Safari icon

General preferences

Use the General pane of Safari preferences to specify the page that should appear when you open a new Safari window, how Safari should handle downloaded files, and more.

Option
Description

Default web browser

Choose the web browser you want to open when you click a link in an email or other application.

Default search engine (Windows only)

Choose the search engine you want Safari to use when you do a web search. (To switch between search engines, click the triangle on the left side of the search field and choose from the menu.)

New windows open with      

New tabs open with

When you choose File > New Window or File > New Tab, Safari opens a new window or tab. These options specify what should be in that window or tab. (Choose Same Page to see the webpage you’ve most recently viewed.)

Home page

You can specify any webpage as your home page. The easiest way is to go to the page you want to use and then click “Set to Current Page.”

Remove history items

Use the menu to specify how long to keep webpages in the history list.

Save downloaded files to

Choose a folder or other location for items you download.

Always prompt before downloading (Windows only)

Select to have Safari double-check with you before downloading files from the Internet.

Remove download list items

Safari keeps a list of the items you have downloaded. If you want this list cleared automatically, choose When Safari Quits or Upon Successful Download. Otherwise, to clear the list manually, choose Window > Downloads and click Clear.

Open “safe” files after downloading (Mac only)

If this is selected, Safari automatically opens the types of files listed, but it won’t open software programs.

Open links from applications

Sometimes you open links you find in email, iChat sessions, or other applications. This option specifies whether the link should open in a new window or in a new tab in the current window.

Related Topics

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