How to test File Downloads

Introduction

In a Web Test, you can add steps to verify the file downloads.

After you triggered a file download, you can extract information about the file in variables.

And then you can use those variables in other steps, such as Assertions and If Statements.

Details

You can extract information about a downloaded file by using these methods from the Set Variable action:

1. Extract Name of Most Recent Downloaded File
2. Extract Size of Most Recent Downloaded File
3. Extract MIME Type of Most Recent Downloaded File
4. Link to Most Recent Downloaded File

The Link to Most Recent Downloaded File method uploads the downloaded file directly from the machine that executed the test.

And the resulting variable will contain the link that you can use to download that file.

Waiting for a download to complete

Endtest will automatically wait for a download to complete when using one of those methods.

There is no need to add a Pause step, unless the download takes more than 120 seconds, which is the default download timeout.

After you extracted the information in variables, you can verify the values from those variables by using the Variable Assertion method from the Add Assertion action.

You can also clear the Downloads directory by using the Clear Downloads Directory method from the Miscellaneous action.

Browser Support

File downloads can be tested in Chrome, Edge, Firefox and mobile browsers.

File downloads cannot be tested in Safari and Internet Explorer 11.