SharePoint 2013 “Download a copy” button/link for document library

I have a document library in SP2013 that is full of forms. My users get confused by the "Check Out Required" box that pops up when they open the file. I keep telling them they need to download a copy, but this seems to be an issue. So, I looked into adding a "Download a Copy" button or link to the library, and came up with this solution, which is put in a snippet on a Web Part Page (source: https://amalhashim.wordpress.com/2013/11/29/sharepoint-2013-document-library-download-a-copy-button/):

<script type="text/javascript">
function runAfterEverythingElse(){
var elementArray = document.getElementsByClassName("ms-vb-lastCell");
var idArray = document.getElementsByClassName("ms-listlink");
for(var i = 0; i < elementArray.length; i++)
{
elementArray[i].innerHTML = '<a unselectable="on" href="javascript:;" onclick="window.open(\''+ idArray[i]['href'] + '\')" class="ms-cui-ctl-large " aria-describedby="Ribbon.Documents.Copies.Download_ToolTip" mscui:controltype="Button" role="button" id="Ribbon.Documents.Copies.Download-Large"><span unselectable="on" class="ms-cui-ctl-largeIconContainer"><span unselectable="on" class=" ms-cui-img-32by32 ms-cui-img-cont-float"><img unselectable="on" alt="" src="/_layouts/15/1033/images/formatmap32x32.png?rev=31" style="top: -409px; left: -35px;"></span></span><span unselectable="on" class="ms-cui-ctl-largelabel">Download a<br>Copy</span></a>';
}  
}
_spBodyOnLoadFunctionNames.push("runAfterEverythingElse");  

This partially works, in that it puts a button next to each document that says "Download a copy," but the action is actually just open the file in Word (instead of in the browser). The check-out prompt is still there, so I know it's opening the file and not downloading a copy. So while I like the way it looks, but the functionality isn't right.

In the answers to another question here (How to trigger a file download when clicking an html button or javascript), I found some instructions, but I can't figure out how to use them. I tried creating a workflow that created a download link and put it in an html-formatted field, but can't get the formatting right.

I don't really care if the solution is library-based (a field on each document probably created through Nintex Workflow) or Web Part Page based (script/snippet). I'm not fluent with jquery, javascript, or other programming languages. I know HTML, and can fumble my way through with CSS, but I'm pretty much a straight copy-paste from the internet solution kind of girl. I am not a programmer, just the person who manages our SharePoint site alongside may other job functions. 🙂

Any advice on how to tweak the original code or how to do this better is greatly appreciated. We're using SP2013.