outputting a file for download

[kingofkolt]

im trying to let a user download a file from my website, for example a
picture. i dont want the user to have to right-click and do save-as, but
instead i want a window to popup (the window with "Save File","Open
File","More Info",etc) so that the user can download it easily. i have a
feeling this has something to do with headers, but i have no idea what the
correct headers are.

thanks in advance

- JP

[Oliver Grätz]

Re: outputting a file for download

kingofkolt schrieb:[color=blue]
> im trying to let a user download a file from my website, for example a
> picture. i dont want the user to have to right-click and do save-as, but
> instead i want a window to popup (the window with "Save File","Open
> File","More Info",etc) so that the user can download it easily. i have a
> feeling this has something to do with headers, but i have no idea what the
> correct headers are.
>[/color]

/**
* Send a download
*
* Netscape (at least V7) (an perhaps other browsers too) adds
* a ".php" to the filename of the downloaded file. Mozilla does
* not show this behaviour. Solution (if applicable) is to use
* a link like
*
* <a href="download. php/?datei='.$file. '">
*
* The additional / does the trick.
*
*
* Other solution: use a script with no .php extension, but one
* with no ending at all. You need a special directory with a
* ".htaccess" including the line
*
* DefaultType: application/php;
*
* @param string $filename only the filename
* @param string $path path to directory of file
*/
function send_download($ filename='',$pa th='')
{
$fullname=$path .$filename;
/*
* Headers
*/
header("Content-Type: application/octet-stream;");
header('Content-Disposition: attachment;file name='.$filenam e.';');
header('Content-Transfer-Encoding: binary;');
header('Content-Length: '.filesize($ful lname).';');

$f=fopen($fulln ame,'rb');
fpassthru($f);
fclose($f);
}


I recommend using this with relatively small files (<50 MB) only.
Apache on Windows shows the behaviour of allocating RAM for the
whole size of the file, no matter what tricks you try to use in
order to prevent this (buffer-flushing during send etc).


AllOlli

[Cecile Muller]

Re: outputting a file for download

> im trying to let a user download a file from my website, for example a[color=blue]
> picture. i dont want the user to have to right-click and do save-as, but
> instead i want a window to popup (the window with "Save File","Open
> File","More Info",etc) so that the user can download it easily.[/color]


Before any output (otherwise headers will be sent before your code),
you could use this function for example:

promptFileDownl oad("http://www.site.com/file.jpg"); //you can use
either a local path or an url


The body of the function:

function promptFileDownl oad($chemin){
if ((!file_exists( $chemin)) && (!@fclose(@fope n($chemin, "r"))))
die('Error:
invalid path to the file to download');
$filename = stripslashes(ba sename($chemin) );
$user_agent = strtolower($_SE RVER["HTTP_USER_AGEN T"]);
header("Content-type: application/force-download");
header(((is_int eger(strpos($us er_agent,
"msie")))&&(is_ integer(strpos( $user_agent,
"win"))))?"Cont ent-Disposition:
filename=\"$fil ename\"":"Conte nt-Disposition: attachment;
filename=\"$fil ename\"");
header("Content-Description: File download");
@readfile($chem in);
die();
}

(vote for it at: http://www.nexen.net/scripts/details...pts=960&vote=5)


PS: better copy/paste the code from the linked page isntead of the one
posted here because of Googlegroups's word wrapping.

[Chung Leong]

Re: outputting a file for download

"Oliver Grätz" <oliver.graetz@ gmx.de> wrote in message
news:408541ba$0 $15497$9b4e6d93 @newsread4.arco r-online.net...[color=blue]
>
> I recommend using this with relatively small files (<50 MB) only.
> Apache on Windows shows the behaviour of allocating RAM for the
> whole size of the file, no matter what tricks you try to use in
> order to prevent this (buffer-flushing during send etc).[/color]

PHP uses memory-mapped file for file streams on Win32, I think. The file is
mapped into the application's virtual memory space, so it appears that it's
eating up a lot of memory, but only a fraction of that is physical memory.

[kingofkolt]

Re: outputting a file for download

"Cecile Muller" <spam@wildpeaks .com> wrote in message
news:aff31ac6.0 404201250.5759b f7e@posting.goo gle.com...[color=blue][color=green]
> > im trying to let a user download a file from my website, for example a
> > picture. i dont want the user to have to right-click and do save-as, but
> > instead i want a window to popup (the window with "Save File","Open
> > File","More Info",etc) so that the user can download it easily.[/color]
>
>
> Before any output (otherwise headers will be sent before your code),
> you could use this function for example:
>
> promptFileDownl oad("http://www.site.com/file.jpg"); //you can use
> either a local path or an url
>
>
> The body of the function:
>
> function promptFileDownl oad($chemin){
> if ((!file_exists( $chemin)) && (!@fclose(@fope n($chemin, "r"))))
> die('Error:
> invalid path to the file to download');
> $filename = stripslashes(ba sename($chemin) );
> $user_agent = strtolower($_SE RVER["HTTP_USER_AGEN T"]);
> header("Content-type: application/force-download");
> header(((is_int eger(strpos($us er_agent,
> "msie")))&&(is_ integer(strpos( $user_agent,
> "win"))))?"Cont ent-Disposition:
> filename=\"$fil ename\"":"Conte nt-Disposition: attachment;
> filename=\"$fil ename\"");
> header("Content-Description: File download");
> @readfile($chem in);
> die();
> }
>
> (vote for it at:[/color]
http://www.nexen.net/scripts/details...pts=960&vote=5)[color=blue]
>
>
> PS: better copy/paste the code from the linked page isntead of the one
> posted here because of Googlegroups's word wrapping.[/color]

ok ill try that.. thanks for the help all

- JP