Downloading file using IE from python.

Question

I'm trying to download file with Python using IE:

from win32com.client import DispatchWithEvents

class EventHandler(object):
    def OnDownloadBegin(self):
        pass

ie = DispatchWithEvents("InternetExplorer.Application", EventHandler)

ie.Visible = 0

ie.Navigate('http://website/file.xml')

After this, I'm getting a window asking the user where to save the file. How can I save this file automatically from python?

I need to use some browser, not urllib or mechanize, because before downloading file I need to interact with some ajax functionality.

Answer 1

You don't need to use IE. You could use something like

import urllib2
data = urllib2.urlopen("http://website/file.xml").read()

Update: I see you've updated your question. If you need to use a browser, then clearly this answer isn't appropriate for you.

Further update: When you click the button which is generated by JavaScript, if the URL retrieved is not computed by the JavaScript, and only the button is, then you can perhaps retrieve that URL via urllib2. On the other hand, you might also need to pass a session cookie from your authenticated session.

Answer 2

If you can't control Internet Explorer using its COM interface, I suggest using the AutoIt COM to control its GUI from Python.