How do I save URL shortcuts on my Mac desktop?

Is there a way to put a shortcut to a URL on the OS X desktop. Used to be able to do this in XP, but can't figure out how to do it in OS X.

Dave's Answer:

It used to be a lot easier to figure out how to do this in Safari, actually, so I understand your point of confusion. I remember that adjacent to the title of a Web page was a small icon that was draggable: just drag that onto your desktop and you'd have a handy URL shortcut saved.

Fortunately, once you know what is still draggable, you'll realize that it's still pretty easy to do this. Instead of dragging an icon off the title bar, you need to drag the web page address from the address box. Like this:

Safari in Mac OS X: Dragging URL from Address Bar to Create Shortcut

While we're at it, turns out you can also drag a tab onto the desktop:

Safari in Mac OS X: Dragging tab to Create Shortcut

and you can drag any clickable text onto the desktop too by simply moving the cursor to the link, pushing down on the mouse button and dragging the resultant link onto the desktop while the mouse button remains down:

Safari in Mac OS X: Dragging a Link to Create Shortcut

The end result is that you'll have some nice shortcuts sitting on your Mac OS X desktop:

Safari in Mac OS X: Desktop Web Site / URL Shortcuts

By the way, these work in Firefox too, if you're not a fan of Apple's Safari browser.

Categorized: Mac OS X Help (Article 7342, Written by Dave Taylor)
Tagged: apple safari, mozilla firefox, shortcuts
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Comments

Here's another cool thing with the icon for a link. Once you have dragged the link to your desktop, find a picture you like and copy it. Click on the link icon (just to select it, not open it). Use the apple key + i (for info) and a window pops up with all the info about that icon. Click on the icon picture and use paste. The icon is now the picture you selected. Too cool!

Posted by: helen at May 19, 2007 10:42 AM

The problem with doing this in Firefox (at least for me with v2.0.0.9 on Leopard) is that when you drag a URL from Firefox, unlike on Safari, it names it the www address rather than the page title. For instance, if I drag the url to this page in Safari it is named ""How do I save URL shortcuts on my Mac desktop?" from the Ask Dave Taylor! Tech Support Blog" but in Firefox it gets the lovely name "www.askdavetaylor.com/." Any idea how to change this behavior in Firefox?

Posted by: Peter at November 14, 2007 3:37 PM

I totally agree with Peter (above). Dragging the tabs or URL addresses is tre cool FOR DESKTOP ONLY! (In Firefox)...When I'm in Gmail and want to insert the web address I get a similar crap type thing, i.e.,

http://www.eastvillageperfumedcannibals.ning.com (which is great simply dragged--) now morphs into

file:///Users/storr/Desktop/eastvillageperfumedcannibals.ning.com:%201.webloc

Which is like totally useless as a link!---Suggestions? I'm contacting NING 'cause they referred me to you and this fella Peter's comment above is more than a year old so obviously you are off selling stuff and not providing any more support herein (apologies if I'm wrong but I doubt that I am!).

Posted by: Steven Orr at August 19, 2008 6:52 PM

Let me dig into the problem, Steven, and see what I can figure out. To clarify, your issue is that you want to include URL links to Ning groups in your Gmail email, but when you copy and paste, you end up with some weird file:/// sort of link rather than a http:// link. Correct?

Posted by: Dave Taylor at August 20, 2008 8:37 AM

Gahhh, thank you SO much! I'm a Firefox user and I've been dragging the tabs to the desktop for years to make URL shortcuts. You know, so I see them in my face when I turn the computer on and I remember I need to finish something on that page. I updated my Firefox recently and all it does now is create a new window when I drag the tab. It has been driving me NUTS. I don't know why I didn't think of dragging the icon on the actual address bar, not the one on the tab.
YAY, now I can make my shortcuts again.

Posted by: Ronda at August 24, 2009 7:04 PM

How do I save music videos to my mac desktop so I can download them into my iPod? Thanks.

Posted by: Danielle at September 14, 2009 3:13 PM

Thanks for this page (http://www.askdavetaylor.com/save_url_shortcuts_mac_desktop.html). Just what i needed, as usual it's simple when you know how, great explanation. Jean-Louis in London

Posted by: Jean-Louis Eveque at May 27, 2010 5:24 AM

Here's an easy work-round for links created from Firefox: change the name of the link by opening the info window ( Apple + i or right click on icon then get info ) then editing the Name & Extension (make sure you leave the extension as .webloc).
However what annoys me is that the link I created from a page in Firefox opens stubbornly in Safari, even though I specified to Open with Firefox in the info window. Any ideas ?

Posted by: Julia at September 30, 2010 7:42 AM

I have a similar problem. We are about to migrate from XP to OSx on a newly purchased iMAC. The Apple Store will be handling the transfer of files but they are unable to tell me whether the many Firefox shortcuts I have on my desktop and elsewhere will transfer. They tell me that bookmarks will, but they can't tell me about shortcuts to web pages. Does anybody know what I should expect and how to maintain the shortcuts? I don't mind them being converted to Safari shortcuts and I certainly can load Firefox for OSx if necessary to enable their continued use. Thanks.

Posted by: John Hunter at February 21, 2011 8:43 AM

This worked for me on Mac OSX 10.6.6:

1) Create a text file on your desktop with the name (xyz).webloc [xyz can be whatever you like (almost)]

2) Put the following into the file:

URL
http://www.google.com

3) Replace the "www.google.com" with whatever website you like.

Posted by: Tareq at March 3, 2011 4:06 PM

This also works with Google Chrome.
Thank's for the tip man :)

Posted by: Robert at August 3, 2011 4:02 AM

I've enjoyed this benefit for a long time - however, it doesn't seem to work for Lion (or Safari 5.1) - any suggestions

Posted by: Jay at August 19, 2011 3:25 PM

Jay, looks like the trick now is to drag the favicon just to the left of the URL in the address bar onto the desktop. That'll create the Web clip you want. :-)

Posted by: Dave Taylor at August 19, 2011 5:57 PM

Is there a way to make OSX make .url files instead? The file made by this method only works on mac and I need a method that make files that can be opened both on OSX and on Windows.

Posted by: Roy Halvor at October 13, 2011 1:30 AM

I have something to say, now that you mention it, but ...

I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you for all your efforts on this Web site by buying you a cup of coffee!

I do have a comment, now that you mention it!