What is the best cross browser way to open a download dialog (let's assume we can set content-disposion:attachment in the headers) without navigating away from the current page, or opening popups, which doesn't work well in Internet Explorer(IE) 6.
16 Answers
This javascript is nice that it doesn't open a new window or tab.
window.location.assign(url);
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26This is the same as window.location = url; “Whenever a new value is assigned to the location object, a document will be loaded using the URL as if window.location.assign() had been called with the modified URL” - developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/window.location Commented Aug 19, 2013 at 11:47
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26
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7I have used the same solution but it opens file in same tab instead of opening a download dialog. Commented Jul 6, 2016 at 17:35
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2it's same to window.open(url, '_self') if the url is for download page then. Commented Sep 8, 2016 at 9:05
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7When using IE11 I found that this caused JS to stop. So for IE 11 I used window.open(url, '_blank') which did open another tab, however that tab closed when it worked out the file was a download. This kept the JS running.– LukeCommented Sep 8, 2017 at 4:54
7 years have passed and I don't know whether it works for IE6 or not, but this prompts OpenFileDialog in FF and Chrome.
var file_path = 'host/path/file.ext';
var a = document.createElement('A');
a.href = file_path;
a.download = file_path.substr(file_path.lastIndexOf('/') + 1);
document.body.appendChild(a);
a.click();
document.body.removeChild(a);
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2@Manoj Rana - I have checked on FF 58.0.2 (64-bit) it is working. It won't work on any FF if you remove 2 lines document.body.appendChild(a); document.body.removeChild(a);– 0x000fCommented Mar 9, 2018 at 13:58
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1To make it work on Edge 16 the header, from where the file comes, should contains
Content-Type: application/octet-stream
andContent-Disposition: attachment
.– SimonCommented Mar 22, 2018 at 19:05 -
20this doesnt work anymore developers.google.com/web/updates/2018/02/… Commented Mar 24, 2018 at 0:05
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6
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2@PauliusDragunas It still works. But it does not work for cross-origin urls. Commented Jun 7, 2021 at 6:20
I know the question was asked 7 years and 9 months ago
but many posted solutions doesn't seem to work, for example using an <iframe>
works only with FireFox
and doesn't work with Chrome
.
Best solution:
The best working solution to open a file download pop-up in JavaScript
is to use a HTML
link element, with no need to append the link element to the document.body
as stated in other answers.
You can use the following function:
function downloadFile(filePath){
var link=document.createElement('a');
link.href = filePath;
link.download = filePath.substr(filePath.lastIndexOf('/') + 1);
link.click();
}
In my application, I am using it this way:
downloadFile('report/xls/myCustomReport.xlsx');
Working Demo:
function downloadFile(filePath) {
var link = document.createElement('a');
link.href = filePath;
link.download = filePath.substr(filePath.lastIndexOf('/') + 1);
link.click();
}
downloadFile("http://www.adobe.com/content/dam/Adobe/en/accessibility/pdfs/accessing-pdf-sr.pdf");
Note:
- You have to use the
link.download
attribute so the browser doesn't open the file in a new tab and fires the download pop-up. - This was tested with several file types (docx, xlsx, png, pdf, ...).
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1@Ctrl_Alt_Defeat Well in this case it won't be easy to track the download process, but one trick can be to show this gif animation on the
link
click and hide it after a timeout, using this code:link.onclick = function() { document.body.innerText = "The file is being downloaded ..."; setTimeout(function() { document.body.innerText = ""; }, 2000); }
, you can see it working in this fiddle, but keep in mind that it's not a recommended way to do it, it would be better handled if we were usingAjax
.– cнŝdkCommented Jun 12, 2017 at 8:14 -
1
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3This solution works in Chrome, Safari and Firefox for me :)– ariebearCommented Mar 27, 2020 at 0:18
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1
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1Thanks @cнŝdk! I deleted my previous comment, as I found that there are other things that PWA breaks while on the way to
document.createElement()
. If I clean them up, the method still works.– iva2kCommented Feb 8, 2021 at 18:25
I always add a target="_blank" to the download link. This will open a new window, but as soon as the user clicks save, the new window is closed.
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2This is the best answer. In Internet Explorer, adding the 'target="_blank"' to a link that is to be downloadedwill stop the browser from navigating away (where "HTML1300: Navigation occurred" is printed), and thus can leave the page in an inconsistent state. Commented Feb 28, 2017 at 21:24
Put this in the HTML head section, setting the url
var to the URL of the file to be downloaded:
<script type="text/javascript">
function startDownload()
{
var url='http://server/folder/file.ext';
window.open(url, 'Download');
}
</script>
Then put this in the body, which will start the download automatically after 5 seconds:
<script type="text/javascript">
setTimeout('startDownload()', 5000); //starts download after 5 seconds
</script>
(From here.)
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2that doesnt work, because in IE6, if the user clicks "save" the file is saved, but the popup stays open. This is not acceptable.– mkoryakCommented Jun 30, 2009 at 22:57
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this code is not working in safari can you help me to resolved in safari please. Commented Feb 23, 2015 at 5:46
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It is opening in New Window in Browser. Is it possible to download automatically.??? Thanks– PhoenixCommented Nov 5, 2020 at 5:49
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1
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This worked for me but I started getting weird glitchy behavior in my debug browser when I'd attempt to open multiple files (one after the other) somewhat rapidly. Commented Jul 5, 2023 at 11:31
I've been looking for a good way to use javascript to initiate the download of a file, just as this question suggests. However these answers not been helpful. I then did some xbrowser testing and have found that an iframe works best on all modern browsers IE>8.
downloadUrl = "http://example.com/download/file.zip";
var downloadFrame = document.createElement("iframe");
downloadFrame.setAttribute('src',downloadUrl);
downloadFrame.setAttribute('class',"screenReaderText");
document.body.appendChild(downloadFrame);
class="screenReaderText"
is my class to style content that is present but not viewable.
css:
.screenReaderText {
border: 0;
clip: rect(0 0 0 0);
height: 1px;
margin: -1px;
overflow: hidden;
padding: 0;
position: absolute;
width: 1px;
}
same as .visuallyHidden in html5boilerplate
I prefer this to the javascript window.open method because if the link is broken the iframe method simply doesn't do anything as opposed to redirecting to a blank page saying the file could not be opened.
window.open(downloadUrl, 'download_window', 'toolbar=0,location=no,directories=0,status=0,scrollbars=0,resizeable=0,width=1,height=1,top=0,left=0');
window.focus();
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1Nice. The hiding styles seem a bit excessive. But I guess you REALLY don't want to see that frame. :) Commented Sep 22, 2020 at 22:51
Using HTML5 Blob Object-URL File API:
NOTE. Please note that this will not work in StackOverflow Snippets, but will work in the browser or JSFiddle
/**
* Save a text as file using HTML <a> temporary element and Blob
* @see https://stackoverflow.com/questions/49988202/macos-webview-download-a-html5-blob-file
* @param fileName String
* @param fileContents String JSON String
* @author Loreto Parisi
*/
var saveBlobAsFile = function(fileName, fileContents) {
if (typeof(Blob) != 'undefined') { // using Blob
var textFileAsBlob = new Blob([fileContents], {
type: 'text/plain'
});
var url;
var downloadLink = document.createElement("a");
downloadLink.download = fileName;
if (window.webkitURL != null) {
url = window.webkitURL.createObjectURL(textFileAsBlob);
downloadLink.href = url
console.log(downloadLink.href)
} else {
url = window.URL.createObjectURL(textFileAsBlob);
downloadLink.href = url
//downloadLink.onclick = document.body.removeChild(event.target);
downloadLink.style.display = "none";
document.body.appendChild(downloadLink);
}
downloadLink.click();
window.URL.revokeObjectURL(url);
} else {
var pp = document.createElement('a');
pp.setAttribute('href', 'data:text/plain;charset=utf-8,' + encodeURIComponent(fileContents));
pp.setAttribute('download', fileName);
pp.onclick = document.body.removeChild(event.target);
pp.click();
}
} //saveBlobAsFile
<script>
/**
* Save a text as file using HTML <a> temporary element and Blob
* @see https://stackoverflow.com/questions/49988202/macos-webview-download-a-html5-blob-file
* @param fileName String
* @param fileContents String JSON String
* @author Loreto Parisi
*/
var saveBlobAsFile = function(fileName, fileContents) {
if (typeof(Blob) != 'undefined') { // using Blob
var textFileAsBlob = new Blob([fileContents], {
type: 'text/plain'
});
var url;
var downloadLink = document.createElement("a");
downloadLink.download = fileName;
if (window.webkitURL != null) {
url = window.webkitURL.createObjectURL(textFileAsBlob);
downloadLink.href = url
console.log(downloadLink.href)
} else {
url = window.URL.createObjectURL(textFileAsBlob);
downloadLink.href = url
//downloadLink.onclick = document.body.removeChild(event.target);
downloadLink.style.display = "none";
document.body.appendChild(downloadLink);
}
downloadLink.click();
window.URL.revokeObjectURL(url);
} else {
var pp = document.createElement('a');
pp.setAttribute('href', 'data:text/plain;charset=utf-8,' + encodeURIComponent(fileContents));
pp.setAttribute('download', fileName);
pp.onclick = document.body.removeChild(event.target);
pp.click();
}
} //saveBlobAsFile
function download() {
console.log("download");
var jsonObject = {
"name": "John",
"age": 31,
"city": "New York"
};
var fileContents = JSON.stringify(jsonObject, null, 2);
var fileName = "data.json";
saveBlobAsFile(fileName, fileContents);
return false;
}
</script>
<button id="download" onclick="download()">Download JSON</button>
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2
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1It is also a good practice to call
URL.revokeObjectURL(url)
, when the file is no longer needed to free up the memory Commented Apr 6, 2020 at 13:20 -
This method is really only appropriate for smallish files, as it's likely that the entire file will sit in-memory.– BradCommented Aug 23, 2023 at 4:25
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@Brad that's definitively correct, the blob will sit in the Browser's memory. It should be resident in the memory reserved to the Tab when the code is running, hence it should be offloaded when the tab is in background, but as soon as that Tab is in foreground the memory will be loaded back. Commented Aug 30, 2023 at 14:30
Modifying the location of window might cause some issue especially when you have a persistent connection like websocket. So I always resort to good old iframe solution.
HTML
<input type="button" onclick="downloadButtonClicked()" value="Download"/>
...
...
...
<iframe style="display:none;" name="hiddenIframe" id="hiddenIframe"></iframe>
Javascript
function downloadButtonClicked() {
// Simulate a link click
var url = 'your_download_url_here';
var elem = document.createElement('a');
elem.href = url;
elem.target = 'hiddenIframe';
elem.click();
}
If the link is to a valid file url, simply assigning window.location.href will work.
However, sometimes the link is not valid, and an iFrame is required.
Do your normal event.preventDefault to prevent the window from opening, and if you are using jQuery, this will work:
$('<iframe>').attr('src', downloadThing.attr('href')).appendTo('body').on("load", function() {
$(this).remove();
});
Best solution as per new chrome specification https://developers.google.com/web/updates/2018/02/chrome-65-deprecations
Vanilla JavaScript
public static downloadFile(url: string): void {
const xmlHttp = new XMLHttpRequest();
xmlHttp.onreadystatechange = () => {
if (xmlHttp.readyState === 4 && xmlHttp.status === 200) {
const blobUrl = window.URL.createObjectURL(xmlHttp.response);
const e = document.createElement('a');
e.href = blobUrl;
e.download = blobUrl.substr(blobUrl.lastIndexOf('/') + 1);
document.body.appendChild(e);
e.click();
document.body.removeChild(e);
}
};
xmlHttp.responseType = 'blob';
xmlHttp.open('GET', url, true);
xmlHttp.send(null);
}
If you're using angular try this.
async downloadBrochure(url: string) {
try {
const res = await this.httpClient.get(url, { responseType: 'blob' }).toPromise();
this.downloadFile(res);
} catch (e) {
console.log(e.body.message);
}
}
downloadFile(data) {
const url = window.URL.createObjectURL(data);
const e = document.createElement('a');
e.href = url;
e.download = url.substr(url.lastIndexOf('/') + 1);
document.body.appendChild(e);
e.click();
document.body.removeChild(e);
}
After hours of trying, the function is born :) I had a scenario where I had to display loader in time while the file is preparing for download:
Working in Chrome, Safari and Firefox
function ajaxDownload(url, filename = 'file', method = 'get', data = {}, callbackSuccess = () => {}, callbackFail = () => {}) {
$.ajax({
url: url,
method: 'GET',
xhrFields: {
responseType: 'blob'
},
success: function (data) {
// create link element
let a = document.createElement('a'),
url = window.URL.createObjectURL(data);
// initialize
a.href = url;
a.download = filename;
// append element to the body,
// a must, due to Firefox
document.body.appendChild(a);
// trigger download
a.click();
// delay a bit deletion of the element
setTimeout(function(){
window.URL.revokeObjectURL(url);
document.body.removeChild(a);
}, 100);
// invoke callback if any
callbackSuccess(data);
},
error: function (err) {
// invoke fail callback if any
callbackFail(err)
}
});
How about:
<meta http-equiv="refresh" content="5;url=http://site.com/file.ext">
This way works on all browsers (i think) and let you put a message like: "If the download doesn't start in five seconds, click here."
If you need it to be with javascript.. well...
document.write('<meta http-equiv="refresh" content="5;url=http://site.com/file.ext">');
Regards
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1Wow mate, this response is brilliant and exactly what I needed. Thanks from over a decade later– TKoLCommented Oct 22, 2020 at 9:48
the absolute easiest way to do this that i found, is to have a link with the download function. I think the support for this is decent. so you literally set your link as such:
<a href="path/to/file.ext" download="filename.ext">Click to download</a>
if you have a div or something that you want to download the file by clicking on, then have your javascript generate a confirm/cancel dialog where the confirm button is your link with the download attribute styled to be a button. I had a button to download an image on my page with some jquery that worked like this:
function getSubstring(string, char1, char2) {
return string.slice(
string.indexOf(char1) + 1,
string.lastIndexOf(char2)
);
}
$(document).on("click", ".downloadImage", function(){
var img = $(this).closest(".content").find("img").attr("src");
var src = getSubstring(img, '=', '&');
$(".downloadImage").append('<div class="imgQuickDownloader"><a href="'+src+'" class="quickDL" target="_blank" download>Download</a><div class="cancelimgQuickDownloader">Cancel</div></div>');
});
$(document).on("click", ".quickDL, .cancelimgQuickDownloader",function(e){
e.stopImmediatePropagation();
e.stopPropagation()
$(this).parent().remove();
});
button {
position:relative;
}
.content img {
width:150px;
}
.imgQuickDownloader {
width: auto;
background-color: #DDD;
right: 0;
position: absolute;
border-radius: 4px;
cursor:default;
white-space: nowrap;
padding:5px
}
.imgQuickDownloader a, .imgQuickDownloader div {
display: inline-block;
padding: 5px;
background-color: #4787C6;
color: #FFF;
border-radius: 5px;
margin: 5px;
cursor:pointer;
}
.imgQuickDownloader a:hover, .imgQuickDownloader div:hover {
background-color: #333;
}
<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.3.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
<div class="content">
<img src="https://www.w3schools.com/images/myw3schoolsimage.jpg" /> <button class="downloadImage">Download</button>
</div>
The other methods mentioned here didn't consistently open the file in a new tab for me. Adding the target attribute as shown below fixed the problem. This may help anyone else in the future if they come across a similar issue.
var link = document.createElement("a");
link.href = res;
link.target = "_blank";
link.click();
link.remove();
I wasn't able to get any of the other answers to work without navigating to the target. I also tried using a Worker but that was inhibited by cross-origin resource sharing (CORS) protections.
My solution was to use the Fetch API as follows:
function download(uri, filename = uri) {
return fetch(new Request(uri))
.then(response => response.blob())
.then(blob => {
let objectURL = URL.createObjectURL(blob);
let link = document.createElement("a");
link.href = objectURL;
link.download = filename.substr(filename.lastIndexOf('/') + 1); // no path
link.click();
URL.revokeObjectURL(objectURL);
});
}
This downloads the uri
in question and populates its data into a Blob. It creates a URL to that blob and creates a dummy <a>
element to hold it. The download
attribute is where we specify this is a download. It also defines the filename to save as, which defaults to being the provided url
. The filename has its path stripped since JS can't save paths. Most answers here place the element on the page, but I've found that to be unnecessary (running Firefox 124). Then we simply click the link and delete the Blob to free up the memory it consumed.
My only issue with this is that, at least for Firefox 124, it pops open the Downloads interface to tell the user that it succeeded. This is probably wise, as the user might not otherwise know there was an auto-download, but it's a little annoying for my purposes.
A small/hidden iframe can work for this purpose.
That way you don't have to worry about closing the pop up.
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const downloadUrl = "url"; const downloadFrame = document.getElementById('download-iframe') || document.createElement("iframe"); downloadFrame.setAttribute('src',downloadUrl); downloadFrame.setAttribute('id',"download-iframe"); downloadFrame.style.display = "none"; document.body.appendChild(downloadFrame);– xwleeCommented Jun 3, 2021 at 6:53
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I tried this script but the download doesn't start for me - just loads in the iframe. Commented Nov 24, 2021 at 11:11