How to trigger a file download when clicking an HTML button or JavaScript

Question

This is crazy but I don\'t know how to do this, and because of how common the words are, it\'s hard to find what I need on search engines. I\'m thinking this should be an ea

Answer 1

There is a difference between loading a file and downloading a file. The following html code loads a file:

loading on the same tab

After clicking on this link, your current tab will be replaced with the pdf-file that can then be downloaded. On right-clicking on this link, you can choose the menu item save link as for downloading the file directly. If you wish to obtain a save as dialog on clicking on such a link, you might want to take the following code:

save as...

Your browser will download this file immediately if you choose to use a download directory in your options. Otherwise, your browser will be offering a save as-dialog.

You can also choose a button for downloading:

    save as...

If you wish to load the link on a new tab, you take

loading on a new tab

A form element does not heed the directive ?download=1. It only heeds the directive target="_blank":

    loading on a new tab