Downloadable File Setup?
I am a relative novice at web development and this is my first post here. What is the best way to set up files for downloading? I'm use Macs so files always download instantly when I click a link, but I understand that a PC will try to open the file in the browser and that a PDF will open. I've been simply placing the downloads in a folder inside the public_html folder on my Unix server. Are there many ways, or should I say better ways, to set up downloads other than anonymous ftp, which my hosting company does not allow? Thanks for your comments.
J.
Suzanne posted this at 21:57 — 10th June 2004.
She has: 5,507 posts
Joined: Feb 2000
.zip
Suzanne posted this at 21:58 — 10th June 2004.
She has: 5,507 posts
Joined: Feb 2000
of course, if they are .pdf files, then you should just link them, identify them and let the user decide whether to open or download them. It shouldn't matter to you.
K12RS posted this at 10:53 — 12th June 2004.
He has: 5 posts
Joined: Jun 2004
Suzanne, thanks for the reply. That's pretty much what I've been doing, but some PC users don't even realize they can download the files. I've been putting a note beside it to "right click–save to disc." At first I had the link in narrow left hand frame on a frames site and that really confused them
J..
Suzanne posted this at 19:25 — 12th June 2004.
She has: 5,507 posts
Joined: Feb 2000
I've found that written instructions are better than any other sort of "aid", especially to pc users.
Seriously, lol, to any user. Sounds like you're running into some of the "between the keyboard and the chair" errors.
andy206uk posted this at 14:19 — 14th June 2004.
He has: 1,758 posts
Joined: Jul 2002
I think you need to fiddle with the mime types to ensure they download...
* go's googling *
Apparently, if you set the mimetype for .pdf as "application/octet-stream" it will pretty much always give the user the option to download the file. Theres a tutorial here on changing mimetimes that may help if your using apache webserver:
http://www.bignosebird.com/apache/a1.shtml
Hope that helps.
Andy
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