Error "The download of the specified resource has failed" when using Web file connector

Web file connector in QlikView or Qlik Sense fails to get data from an URL with error "The download of the specified resource has failed" or similar, although the URL does return data in web browsers.

When this happens, consider the following troubleshooting steps:

• Verify the URL on a Web browser. It should be able to retrieve data immediately without any authentication step. If any form of authentication is required (for example a browser authentication form is displayed before data is returned), then Web file connector will fail to connect
• Check if URL under question is actually an API call (some embedded parameters such as api_key% may indicate that the URL is an API call rather than link to a web file) . Although such URL returns data on the browser without any further authentication required, this might not be the same way Web connector handles the URL because modern browser usually process API calls in the background transparently from users.

In either cases, it is recommended to use Qlik REST connector instead of simple Web file connector when it comes to API calls, or web data that requires authentication. REST connector provides more features than Web file connector, such as authentication credentials, connect method, query parameters, etc.