Some downloads are too big to build while you wait, so M2 prepares them in the background. This guide is for anyone who started one of those downloads and needs to find the finished file.
When M2 prepares a download in the background
Smaller downloads start right away and don't appear on the My Downloads screen. M2 uses the background for two kinds of large downloads:
- A Labels and Envelopes, Mail Merge Export, or Export download from your audience for 2,500 or more members. You start these after a member search, or from Mailing, then Labels / Emails. A window tells you that M2 is preparing the download. If you leave the window open, the file downloads on its own when it's ready.
- Some reports, once they run past 500 rows. Examples are the Service Certificates order form and the Life Memberships Report export, when your organization uses them. One organization also has a report that always goes there, whatever its size. M2 opens the My Downloads screen and tells you the file is being prepared.
The Labels, Envelopes, Mail Merge, and Export button on a local group's Home always downloads right away, so those files don't appear on My Downloads.
Open My Downloads
- On a phone or a narrow window, your name isn't in the top bar. See Use the Menus to Get Around in M2 for where to find it. Otherwise, click your name at the top right of the screen.
- Click My Downloads.
When a download finishes while the M2 tab is the one you're looking at, M2 also shows a green message in the upper right that says Downloads and Check your downloads. Click it to open the screen.
A download icon with a number also appears to the left of your name. The number is how many finished files are waiting for you to save. Click the icon to open the screen. While a download is being prepared, M2 checks every 20 seconds, so the icon can take a moment to appear. The icon goes away after you've saved your files. It can stay until M2 checks again, which can take up to 5 minutes, or until you open another screen.
Save a finished file
- On the My Downloads screen, find your file. If its Status is Pending or Processing..., it isn't ready yet. Leave the screen open, and it refreshes by itself. When the status says Completed, go to step 2.
- Click the download icon in the Actions column. Your browser saves the file.
What's on the screen
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Status | Pending, Processing..., Completed, or Failed. |
| Filename | The name of the file. |
| Created At | When you started the download. The newest download is first. |
| Downloaded | A green check once you've saved the file. |
| Actions | The download icon for a finished file, and a trash can. |
If you have no recent downloads, the screen says No recent downloads. Each person sees only their own downloads.
How long files last
The screen lists downloads you started in the last 24 hours, so save your file within that time. After that, run the export or report again.
Delete a download
Deleting a download removes the file, and you can't undo it.
- In the Actions column, click the trash can.
- When M2 asks Delete this download?, confirm.
If something goes wrong
The status says Failed
M2 shows a short message in the Actions column. Delete the failed download, then start the export or report again. If it fails a second time, use the Help widget in the bottom right corner of the screen. See Open the Help Widget.
The window says An error has occurred
The window waits about 10 minutes. If your file isn't ready by then, it says An error has occurred, but M2 may still be preparing the file. The file also doesn't download on its own if you leave the screen before it's ready. In either case, open My Downloads and check the status. When it says Completed, save the file from there.
I don't see my download
Check the time limit under How long files last, above. Also check that you're logged in as the same person who started the download.
The download icon is missing
The icon's behavior is described under Open My Downloads, above. Open My Downloads from your name at the top right to see all your downloads.