Download a file
Written byPhuoc Nguyen
Category
Level 2 — Intermediate
Created
21 Feb, 2020
Last updated
29 Mar, 2020
#1. Use the download attribute
Adding the
`download`
attribute to a link will force the browser to download the file instead of navigating to the link.
Note that the `download`
attribute isn't supported in IE 11.<a href="/path/to/file" download>Download</a>
#2. Trigger the click event
The idea comes from creating a link, and trigger its
`click`
event.// Create a new link
const link = document.createElement('a');
link.download = 'file name';
link.href = '/path/to/file';
// Append to the document
document.body.appendChild(link);
// Trigger the click event
link.click();
// Remove the element
document.body.removeChild(link);
#3. Download file with generated data
It's common to download a file with dynamic data, such as
- a JSON
- a text
- an image
From the data, we can turn it to a blob, then trigger the
`click`
event as described in the previous section.
The following sample code creates a blob of JSON and downloads it:const data = JSON.stringify({ 'message': 'Hello Word' });
const blob = new Blob([data], { type: 'application/json' });
// Create new URL
const url = window.URL.createObjectURL(blob);
// Create a link and trigger the download
...
// Free the URL created above
window.URL.revokeObjectURL(url);
#See also
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Phước Nguyễn