallest first)

This is a list of options available within Android 10’s Files app, features may differ based on your version of Android or device manufacturer.

On Windows

• Open File Explorer.
• Locate the Downloads folder — commonly found under Quick Access or This PC.
• Right-click to bring up the context menu.
• Click on Sort by, files can be sorted according to the following options:
  • Name (Ascending or Descending).
  • Date (Ascending or Descending).
  • Size (Ascending or Descending).
  • Type (Ascending or Descending).

Clicking on More within the Sort by contextual menu will bring up a dialogue box that allows you to customise the sorting options available to you.

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