How to Use VBA URldownloadtofile in 3 Minutes (Excel)

Written by Kasper Langmann

Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is a powerful tool that can automate and enhance Excel. One of the most useful functions in VBA is URldownloadtofile, which allows you to download files from the web directly into Excel. This article will guide you through the process of using this function in just three minutes.

Understanding VBA URldownloadtofile

The URldownloadtofile function is a part of the Microsoft Internet Transfer Control Library, which is used to download files from the internet. It’s a simple yet powerful function that can save you a lot of time and effort when working with online data in Excel.

Before diving into how to use this function, it’s important to understand its syntax. The URldownloadtofile function takes two arguments: the URL of the file you want to download, and the location where you want to save the file. The syntax is as follows:

URldownloadtofile(URL, Destination)

Setting Up Your Excel Workbook

Before you can use the URldownloadtofile function, you need to set up your Excel workbook. This involves enabling the Microsoft Internet Transfer Control Library and setting up a module to house your VBA code.

To enable the Microsoft Internet Transfer Control Library, go to the Developer tab in Excel, click on Visual Basic, and then click on Tools > References. In the References dialog box, scroll down until you find Microsoft Internet Transfer Control and check the box next to it.

Next, you need to set up a module for your VBA code. To do this, go to the Developer tab, click on Visual Basic, and then click on Insert > Module. This will create a new module where you can write your VBA code.

Writing Your VBA Code

Now that your Excel workbook is set up, you can start writing your VBA code. The first step is to declare the URldownloadtofile function at the top of your module. This tells VBA that you’re going to use this function in your code. The declaration looks like this:

Private Declare Function URldownloadtofile Lib "urlmon" Alias "URLDownloadToFileA" (ByVal pCaller As Long, ByVal szURL As String, ByVal szFileName As String, ByVal dwReserved As Long, ByVal lpfnCB As Long) As Long

Next, you need to write a subroutine that calls the URldownloadtofile function. This subroutine will take the URL of the file you want to download and the location where you want to save the file as inputs, and then call the URldownloadtofile function to download the file. Here’s an example of what this subroutine might look like:

Sub DownloadFile(URL As String, Destination As String)
    URldownloadtofile 0, URL, Destination, 0, 0
End Sub

Using Your VBA Code

Once your VBA code is written, you can use it to download files from the web. To do this, you simply need to call the DownloadFile subroutine and provide the URL of the file you want to download and the location where you want to save the file.

For example, if you wanted to download a file from www.example.com and save it in C:Downloads, you would call the DownloadFile subroutine like this:

DownloadFile "www.example.com", "C:Downloads"

When you run this code, VBA will download the file from www.example.com and save it in C:Downloads. It’s as simple as that!

Conclusion

As you can see, the VBA URldownloadtofile function is a powerful tool that can save you a lot of time and effort when working with online data in Excel. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can start using this function in just three minutes.

Remember, VBA is a powerful language that can do much more than just download files from the web. With a little practice, you can use VBA to automate and enhance all sorts of tasks in Excel. So don’t stop here – keep exploring and learning!