node/express Force browser to download file with custom name

Question

I\'ve built a node/express website for my university project that, after searching for an ID of a law, it shows a big table with all files in different formats and languages

Answer 1

In Express 4 and later, there are 2 helper functions to change the content-type and specify attachment disposition:

res.type("application/octet-stream");
res.attachment("filename.ext");

See docs for type and attachment.

Answer 2

You need to add a new header to the response object to indicate the file name and do a regular download.

res.set("Content-Disposition", "attachment;filename=somefile.ext");

You could also use "inline" if instead you want the browser to try to open the file within it self, like with Chrome does with pdf files.

res.set("Content-Disposition", "inline;filename=somefile.ext");

As per @Thomas suggestion, also is a good idea to include always the right content type:

res.set("Content-Type", "application/octet-stream");