Download file from a specific folder using PHP and ajax

Question

1.00/5 (4 votes)

See more:

I am required to download different type of files from a spesicif folder using ajax .The problem is that when execute the code I I get this message

[ here]
I have looked for the similar tutorials I coundnt find a solution Could you please help

What I have tried:

This my index.php file

PHP

$(function(){
    	fetchData();
    
    	function fetchData(){
    	$.ajax({
    		url:"ajax.php",
    		method:"post",
    		success:function(data){
            $('#data').html(data);
    		}
    	})
    	}
    
    	$(document).on('click','.download',function(e){
    		e.preventDefault();
    var fileName=$(this).attr("id");
    	$.ajax({
    			url:"download.php",
    			method:"post",
    			data:{fileName:fileName},
    			success:function(e){
                    alert(e);
                }
    		})
    
    	});
    })

this my ajax.php file that I am using populate the file Information table (like names, and download Count)

PHP

<?php

$handleDir = opendir($directory) or die('error');
$fileName = array();
$count = (count(scandir($directory)) - 2);
$output .= '<table class="table table-bordered">
<th width="20%">File Name</th>
<th width="10%">Download Count</th>
';
if ($count) {
    while ($file = readdir($handleDir)) {
        if ($file == '.' || $file == '..') {
            continue;
        }

        $fileName[] = $file;
    }

    $query = 'select * from download_manager order by  id desc';
    $fileInfo = array();
    $result = mysqli_query($link, $query);
    if (mysqli_num_rows($result)) {
        while ($singleFile = mysqli_fetch_array($result)) {
            $fileInfo[$singleFile['filename']] = $singleFile['downloads'];
        }
    }

    foreach ($fileName as $key => $value) {
        $output .= '<tr><td >
        <span class="download" id="'.$value.'">'.$value.'</span>
       </td>
       <td>'.$fileInfo[$value].'</td>
       </tr>';
    }
}

$output .= '</table>';
echo $output;

?>

And this is my download php file error occurs in here

PHP

if (isset($_POST['fileName'])) {
    $fileName = $_POST['fileName'];

    if (file_exists($directory.'/'.$fileName)) {
        header('Content-Description: File Transfer');
        header('Content-Type: application/octet-stream');
        header('Content-Disposition: attachment; filename='.$directory.'/'.$fileName);
        header('Content-Length: '.filesize($directory.'/'.$fileName));
        ob_clean();
        flush();
        readfile($directory.'/'.$fileName);
        echo 'ok';
        exit;
    } else {
        echo 'no file';
    }
}

any help would be much appreciated Thank you

Posted 5-Oct-18 6:24am

Member 3722539

Updated 9-Oct-18 7:13am

Kornfeld Eliyahu Peter

v7

Add a Solution

Comments

Richard MacCutchan 6-Oct-18 4:19am

"The problem is that when execute the code I get this message".
And you think that we can guess what message and where it occurs?

Richard MacCutchan 6-Oct-18 7:57am

You have updated the question, but we still have no idea what message or where it occurs.

1 solution

Add a Solution

Add your solution here

Treat my content as plain text, not as HTML

Preview 0

…

Existing Members

Sign in to your account

...or Join us

Download, Vote, Comment, Publish.

Your Email
Password
Forgot your password?

Your Email
This email is in use. Do you need your password?
Optional Password

I have read and agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
Please subscribe me to the CodeProject newsletters

When answering a question please:

Read the question carefully.
Understand that English isn't everyone's first language so be lenient of bad spelling and grammar.
If a question is poorly phrased then either ask for clarification, ignore it, or edit the question and fix the problem. Insults are not welcome.
Don't tell someone to read the manual. Chances are they have and don't get it. Provide an answer or move on to the next question.

Let's work to help developers, not make them feel stupid.

This content, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)

Richard Deeming · Accepted Answer · 2018-10-09T07:13:00

$.ajax({
    url:"download.php",
    method:"post",
    data:{fileName:fileName},
    success:function(e){
        alert(e);
    }
})

Your code is sending back the bytes of the file you want to download. You are then trying to display those bytes in an alert, which can only display text. That is why you are getting a message full of gibberish - that's Javascript trying its best to interpret the bytes as a string.

You can't use an AJAX request to download a file. Since you require a POST request, you'll need to create a hidden <form> pointing to your download page, and submit it from your code.

Alternatively, change your download.php code to work with a GET request, add the filename to the query-string on your link, and add the download attribute[^] to the link.