Can the Default Download Popup Be Customized for Phone Web Responsive in Mendix?

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Hello Mendix Community,I was able to localize the default Download File popup, but I could not customize its design or responsive layout to match the application UI.On mobile, the first download opens in a new tab. When the user returns and downloads another file, no new tab or confirmation appears, making it unclear whether the file was downloaded successfully.Can the default download popup and this mobile behaviour be customized in Mendix? If not, what is the recommended solution for providing clear feedback when downloading multiple files?Thank you.
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2 answers
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The default Download File popup is part of the Mendix platform/widget behavior, so its design and responsive layout have limited customization options.

For the mobile behavior, opening the file in a new tab is generally handled by the browser/OS. Mendix cannot reliably control whether a new tab or confirmation is shown for subsequent downloads.

If you need a consistent UI and clear feedback for multiple downloads, the recommended approach is to implement a custom download flow instead of relying on the default popup. For example, use a custom modal/page with your own responsive design and show a success message/toast after each download is triggered. This gives you full control over the user experience across desktop and mobile.

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Hi Nada,


The default Download File popup is not a Mendix page, so its layout/styling cannot be customized in the Page Editor or with Atlas UI.


There is also an important difference between desktop and mobile browsers here. Mendix documents that when using the Download file activity, files are always shown in a browser window on mobile devices. The browser can also block windows opened non-interactively, so the exact tab/window behavior is ultimately controlled by the browser.


For a responsive web application accessed from a phone, I would therefore not try to customize the default download popup. Instead, I would handle the download interaction in the application UI itself.

For example:

Files page
   |
   +-- File 1    [Download]
   +-- File 2    [Download]
   +-- File 3    [Download]

You can create a List View containing your System.File / System.FileDocument specialization and use the File Manager in Download mode. This gives you control over the surrounding UI, labels, icons, styling, and responsive layout.


For example, each row could contain:

Document Name     Size        [Download]
Invoice.pdf       245 KB      [↓]
Report.pdf        1.2 MB      [↓]
Contract.pdf      890 KB      [↓]

This is preferable to trying to modify the standard browser download popup, because you control the feedback before the browser takes over the actual download.


If the requirement is to download multiple files from one button, there is another important limitation: the Mendix Download file activity only supports one download action per microflow, and it cannot be used to download multiple files from the same microflow.


In that case, I would generate a ZIP containing the selected files and download that single ZIP file:

Select files
     ↓
Generate ZIP
     ↓
System.FileDocument
     ↓
Download ZIP

This also gives a much cleaner experience on mobile because the user performs one download operation instead of opening several browser download windows.

So I would separate the two concerns:

  • Custom download UI / feedback → build it in your Mendix page using a List View + File Manager.
  • Actual browser download behavior → cannot be fully controlled by Mendix because the browser/OS handles it.
  • Multiple files → create one ZIP and download it as a single file.

For the specific requirement of showing a "Download started" / "Download successful" message, I would be careful with the word successful. Once the browser takes over the download, Mendix cannot reliably know whether the browser/phone has actually finished saving the file. You can show feedback that the download was initiated, but not reliably confirm that the device successfully saved it.


So I would avoid trying to customize the default Download File popup and instead provide the download experience in the application itself.


Hope this helps.

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