{"id":4424,"date":"2022-07-11T02:55:42","date_gmt":"2022-07-11T02:55:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/powergi.net\/?p=4424"},"modified":"2026-06-16T16:14:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T16:14:11","slug":"automate-downloading-files-from-website","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/powergi.net\/es\/blog\/automate-downloading-files-from-website\/","title":{"rendered":"Everything about downloading files from the web using Power Automate"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tabla de Contenidos<\/h4>\n

Sometime ago, we wrote about downloading PDF files from the web and overcoming Power Automate\u2019s limitations when doing do. Since then, lots have happened and evolved within the tool, and several features have been added.<\/p>\n

The main change is that Power Automate<\/a> used to have 2 recorders, one for web actions and a second one for \u201cdesktop\u201d actions, but we now have a unified actions recorder that covers both. As a result, the process to set up an automation to download files has changed a bit.<\/p>\n

In many organizations, automating repetitive downloads is not only about convenience but also about scalability. That\u2019s why companies often combine Power Automate with enterprise business application services<\/strong><\/a> to create robust solutions that streamline workflows across departments.<\/p>\n

In this post, we will cover the following scenarios:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Any File downloaded directly from a link (zip, xlsx, docx, csv, pdf, etc).\u00a0<\/strong>Example: in this web<\/a> page, all the links listed are a download link that you can click on and will automatically try save the file to your PC<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n
    1. PDF file opens in document reader and you have to click on a button to download.\u00a0<\/strong>Example: in this web page<\/a>, the \u201cCourse Guide\u201d link will take you to a PDF file viewer, on which you can click to manually download.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      In addition, we\u2019ll go over the important question of: Where will your files be saved?<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Files downloaded directly from a link or button.<\/h2>\n

      This is the easy one! You\u2019re lucky if your files are downloaded this way. All you have to do is to record the actions that will take you to the file and that will do it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Just click on \u201cRecorder\u201d, start a new Chrome browser and record your actions!<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/p>\n

      Your files will be downloaded right after the download link or button is clicked.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      PDF files opened inside document reader<\/h2>\n

      Option 1: set up your browser to download files instead of showing the document reader.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      The first option if changing the browser to set PDFs to save automatically instead of showing in Chrome reader<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/p>\n

      Both firefox and Chrome allow this change. (Steps for Firefox can be found here:
      \n      https:\/\/www.thewindowsclub.com\/download-pdf-instead-of-previewing-chrome-and-firefox<\/a>)<\/p>

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      Convierte tus ideas en soluciones digitales<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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      Nuestro equipo te gu\u00eda paso a paso para crear aplicaciones personalizadas en Power Platform.<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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      Option 2. Set up some UI Automation steps to handle the \u201cdownload\u201d process<\/strong><\/h4>\n

      First things first, we need to record the required steps to get to our file. Once the file opens in the reader, either in the same tab or a new one, you\u2019ll notice Power Automate doesn\u2019t recognize the download or print icons, it only recognizes the reader a whole element.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \"\"
      \n\"\"<\/p>\n

      IMPORTANT!\u00a0If you have more than one monitor connected, it\u2019s recommended for you to disconnect one of them, some bugs have been reported in recognizing desktop elements from Power Automate when more than one monitor is connected to the PC.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Once you reach the point where your file is showing in the document reader. Stop recording and go back to Power Automate<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Expand the \u201cUI Automation\u201d section, then \u201cForm filling\u201d and drag and drop to the canvas the \u201cpress button in window action\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/p>\n

      It will ask you which element you want to click, just click on \u201cAdd UI Element\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/p>\n

      A small window will show up, and whenever you hover over an item in the screen, you\u2019ll see a red square around it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Hover over the download icon, and once the red square shows up, Left click + Crtl.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/p>\n

      Click done and then the UI element will be selected. Just click Save.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/p>\n

      Ok, now you have the steps for getting the file to download. In our next section we\u2019ll talk about how to handle the location of where your files will be saved.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Where will your files save?<\/h2>\n

      Browsers allows to set up a default folder to save all downloads or to ask you every time a download happens where to save \u2013 the right choice will depend on the process you want to set up.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Option 1. Define where file will be saved before downloading<\/strong><\/h4>\n

      This means that whenever you download anything, you\u2019ll get the following window requesting for you to select a location for the file<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/p>\n

      First, make sure that you have set up your browser to always ask where to save new downloads, this can be done for both Chrome and Firefox.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/p>\n

      Let\u2019s go back to Power Automate and Record some additional actions:<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/p>\n

      Now we have the steps to save the file in our desired location, but Power Automate sometimes is too fast so it tries to type the file name before the window becomes even visible. Let\u2019s add a little step to help us on this: Drag and drop Wait for window<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/p>\n

      Select the window and then \u201cOpen\u201d in the \u201cWait for window to\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/p>\n

      Your flow should be looking like this now:<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/p>\n

      You can also add some steps to add timestamp to the file name when saving the file.<\/p>\n

      For organizations looking to leverage automation tools effectively, investing in servicios de consultor\u00eda de power platform<\/strong><\/a> can be invaluable. By partnering with experts, you ensure that the implementation aligns perfectly with your business goals, enhancing overall productivity and efficiency.<\/p>\n

      Option 2. Download the file in the Default browser folder and then move it to the right location<\/strong><\/h4>\n

      Above set up might not always work, sometimes the window that asks for the file name has a dynamic title and this can be a HUGE issue. But, don\u2019t you worry! There is still a great workaround for this.<\/p>\n

      First, make sure to disable the \u201cask\u201d option and define a default location for your files.<\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/p>\n

      This is your flow right now:<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/p>\n

      When a file downloads, it will go to the folder you defined in the Browser settings.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \"\"
      \n\"\"
      \n\"\"<\/p>\n

      Click on the advanced options and then Select Sort By \u201cCreation Time\u201d, and then Enable Descending. This will make the most recent files to show first.<\/strong><\/p>

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      De la visi\u00f3n a la ejecuci\u00f3n<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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      Ya sea que est\u00e9s empezando o escalando la automatizaci\u00f3n, te ayudamos a convertir tus ideas en soluciones impactantes.<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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      \"\"<\/p>\n

      Important: depending how big is your file and how long it may take to fully download, add a small delay before getting the list of files<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/p>\n

      Now that we have the Files list, since we ordered in Ascending mode, it\u2019s going to have the most recent file at the top. So if we access the VERY FIRST file of the list, we\u2019ll be getting the file we just downloaded.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      We would need to move this file from its current location (the default downloads folder) to the final destination. We\u2019ll add a copy file action (you can also use a move file action with the same logic).<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/p>\n

      Note that you can copy of move files, depending on your specific process.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \"\"
      \n\"\"
      \n\"\"<\/p>\n

      You can use the \u201cRename File(s)\u201d action from Power Automate to change the name of the file once it\u2019s moved or copied to the final destination.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Final flow should look like this:<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/p>\n

      All set! You are ready to start downloading files from the web using Power Automate!<\/strong><\/p>\n

      All set! You are now ready to start downloading files from the web using Power Automate. If you require Microsoft Power Platform consulting services<\/strong><\/a>, consider working with experienced professionals to optimize your automation processes efficiently.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Table of Contents Sometime ago, we wrote about downloading PDF files from the web and overcoming Power Automate\u2019s limitations when doing do. Since then, lots have happened and evolved within the tool, and several features have been added. The main change is that Power Automate used to have 2 recorders, one for web actions and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4429,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"glossary_letter":"a","footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-power-automate-cat"],"glossary_letter":"a","rank_math_title":"Automate File Downloads with Power Automate | Power GI","rank_math_description":"Automate file downloads from any website using Power Automate Desktop. Save time on manual tasks with this Power GI guide.","rank_math_focus_keyword":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/powergi.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4424","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/powergi.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/powergi.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powergi.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powergi.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4424"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/powergi.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4424\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13567,"href":"https:\/\/powergi.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4424\/revisions\/13567"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powergi.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/powergi.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powergi.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powergi.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}