How do I get Lion to automatically open downloaded files?

Question

I have Word 08 for Mac and I download Word documents and pdf files quite often. In Lion, the files download and then are almost impossible to find. I don't know where they go and often I don't know what the file was named because the hyperlinks used don't always show the file name. How can I set my system to automatically open files I download like it used to do before I got Lion?

Answer 1

I don't know where they go and often I don't know what the file was named
Allowing your browser to open "safe" files is dangerous.  That's how a bunch of people got in trouble during the MacDefender outbreak...  the OS considered an installer file safe, since opening one does not run any third-party code.  But many people mistook the automatic launch of an installer to be "official" and were fooled into following through and installing the malware.  (Whether the OS still considers such installers safe I don't know, but regardless, there is precedent for "safe" files being used maliciously.)
In addition, if you aren't keeping track of these files that get downloaded, that means that your Downloads folder is probably getting filled up with all kinds of strangely-named files, making it difficult to find things in there and providing a good hiding place for other malware like MacDefender.  If you don't know what's lurking in your Downloads folder, not only is that hazardous, but it takes up space on your hard drive with things you don't need anymore.  I highly recommend changing your browser to download to the desktop.  That way, you instantly see any files when they get downloaded, you can open them quickly and you know exactly what has been downloaded and will be more likely to delete it (or file it away) once you're done with it to prevent desktop clutter.