---
title: Capture a URL
type: how-to
section: drive
summary: Capture URL files a request to preserve a web page as evidence. Give the URL, choose a capture profile and a destination, and submit.
sources:
  - evolve-front-end/components/content-platform/content-platform-capture-url-dialog.tsx
  - evolve-front-end/validations/web-acquisition/capture-url.ts
  - evolve-front-end/types/web-acquisition.ts
  - evolve-front-end/app/i18n/locales/en/content-platform.json
verified:
  at: 2026-09-04
  env: code
  by: content-lane-drive
ttl_days: 45
related: [drive/upload-a-file, drive/home, drive/my-tasks]
---

Choose **Capture URL** in the Drive header, paste the address, choose a capture profile and a destination, then choose **Capture URL** again to submit. Drive files a request and preserves the page as evidence; the capture itself happens after you submit, not while you wait.

## File a request

1. Choose **Capture URL** in the Drive header. The dialog explains itself: **Create a Web Acquisition request for account, managed folder, or page evidence.**
2. Paste the address into **URL**. It has to be a complete `http` or `https` address, up to 4,096 characters.
3. Choose a **Capture profile**: **Standard evidence**, **Visual evidence** or **Document evidence**.
4. Choose a **Destination**:
   - **Account library** saves the evidence under the active Account.
   - **Managed folder** routes it to a folder you can write to. Pick the folder under **Managed folder**.
   - **Managed folder page** attaches it to one page. Pick both the folder and the **Page**.
5. Choose a **Repeat** mode. **Once** starts a new capture. **Reuse if fresh** reuses recent evidence that is still inside the **Freshness window**, which you set in days from 1 to 30. **Refresh after** re-captures once the existing evidence is older than the **Refresh threshold**, which you set in hours from 1 to 720.
6. Choose **Capture URL**.

While it submits, the dialog says **Checking capture authority and backend intake.** On acceptance it reports **Capture request accepted**, the request identifier, and the destination it went to.

**Recurring** is listed as a repeat mode but cannot be chosen. Selecting it fails with **Recurring captures are not accepting requests yet.**

## Where the button is

**Capture URL** sits in the Drive header, and on a managed folder when the feature is switched on there. If you reach for it from a folder where it is not offered, Drive says **Open Capture URL from the Drive header.**

## What Drive refuses to capture

| Message | Cause |
| --- | --- |
| **Enter a URL to capture.** | The field is empty. |
| **Enter a complete URL including http:// or https://.** | The address is not a valid URL. |
| **Capture URL accepts only http or https URLs.** | Another scheme, such as `ftp` or `file`. |
| **Enter a public URL without embedded credentials.** | The address carries a username or password. |
| **Local, private-network, and link-local URLs cannot be captured.** | The host is `localhost`, a `.local` name, or a private or loopback address. |
| **Enter a shorter URL.** | Over 4,096 characters. |
| **Select a valid managed folder destination.** | No folder chosen for a folder destination. |
| **Select a valid managed-folder page destination.** | No page chosen for a page destination. |

## If it did not work

- **Capture URL is not accepting requests yet. No capture was started.** and **Capture URL is not reachable. No capture was started.** both mean nothing was captured. Submitting again re-checks the same request rather than filing a duplicate.
- **Capture URL could not submit the request. No capture was started.** behaves the same way: choose **Capture URL** again.
- **Managed folder list unavailable; destination authority is still checked on submit.** means the picker could not load. Type the folder identifier and submit; your access is still verified.
- Writing to the destination needs write access there. Choose **Account library** if a folder keeps being refused.