A recent update to Google Chrome has led to a repositioning of download notifications, shifting them from their previous location at the bottom of the screen to the upper right corner. This alteration has the effect of streamlining the user interface by doing away with the previously prominent and wide download notifications that used to emerge at the lower part of the Chrome interface. However, it’s possible that you might not find this new placement preferable.
With this new update, it took me forever to notice that my download was complete since I was waiting for the notification to pop up at the bottom of the page. In frustration, I kept on downloading the same files multiple times until I saw a downloaded notification in the upper left corner of the page. Even after learning the new notification positioning, I still focus on the bottom page. Fortunately, there exists a method to revert downloads to their original location.
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How to Restore Chrome Downloads to Bottom of the Screen
According to a report by The Verge, the steps to bring back download notifications to the lower part of the screen are outlined on the Google Chrome Help website. It’s important to note that Google has labeled this as an “experimental flag,” with the caveat that it might be removed in the future. This implies that users should approach this newly introduced feature with caution, as it could potentially be discontinued at a later date.
However, if you intend to revert this change on your own, below are the instructions to restore Chrome downloads to their original placement.
- Navigate to the Chrome’s address field, type or copy and paste: chrome://flags/#download-bubble.
- You will be referred to the “Enable download bubble” at the very top. Click on the drop-down menu on the right and select Disable.
- Upon selecting the Disable option, a large Relaunch button will appear at the bottom of the screen. Click Relaunch to refresh Chrome so that the new settings could take effect. Going forward, the download notification will appear at the bottom as it was before. That’s it!