[RESOLVED] URL Mystery

[jasonyoung]

Hello, easy one I hope.

When I echo this line

echo "<a href=\"./includes/iCalMaker.php?id=$randomIdRegenerated[5]\">$formattedDate[5]";

it creates a URL like

/terraces/includes/iCalMaker.php?id=0.44462426793261

Clicking the link should pass the ?id to iCalMaker.php and create an iCalendar
file which puts a meeting in Outlook, or whatever scheduler supports .ics files.

In IE it does the correct thing, pops an open or download the file window.
In FF it just opens the .ics file for viewing as if it was a txt file.

Not good. Any ideas what I can do for this?

Many thanks.

[big_nerd]

You can't use quotes like you have, in the echo statement AND the href.
There is a solution for this.. I found it here: Force Download

<?php
// Slightly Modified because I don't like caps in functions, personal thing...
// forcedownload.php
$filepath = $_REQUEST['filepath'];

function forcedownload($path) {      

        //get filename
        $filename = basename($path);
        //sent the right headers
        header("Content-Transfer-Encoding: binary");
        header("Content-Type: image/jpg");
        header("Content-Disposition: attachment; filename=$filename");
        //start feeding with the file
        readfile($path); 
} 
?>

I have used this at work to force download of images / pdf documents. I tried it with FF and IE and when you save it to a file ala:

<a href="forcedownload.php?filepath=<?php echo "./includes/iCalMaker.php?id=$randomIdRegenerated[5]"; ?>">Download File</a>

When the user clicks on it, a download dialog box will come up, even with "known" filetypes, or "assumed" filetypes.

Let me know if you have any issues

[jasonyoung]

I thought if I escaped the " with a \ it was OK to do? Thanks for the info.

I tried the script you offered and it isn't quite right. Instead it just goes to a blank page. I think it's because my URL is passing a var ($randomIdRegenerated[5]) which iCalMaker.php uses to query the DB and retrieve the info to build the file on the fly.

[jasonyoung]

Got it! Thanks, took a little more tweaking but I got it. I had to put it in the receiving script and do a direct function call. All bueno!

[Weedpacket]

jasonyoung wrote:

I thought if I escaped the " with a \ it was OK to do?

It certainly is. As far as the headers go, a Content-Type of "application/octet-stream" would probably be more appropriate than claiming that it's a JPEG 🙂

Needless to say, since iCalMaker.php outputs the .ics file, that would be the appropriate script to output the header as well.

[big_nerd]

Weedpacket:

Oops, as I said it was a mod from the included url. I suppose I should have finished it, a little tired though.

SHould have been like:

<?php 
// Slightly Modified because I don't like caps in functions, personal thing... 
// forcedownload.php 
$filepath = $_REQUEST['filepath']; 

function forcedownload($path) {       

        //get filename 
        $filename = basename($path); 
        //sent the right headers 
        header("Content-Transfer-Encoding: binary"); 
        header("Content-Type: application/octet-stream"); 
        header("Content-Disposition: attachment; filename=$filename"); 
        //start feeding with the file 
        readfile($path); 
} 
forcedownload($filepath);
?> 

(for anyone else who may stumble upon this)

[jasonyoung]

The files I'm launching are also PDF's. After testing further testing I noticed a different behavior between IE and FF.

When launching in IE, it prompts to save or open. I select one and all is good.
When launching in FF, it prompts to save or open, but I can't select OK until some period passes. It appears that it's downloading it in the background because when the OK button enables, the resulting action (either open or save) happens instantly, whereas, in IE, it seems to wait until a selection is made before downloading.

Also, in FF after it does what I think is the background download, I have to click off the popup option window or the 'save to disk' radio button before the OK button will enable. Also, my test PFD is ~2MB.

Is this because of the way I'm launching the file or a FF anomaly?

Can I fix it?

Many thanks!

[rockerest]

I've noticed the same anomaly in many cases, even when downloading extensions or themes directly from mozilla.com

While I have absolutely no knowledge about whether files are being silently downloaded in the background, it seems that regardless of the size of the file, the OK button will not enable until I have re-focused on the download dialog. It may be a safety thing so that scripts can't instantly download files without you knowing.

In other words, it's not the way you're launching the file, it's an fx thing.

-rock

[big_nerd]

I beleive that would be a FF thing.

The browser has no way to know that this is any different than downloading any other file, its just a matter of how it interprets the headers.

I will do some testing on that, interesting, not useful if this is the action it causes in FF, no matter if its the code, or FF itself.