NYCPHP Meetup

[Jeff Siegel]

Dan,

If the cache control is relevant to the issue at hand - forcing browser 
downloads - then it would make sense to explore that too.

Jeff

Dan Cech wrote:

> Jeff Siegel - PHundamentals wrote:
> 
>> For the next PHundamentals article, we are exploring best practices in 
>> the use of headers.  Over the next few weeks, we'll be asking about 
>> the various ways in which headers are used.  This week's question (see 
>> below) concerns the use of headers which force downloads.
> 
> 
> I have used this combination of headers with pretty good success:
> 
> Given an array containing the details of the file like:
> 
> $attach = array(
>   'filename' => 'myfile.pdf',
>   'mimetype' => 'application/pdf',
>   'content'  => 'pdf here'
> );
> 
> header('Content-Disposition: attachment; filename='. $attach['filename']);
> header('Content-length: '. strlen($attach['content']));
> header('Content-type: '. $attach['mimetype']);
> echo $attach['content'];
> exit;
> 
> The Content-Disposition header tells the browser to open the download 
> dialog, and lets it know the correct filename/extension.
> 
> The Content-length header allows the browser to display a meaningful 
> progress bar.
> 
> The Content-type header lets the browser correctly display an indication 
> of the file type to the user (PDF,XLS,EXE etc).  In most browsers it 
> will also influence the default action (open vs download).
> 
> For some files (pdf mostly) it can be a good idea to use a different 
> Content-Disposition header, namely:
> 
> header('Content-Disposition: inline; filename='. $attach['filename']);
> 
> In most browsers this will result in the pdf file being opened within 
> the browser window.
> 
> I have a bunch more information regarding the use of headers for cache 
> control...but that wasn't what you were asking was it ;)
> 
> Dan Cech
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