Downloadable zip file output from app running on server

Question

Hi there,

Please can someone help me finish the puzzle of creating a downloadable zip file with multiple outputs when running an app on the gallery?

I've got as far as:

- Creating a test workflow with 2 pdf outputs and uploading to a private gallery

- Using a 'Run Command Event' which I have added to the workflow upon completion using a .bat file that has instructions to use 7 Zip software to zip the output (instructions on .bat file obtained from 'https://community.alteryx.com/t5/Alteryx-Designer-Discussions/Output-files-to-ZIP/td-p/163502')

The issue is that I can't get the right combination of file paths (or something!) to successfully zip up the files so they can be downloaded as one product when the app finishes. The files can still only be downloaded individually, or there are no outputs at all. The server machine that we're using definitely has 7 Zip installed so this is not the issue.

My test workflow and .bat file (saved here as .txt) are attached. Note that the outputs and .bat file are currently working on the '_externals\1' temp working directory. I did also configure these to work on the local C drive of the server instead of the temp directory, but this didn't work either.

Does someone have experience with this?

Many thanks in advance,

Lucy

alteryx zip command_externals.txt

CR+app+test+LD.yxzp

avanibhatnagar · Answer

@LucyDickinson - Hey I'm facing a similar problem where I believe it is converting to a zip but there is no downloadable zip. It still shows the individual files to download. Were you ever able to resolve this? Any help is appreciated! Thanks!

LucyDickinson · Answer

Thank you both!

I can confirm that it runs locally - i.e. if I map all the outputs to my own C drive and run it locally, the outputs will be zipped up. I just can't get it to run on the server whereby the zipped output files are then available after the app has been run. I suspect that they have been zipped in the server but are then just sat there in the server's temporary directory, rather than the app making them available for the user.

I'll ping you an email @BenMoss 🙂

Thanks

Lucy

BenMoss · Answer

Hey Lucy,

In the past I've approached this task by using the "run command" in-line to perform the zip process and then using the email tool to send the .zip output to the user (you could do this by automatically finding the users email address based on who's running the application, or simple way would be to get them to enter their email address when running the app).

Example image of how I think this could be applied in your case.

Happy to jump on a call if you need further clarification, just ping me an email tomorrow (Y)

Ben