Wait for Download

Wait for Download

Type: page-wait-for-download  ·  Package: Browser v1.0.9  ·  Output: string

Downloads a file from the page reliably. You wrap inside its body the action that triggers the download (a click on “Download”, a PDF/Excel export link) and the activity waits for the download to finish, returning the full path of the saved file.

It solves a classic problem: if you just click “Download” and move on, the file may not have finished downloading when the next activity tries to open it. This activity synchronizes both.

How it works

1. It starts “listening” for downloads on the session tab.
2. It runs the activities in the body (which trigger the download).
3. It waits for the download to start, up to timeout; then it waits for it to finish, with no time limit.
4. It saves it to outputPath and returns the full path of the saved file.

• If outputPath is a folder, the file is named as the site suggests (the name you would see in the browser). It’s treated as a folder if it already exists as a folder, if it ends in \ or /, or if it has no extension; otherwise, as a file path.
• Missing folders are created automatically and a file with the same name is overwritten.
• It only listens on the session tab: if the download comes from another tab (a pop-up window), pass that tab’s session.
• The activities in the body do not inherit session: they use the page of the Open Browser body that contains them, or the one you pass in page.

Required parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
session	ZoanPageSession	—	The session of the tab where the download happens. Pass page; it isn’t inherited from the body.

Optional parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
outputPath	string	temp folder	Folder or file path to save to. If you give a folder, the name suggested by the site is used. Empty: the system temp folder.
timeout	number	30000	Maximum time in ms to wait for the download to start. 0 or negative: the default. It doesn’t use the project timeout.

Sub-flows

body

Optional. The activities that trigger the download (a click on the download button, an export link). If you leave it empty, the activity just waits for a download that starts some other way.

Output

Returns a string with the full path of the downloaded file, e.g. C:\Downloads\reports\sales.xlsx.

Example

Export a report to Excel and get its path to process it:

Wait for Download   session = page   outputPath = "C:\Downloads\reports"   → output: rutaReporte
 └─ body:
      Page Click   page = page   selector = (#exportarExcel)

Excel Open   path = rutaReporte   → output: libro

Always inside the body

The action that triggers the download must go inside the body of this activity, not before it. That way Zoan Automation is “listening” at the exact moment the download starts.

PDFs that open in the browser

Chrome and Edge opened with Open Browser (without userDataDir) are already set up to download PDFs instead of displaying them. With the person’s real profile, a PDF may open in the viewer and not produce a download; in that case, take its URL and use Download File.

Common errors

Message	Cause and fix
'session' must be a ZoanPageSession.	session is empty or doesn’t hold a page session. Pass page (even if you’re inside a body).
Timeout 30000ms exceeded … waiting for the download	No download started in time: the click didn’t trigger it, it opened in another tab or the site displayed it in the browser. Check the body action, raise timeout or use Download File if you have the URL.
Error saving the file	The path doesn’t allow writing or the file is open in another program (e.g. Excel). Close it or use another path.

Related activities

• Click — the typical action inside the body.
• Download File — when you already have the file’s URL.
• Excel Open / Read File — process the downloaded file.