Web Design Forums

pauliedog · 15-03-2007, 10:17

Hi everyone, this my first posting.
I have a problem. I'm new to web design, just set up my first site. I would like to have visitors be able to click a button to download a .pdf file. The way it's set up right now is as soon as they click the button, the file just opens for them to save if they choose. How do I set the link so that the visitors gets prompted to download the file instead of it just opening up. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

weldo · 15-03-2007, 10:36

just tell them to 'right click' and Save As ...

djeglin · 15-03-2007, 11:13

Yeah. Far as I know you cant force the file to actually download and save. Is it really that much of a hardship?

jem · 15-03-2007, 17:22

Just for info it is possible to force a PDF to download rather than open using asp.Net. If that's any use to anyone let me know and I'll pass on the code.

pgo · 15-03-2007, 17:33

I'm sure there's a way to do it in any server-side scripting language. Probably by changing the mime type.

Or, you could make it really obnoxious for your users and zip the pdf and have them download the zip and unzip it.

Out of curiosity, why do you want to force people to download it?

Stuzrol · 15-03-2007, 17:39

Personal preference?

steveb · 15-03-2007, 17:41

So they have a reminder (= advertisement) on their desktop, of course. I recently transferred all my demos and examples offsite and onto pdfs for precisely that reason. A few people will save the pdfs and see them later and... well, you know how advertsing works - repetition repetition repetition

in8 · 16-03-2007, 06:32

It is possible in ASP, but prob not a good idea for a newbie....

I could find you the code if you feel it is neccessary, let me know.

Anna
In8 Website Design

rmagnuson · 16-03-2007, 18:59

This is a problem with having a pdf reader installed. By default the pdf mime type gets associated with the reader and thus it opens a window to display the document.

As someone mentioned earlier, the main way around this is to change the mime type to something like application/octet-stream; but this can also have undesired effects.

The whole point of mime types is that different platforms handle content differently and it is not the job of the web developer to dictate to the user how a particular file should be used.

Your best bet would be to denote that the link is a pdf, perhaps by simply putting in brackets (link to pdf) and indicating that the user should right-click the link in order to save it to their disk.

paulanthony · 17-03-2007, 15:32

you could also zip it up...saves with the programming..

15-03-2007, 10:17	#1 (permalink)
pauliedog Registered User Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 1	Please Help!!! Hi everyone, this my first posting. I have a problem. I'm new to web design, just set up my first site. I would like to have visitors be able to click a button to download a .pdf file. The way it's set up right now is as soon as they click the button, the file just opens for them to save if they choose. How do I set the link so that the visitors gets prompted to download the file instead of it just opening up. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

15-03-2007, 10:36	#2 (permalink)
weldo now with added beard Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Liverpool Posts: 5,395	just tell them to 'right click' and Save As ... __________________ fuck signatures

17-03-2007, 15:32	#10 (permalink)
paulanthony mingin dawg baitch Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Belfast Posts: 1,035	you could also zip it up...saves with the programming.. __________________ Web design Ireland

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15-03-2007, 11:13	#3 (permalink)
djeglin goober :-) Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Birmingham, UK Posts: 539	Yeah. Far as I know you cant force the file to actually download and save. Is it really that much of a hardship?

15-03-2007, 17:22	#4 (permalink)
jem Registered User Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 9	Just for info it is possible to force a PDF to download rather than open using asp.Net. If that's any use to anyone let me know and I'll pass on the code.

15-03-2007, 17:33	#5 (permalink)
pgo Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 12,358	I'm sure there's a way to do it in any server-side scripting language. Probably by changing the mime type. Or, you could make it really obnoxious for your users and zip the pdf and have them download the zip and unzip it. Out of curiosity, why do you want to force people to download it?

15-03-2007, 17:39	#6 (permalink)
Stuzrol Sir Digby Chicken Caesar Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 41	Personal preference?

15-03-2007, 17:41	#7 (permalink)
steveb 389 ppm and rising Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Järvenpää, Finland Posts: 4,877	So they have a reminder (= advertisement) on their desktop, of course. I recently transferred all my demos and examples offsite and onto pdfs for precisely that reason. A few people will save the pdfs and see them later and... well, you know how advertsing works - repetition repetition repetition

16-03-2007, 06:32	#8 (permalink)
in8 Anna - In8 Website Design Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Portsmouth, UK Posts: 5	It is possible in ASP, but prob not a good idea for a newbie.... I could find you the code if you feel it is neccessary, let me know. Anna In8 Website Design

16-03-2007, 18:59	#9 (permalink)
rmagnuson Registered User Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: California Posts: 19	This is a problem with having a pdf reader installed. By default the pdf mime type gets associated with the reader and thus it opens a window to display the document. As someone mentioned earlier, the main way around this is to change the mime type to something like application/octet-stream; but this can also have undesired effects. The whole point of mime types is that different platforms handle content differently and it is not the job of the web developer to dictate to the user how a particular file should be used. Your best bet would be to denote that the link is a pdf, perhaps by simply putting in brackets (link to pdf) and indicating that the user should right-click the link in order to save it to their disk.

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