file generation/downloading

[taupu]

This is what I wanna do:

I want to be able to generate a file and let a user download it. Since I have the information in a database I dont want to first make a file, place it in a directory and then generate a url to that file.

ex:

download.php?file=generated.txt

I would like it to function like the imagegeneration through gl-libs.

[Anon]

You can do it by using the header() function
especially with the "Content-Type" HTTP
parameter

Look the PHP manual here :

http://www.php.net/manual/en/function.header.php

Small extract :

If you want the user to be prompted to save the data you are sending, such as a generated PDF file, you can use the Content-Disposition header to supply a recommended filename and force the browser to display the save dialog.

<?php
header("Content-type: application/pdf");
header("Content-Disposition: attachment; filename=downloaded.pdf");

/ ... output pdf file ... /

?>