How to Change the Default Download Location in macOS (the download folder shown in sidebar of Finder in macOS with the arrow icon)?

[uandme72]

How to Change the Default Download Location in macOS so that the download folder shown in sidebar of Finder in macOS with the arrow icon upon clicking opens the modified location?
I am not asking about the changing the location where files get downloaded in Safari (which can be changed in Safari > Settings > General. What I am referring to is changing the location of ~/Downloads folder from the internal HDD to some cloud location (like iCloud or OneDrive with valid subscription and configured on the macOS).

 

[frou]

If you're signed into iCloud Drive, I think there are already 2 separate Downloads folders in play:

• Downloads in iCloud Drive (aka ~/Library/Mobile Documents/com~apple~CloudDocs/Downloads) which also gets used by iOS devices and is accessible in the Files app on them.
• The traditional macOS Downloads folder (~/Downloads)

The sidebar icon in Finder seems to open the latter, but the former is also accessible if you navigate to iCloud Drive (and can be manually dragged to the Favourites section in the sidebar).

 

[chrfr]

How to Change the Default Download Location in macOS so that the download folder shown in sidebar of Finder in macOS with the arrow icon upon clicking opens the modified location?
I am not asking about the changing the location where files get downloaded in Safari (which can be changed in Safari > Settings > General. What I am referring to is changing the location of ~/Downloads folder from the internal HDD to some cloud location (like iCloud or OneDrive with valid subscription and configured on the macOS).

There's no way to do this globally across the system, so you have to update the setting of every app you use.

 

[uandme72]

There's no way to do this globally across the system, so you have to update the setting of every app you use.

I tried doing it in macOS Mail app > Settings > General > Downloads folder. Even after changing the location of downloads folder there, when I click a pdf file received as a mail attachment it gives a choice of saving it to Downloads folder (screenshot attached). But if I select the downloads folder it still saves the pdf file to the earlier location of Downloads folder and not at the changed location of Downloads folder. This suggests that the original system wide Downloads folder location is too deeply entrenched every where in all apps.