Safari used to store the URL where a file was downloaded automatically from but doesn't anymore.

Question

Safari used to store the URL where a file was downloaded automatically from but doesn't anymore.

In PDFs that I have downloaded, it's nice to have the URL of where the file was downloaded from in a field like "From:" in the file's get info. In fact, Safari used to do this but doesn't anymore.

Does anyone know why they stopped doing this and how to reenable or create this for Safari whenever it downloads a file? Basically, adding the file's URL and storing it or writing it into the file's get info settings.

Thank you.

MacBook Pro 16″

Posted on Mar 30, 2025 1:32 PM

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Answer 1

Apr 3, 2025 7:52 AM in response to PRP_53

No. It's not historically dependent on the file downloaded. It was simply recorded when the file was downloaded. It's not and is not supposed to be somehow dependent on the file that is being downloaded.

I'm welcome for what? You're not giving accurate information. I can download an image from a website and there is no Where From data. There is no way that a JPG has control over that. This is supposed to be built in functionality in Safari when downloading files.

Try right clicking and downloading the logo on the top right of the page below and check for a Where From entry in the Get Info window. It's not there.

https://www.nampower.com.na/Page.aspx?p=192

Look at the Apple developer docs.

kMDItemWhereFroms | Apple Developer Documentation

Global Variable

kMDItemWhereFroms

Describes where the file was obtained from. A CFArray of CFStrings.

macOS 10.4+

That means it's a function of the app that does the downloading. Safari. It is supposed to work in Safari. It isn't doing that reliably. That's the problem.

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Answer 2

Apr 3, 2025 8:16 AM in response to PRP_53

It's a function of the client app, be it Safari, Mail or the system service that receives Airdropped files. Here's a file I Airdropped from my phone to my MacBook. This Where from data gets captured when the file is saved on the client device and by the client app. Safari is supposed to do this. It isn't.

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Answer 3

PRP_53

Level 10

95,047 points

Mar 31, 2025 1:40 AM in response to Alex Zavatone

Perhaps not a good example as the two PDFs I just downloaded now.

Were each from two different Financial Institutions which I deal with

The third was a Quick Start Guide for a Printer I use

The 2 Financial Institution PDFs do have the Url within the " Get Information "

The Third from Epson does not

What do I make of this ?

If the Author of the PDF decides to include or not include the URL.

What we are left with what they offer, barring having to Add Details URL to the PDF manually

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Answer 4

Mar 31, 2025 2:52 AM in response to PRP_53

This is excellent insight into the problem. It's inconsistent. The Where From tag under More Info is sometimes there and sometimes not.

I found a Terminal command you can use on the files and there are a few.

     mdls -name kMDItemWhereFroms

Then press the space bar and drag your file in aftr it.  

A simple mdls and the file path also works.  

That also shows all of the keys in the attributes for the file like kMDItemWhereFroms (which we are looking for)

kMDItemDocumentIdentifier          = 0
kMDItemEncodingApplications        = (
    "ABBYY FineReader 10"
)
kMDItemFSContentChangeDate         = 2025-03-30 17:56:01 +0000
kMDItemFSCreationDate              = 2025-03-30 17:56:01 +0000

And guess what?  kMDItemWhereFroms is missing.  

But some .DMG files have Where from.  Everything else I downloaded from Safari doesn't.

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Answer 5

PRP_53

Level 10

95,047 points

Mar 31, 2025 3:01 AM in response to Alex Zavatone

Alex Zavatone wrote:

This is excellent insight into the problem. It's inconsistent. The Where From tag under More Info is sometimes there and sometimes not.

Yup and dependent on the Author of the PDF

Not much more can be said about this, except for those what what the URL included to add that information manually

You are welcome

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Safari used to store the URL where a file was downloaded automatically from but doesn't anymore.