How to force your PDF file to download instead of open in browser

10 years ago

Hey, not sure if this is the BEST WAY to do it or not but its the way I do it and it works for me.

I just put it in a "zip" file and link to that. Use "zip" though and not "rar". Rar files are a pain in the ass and will piss people off - zips won't.

Thanks
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TheWillisWay

10 years ago

Originally Posted by XponentSYS

Hey, not sure if this is the BEST WAY to do it or not but its the way I do it and it works for me.

I just put it in a "zip" file and link to that. Use "zip" though and not "rar". Rar files are a pain in the ass and will piss people off - zips won't.

I think this is the solution. Whether it opens in the browser or downloads will be determined by the settings on the downloading computer. So if a computer is set to view in the browser as a default there is nothing you can do about it unless its your own Pc.

There is no browser function to open zip files. So if you zip the Pdf up it will always download as a zip.

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melvinsh

10 years ago

I think you just make sure the pdf viewer is set as default

Thanks

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Rappostion

10 years ago

This depends on the browser settings of the recipient. They have the option to either
open a document or save it automatically.

Thanks
1 reply

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dean20653

10 years ago

Originally Posted by TheWillisWay

I think this is the solution. Whether it opens in the browser or downloads will be determined by the settings on the downloading computer. So if a computer is set to view in the browser as a default there is nothing you can do about it unless its your own Pc.

There is no browser function to open zip files. So if you zip the Pdf up it will always download as a zip.

Originally Posted by Rappostion

This depends on the browser settings of the recipient. They have the option to either
open a document or save it automatically.

I agree, that zip is probably the best option.

however i wanted to add, that the past few days i have been downloading A TON of pdf files from here and other various websites (all using Chrome) and it's been 50/50 not all of them have opened in my browser, some have, but other have just downloaded without even opening. Im not sure HOW, but i just wanted to say my experience if it helps at all. so maybe some more digging will uncover something, Im not sure.

Best of luck with it!

Thanks

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hustlinsmoke

10 years ago

I actually use pretty links and a zip, if the file is blank.com/show.pdf then I zip it and now its blank.com/show.zip then use pretty links to say blank.com/1pdf or something like that.

I do this cause some don't like seeing the word zip on a download. But it usually works.

Thanks

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huseyinthebrain

10 years ago

The zip file solution is great and people are not too annoyed by the zip format, but how about on mobile devices? Lots of people love reading my pdfs on their phones and tablets... zip sounds unattractive on mobile

Thanks
1 reply

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zimzalabim

10 years ago

Originally Posted by huseyinthebrain

The zip file solution is great and people are not too annoyed by the zip format, but how about on mobile devices? Lots of people love reading my pdfs on their phones and tablets... zip sounds unattractive on mobile

There are apps available which allow zipping/unzipping on mobile devices. Not used any of them myself though a quick search shows plenty around for IOS and Android. iZip, WinZip etc.

Thanks

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imogenhobbs

10 years ago

Zip's are great because you can minimize file size and also place a password in there for the unrestricted people.

Well, if you want the pdf, you can host it on an alternative site like secured Yousendit or mediafire with a password. That might do! Otherwise, I do recall some wordpress plugins forcing downloads for any type of file, it's probably some download manager.

Thanks

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JensSteyaert

10 years ago

Yeah when you add the file to a zip you can also add other files in the zip, which is great for company branding.

You can even add a hyperlink to your site, that's great if you add plr rights to your ebook and it gets spread around the internet, great free traffic source.

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WillR

10 years ago

It is NOT determined by the browser of the person viewing the document, contrary to what others have said above.

Here is how you do it.

1. Create a folder on your domain such as 'pdf'

2. Upload your pdf file into that folder.

3. Create a new text file on your computer and paste the following text into it:

<FilesMatch "\.(?i:pdf)$">
ForceType application/octet-stream
Header set Content-Disposition attachment
</FilesMatch>

4. Upload this file into the 'pdf' folder and rename this file to .htaccess

Done. Now all pdf files in that folder will be prompted to download rather than view online.

If you are hosting the pdf file on Amazon S3, just right click on the pdf file and select 'Set HTTP Headers'

Then click on 'Add' > 'Content-Disposition' > 'attachment; Filename=' > Ok.

This will now force people to download that document rather than view it online.

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DeadRooster

10 years ago

Originally Posted by WillR

It is NOT determined by the browser of the person viewing the document, contrary to what others have said above.

Here is how you do it.

1. Create a folder on your domain such as 'pdf'

2. Upload your pdf file into that folder.

3. Create a new text file on your computer and paste the following text into it:

<FilesMatch ".(?i:pdf)$">
ForceType application/octet-stream
Header set Content-Disposition attachment
</FilesMatch>

4. Upload this file into the 'pdf' folder and rename this file to .htaccess

Done. Now all pdf files in that folder will be prompted to download rather than view online.

If you are hosting the pdf file on Amazon S3, just right click on the pdf file and select 'Set HTTP Headers'

Then click on 'Add' > 'Content-Disposition' > 'attachment; Filename=' > Ok.

This will now force people to download that document rather than view it online.

Thanks for that! I've always wanted to know how to do it with S3.