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March 2, 2026
Question

How to track document downloads (user + timestamp) when using a document download link?

  • March 2, 2026
  • 3 replies
  • 0 views

Hi Team,

I have a requirement where a user clicks a document download link (using a!documentDownloadLink()), and the document downloads normally.
However, I also need to capture some backend audit details, such as:

  • isDocumentDownloaded = true
  • Which user downloaded the document
  • The date and time when the document was downloaded

The challenge is that the user is only clicking the download link — there are no additional buttons or actions that trigger a process model or write to a database.

I also understand that download links do not directly trigger process models or write events, so I cannot perform backend logging from the link itself.

Is there a best way to achieve this requirement, or any recommended alternative pattern to track the user and timestamp when a document is downloaded?

Any guidance, suggestions, or example patterns would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance!


    3 replies

    harshas2775
    March 2, 2026

    Using a!documentDownloadLink() it is not possible to log audit details into database. Here is a similar post you can refer for suggestions about alternatives : community.appian.com/.../need-to-update-audit-in-table-while-clicking-a-safelink

    shubhama926776
    March 2, 2026

    There is no way on user action with document download link as it does not have saveInto. I would recommend you should use getdownloadersfromgroup function to find who downloaded. This is part of Content Tools plugin and you can find who downloaded.

    https://community.appian.com/b/appmarket/posts/content-tools

    March 3, 2026

    Thank you [mention:65b14048184a4eb5aff3a76c87b97431:e9ed411860ed4f2ba0265705b8793d05]  and [mention:9861aef97eb2483a8b76175d9eda1e37:e9ed411860ed4f2ba0265705b8793d05]  for your valuable replies!
    I really appreciate the workarounds and suggestions you shared. These approaches look helpful, and I will definitely try them out in my use case.
    Thanks again for taking the time to respond!