Nice little Mac tip. In a nutshell, copy the URL to the clipboard, then click the downloads icon in the upper-right corner of any Safari window. When the download popup window appears, type command-V (or select Edit > Paste). The file to which the URL points will appear in the downloads list and start its merry way to your computer.
Nice. If this seems a bit confusing (or if you don’t see the download icon in your Safari window), follow the headline link for more step-by-step instructions.
Or if you’re feeling geeky: Terminal.app > curl -O http://pasteurl
Or just use linkrr.com!
Alternate Tip: copy the URL from wherever, paste the URL into the address bar, hold Option, then press Return. The download will begin automatically.
I do it all the time by accident, and on purpose. So far as I know, this trick has been around for a while, at least since 10.2 or 10.3.
I was about to post this. This has been around for a while now.
This used to be much easier before Apple changed the downloads window to a popover.
Or, if you’re a Perl geek : Terminal.app > lwp-download http://pasteURL