How to download csv files from Fabrics Lakehouse to my desktop in the Mac?

[Sean500]

Hi,

I am using a Mac. I uploaded my Excel file to the Fabric Lakehouse from my system, did some transformations, and saved the file as a CSV back to the Lakehouse. However, I don't see any option to download it back to my system.

If I were using Windows, I could use OneLake Explorer, but it's not available on Mac.

Can anyone suggest how to download the CSV file back to my Mac? It's very strange that I'm able to upload the file from my Mac but not download it.

[daliagala]

You can achieve that using Fabric Notebooks. You have to load your csv (or excel) file using pandas or pyspark, then display the df, which will result in a "Download" button showing up. 

This is the python code to put into Fabric Notebooks:

import pandas as pd
file_path = 'abfss://some_file.xlsx'
df = pd.read_excel(file_path)
display(df)

This is the result:

[Sean500]

Thaks @Anonymous @FabianSchut  Unfortunately, my client don't have an Azure account. They are new to Business Intelligence, testing with Microsoft Fabrics free trial. They are not tech savvy, so all Mac users

[Anonymous]

Hi @Sean500 

Sorry for the late reply. If your clients are able to try Microsoft Fabric free trial, they can use their Microsoft Fabric accounts. The accounts are the same as Power BI accounts and Azure accounts. 

@FabianSchut 's solution is very helpful. I have tested that. You can sign in with your Fabric account to the Azure Storage Explorer. Then sign in using OAuth when connecting to the lakehouse in Fabric. After the connection is established successfully, you will be able to see the files and download them. Please follow the detailed steps introduced in the documentation that FabianSchut has linked. @FabianSchut Thank you very much! It helps a lot!

Best Regards,
Jing

[Anonymous]

Hi @Sean500 

A workaround is to use a Copy activity in data pipeline to copy the CSV file from a Fabric lakehouse to another storage (e.g. Azure Blob Storage) where supports downloading files to local drive.

Select Binary for File format as this is a CSV file. 

Currently it supports the following destinations. You can select one that supports downloading files. If you select Azure Blob Storage, the Azure Storage Explorer may be helpful. It is available for Mac. 

You might see Folder option in the destination list. It supports copying a file to a local folder. However this requires that you have an on-premises data gateway while the on-premises data gateway can only be installed in Windows. So this option is not suitable for you. 

I understand the inconvenience this may cause. As the downloading feature is not available currently, you can vote for the ideas below to inform the product team of your requirement. Let's look forward to better experience in Fabric in the future. 

Downloadable files from Lakehouse

Add download button on Lakehouse files

OneLake File Explorer for Mac (OneLake Finder)

Best Regards,
Jing
If this post helps, please Accept it as Solution to help other members find it. Appreciate your Kudos!

[FabianSchut · Accepted solution]

Hi @Sean500,

It should be possible to access the OneLake with the Azure Storage Explorer too. Azure Storage Explorer is available for Mac. The steps to add OneLake to the Azure Storage Explorer can be found here:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/fabric/onelake/onelake-azure-storage-explorer

[daliagala]

Not everyone has access to Azure Storage Explorer as part of their Fabric subscription and setup, therefore, I do not think that this should be the accepted solution.

[sparkie]

I tried to implement the steps described in the above tutorial and could connect to the Lakehouse of my interest but, unfortunately, I did not see any data under the Lakehouse. The workspace is located out of my subscribtion but I was defined as an Admin on that workspace (I can browse al the resources in the workspace in Fabric and can see all the files in the workspace in the OneLake explorer).
What can be the reason for me not seeing the data and what can be done to solve this?
Thanks