How to set up hotkey to download website images in Windows 10/11

Wouldn't it be great if Windows had a generic custom hotkey that you could press in the browser to quickly download images to a specified folder? Such a hotkey would be a useful shortcut for downloading images from the web. You can set up keyboard shortcuts to download images using the SavePictureAs software and the I'm a Gentleman extension.

How to set up web image download hotkey using SavePictureAs

SavePictureAs is a handy Windows application that allows you to create custom screenshot keys in Windows 10 and 11. That software has a default Ctrl + Space hotkey that you can press to download images on the go. cursor over in the browser. Here's how you can set up a Windows hotkey to load web page images using SavePictureAs:

1. Open the SavePictureAs Softpedia page.

2. Click Download to access some file download and location options.

3. Double-click SavePictureAs.exe to open the software's installer.

4. Click the Installer button for the non-portable version and select Continue .

5. Select Next twice on the Setup window that opens to install SavePictureAs at the set default folder location.

6. Click Install in the Setup – SavePictureAs window.

7. Then launch the software by clicking Finish with the Start SavePictureAs check box selected.

Once SavePictureAs has started:

1. Select Accept on the end user agreement window that appears.

2. Click Next on the UAC Information and (SplashScreen) window.

3. The SavePictureAs window from which you can set hotkeys opens. Leave the default settings there and click Next to bring up a small window with a few other options.

4. Select Next again to set up the desktop shortcut for the software and set it to start with Windows. Or change the selected Create SavePictureAs Desktop Shortcut and Start SavePictureAs when Windows Starts settings to your preference.

5. Then the SavePictureAs (Change System Tray Icon) window will open. Since it's another window that you can open later, click Next  to close that window.

6. The message "Setup is complete" will appear. Click anywhere to close that message.

Now you can finally try the default Ctrl + Space hotkey to download images from the web. Open a web page with some images on it in your browser. Move the cursor over an image to download and press the hotkey Ctrl + Space . You should see the Save As window quickly light up and the images will automatically download to your Pictures folder.

Open the Pictures folder to find the downloaded images. They will be saved with the filename SavePictureAs and include numbers. If you want to edit their titles, right-click on the images and select Rename . Or you can press Ctrl + / to bring up the "Rename this picture" window for the most recently downloaded image file.

Adjust settings for hotkeys in SavePictureAs

If you want to reconfigure the Windows hotkey to download web page images, right-click the SavePictureAs icon in the system tray and select Settings > Configure Hotkeys and Folders . The hotkey configuration window from which you can set up custom shortcuts opens. The hotkeys for downloading website images and renaming the last saved image are the only ones set by default.

Click the Select button for the default folder hotkey to download web images. You can then change the keyboard shortcut by selecting modifier, standard, function, and numeric key options, and then clicking Accept in the Select Hotkey window .

To change where that hotkey saves the image, click Browse for the default folder shortcut, choose a different folder in the Please select valid folder window , and click Apply .

You will notice there are 10 Favorite Folder boxes on the window. Those options are available allowing you to choose alternative paths to save downloaded images with default hotkeys. Click Browse for those favorite folders to set folders for them.

You can now right-click on the SavePictureAs icon in the system tray, select Favorites Tool Bar and click the favorites folder number button there to download the web image to the folder you have set for it.

You can also create custom Windows hotkeys to capture full screen, active window, and area screenshot from the same window. To do so, click the Select buttons for the Capture Active Window , Capture Entire Screen , or Capture Area of ​​Screen boxes and select a key combination. Then, click the Browse option to select a folder for the screenshot hotkeys to save the snapshot to. Select Done to apply all the new hotkey settings when you're done.

Right-click the SavePictureAs icon in the system tray and select Settings > Additional Settings . You can then adjust the file naming, duplicate file names, history, and other options from the Additional Settings menu.

You can prevent the Save dialog window from appearing when downloading images by selecting the Use 'Copy Image URL' option . Selecting Prompt for Picture Name will allow you to enter a filename before downloading an image.

How to set up a website image download hotkey with I'm a Gentleman

If you use Chrome or Edge, you can add a hotkey to download web page images in those Windows browsers with I'm a Gentleman. I'm a Gentleman is an extension that allows you to quickly download/save images on the web with the Alt+click shortcut. This extension hardly has any customization settings, but its keyboard shortcuts are undeniably useful.

To add I'm a Gentleman to your browser, open its add-ons page for Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge. Then click the Add to Chrome or Get button ; Select Add extension to confirm.

Then try the extension's hotkey by opening Google and entering a search term. Click Images  to see images that match your search terms. Hold Alt and click on any image to download it from the web.

The image will save in whatever download folder you have placed in Google Chrome or Edge. If you're not sure where the file is, press the Ctrl + J hotkey in those browsers. Then, click the Show in folder option for the images in the Downloads tab. You can also try one of the best Chrome extensions for download management.

This extension also allows you to download images just by dragging them. Left-click an image in the Chrome search results, then drag the image slightly. The image will download when you release the left mouse button.

Lesley Montoya

Update 15 March 2023