[Resolved] Problem forcing a download to IE

Mce

Mozilla based browsers (and Konquerer even) are able to download files, but IE brings up the download dialog, but when you tell it to save it kicks an error saying that it can't find the .php file that's sending the header info! when the content dispostion/filename line should be enough for it to know what it's being given as a download.
Any ideas?

header("Content-type: application/octet-stream");
header("Content-Disposition: attachment; filename=".$filnam);

readfile("../pathtofile/$filnam");

Thanks,
Mce

daveyboy

If I remember correctly, IE likes to have a 'name' header as well, with the same value as 'filename'. Using 'inline' instead of 'attachment' works, too - IE will show xls, pdf etc. inline if it can, and offer to download the rest.

Sorry I couldn't be clearer - I remember having the same problem, but I lost my the code in an HD crash.

Mce

Thanks,

I have since tried adding name=$filename to the content type header to no avail...
The thing that's driving me crazy is that it's only IE all other browsers are working fine with it.
Also tried adding a content length header per a suggestion I read on another site.

-Mce

daveyboy

Did you try 'inline'?

header("Content-Type: application/octet-stream; name=\"$fileName\"");
header("Content-Disposition: inline; filename=\"$fileName\"");     

fpassthru($fp);

I found some code over on a server somewhere.
This code DOES work with IE and most other browsers I've tried (moz, konqueror, opera) - I've been running it for over a year. Unfortunately, you won't always get the right filename in the download file dialog - it's often 'blah.php'. I gave up using this method a while back - you really need to be checking filetype and sending out the correct MIME headers. What I do now, is create a tempdir and then create a random directory in it, and put the file to be downloaded in there, then link or redirect to it. The same download script checks the tempdir every 1 in 20 runs or so and deletes anything older than, say, 15 minutes. This works guaranteed with every browser, and you don't have to bugger about with mimetypes.

Mce

It just got wierder....it works fine as http in IE now, however when accessing the page via https (same page) it gets the filename wrong and tries to download the script instead of the attachment!
And it NEEDS to be sent via https.

Bizarre!

-Mce

Mce

I found the solution over on another site, however I felt I should post it here too.

Adding these header lines placates IE into allowing the download to take place over SSL.
It also doesn't appear to adversely affect the other browsers.

header("Pragma: ");
header("Cache-Control: ");
header("Expires: Mon, 26 Jul 1997 05:00:00 GMT");
header("Last-Modified: " . gmdate("D, d M Y H:i:s") . " GMT");
header("Cache-Control: no-store, no-cache, must-revalidate");

header("Cache-Control: post-check=0, pre-check=0", false);

Thanks daveyboy for your suggestions on this!

-Mce