Button to download file from webpage

Asked 9 years, 10 months ago. Active 2 years, 1 month ago. Viewed 64k times. May i know how can this be done? Code snippets and references will be appreciated. Improve this question. Naveed Lloydworth Lloydworth 6 6 gold badges 20 20 silver badges 37 37 bronze badges. Why don't you just link to the file? Preferably, you should be serving it with the correct MIME type, but it should work regardless Add a comment.

Active Oldest Votes. So, let's try to do this step by step: Click right mouse button on element which execute download and press "Inspect element" In source code you can see name of JavaScript function this element executes Type the name of function in console without parentheses and click button which should appear near console return This button will open this JavaScript function in source code In source code we see that function execute submit on HTML element which has id frmDownload.

So, go back to "Inspector" tab and type this id into search box. Let's write small script which form and send same request and save result into. To capture HTTP request from browser we can open "Network" tab: Now let's press download button on web page and download csv file. Improve this answer. Olvin Roght Olvin Roght 5, 2 2 gold badges 13 13 silver badges 30 30 bronze badges. Thanks very much! This works perfectly and your step by step process helps me understand it better also.

I now need to go and improve my JavaScript knowledge! JackDoyle, feel free to ask me if needed. Btw, accept my answer if you find it useful. OlvinRoght - Your Answer is very helpful, I'd highly appreciate it, if you could help my similar situation. Nithin Nithin 7 7 silver badges 14 14 bronze badges. Yes, it works in this request but you'll definitely get problems with it soon. Sign up or log in Sign up using Google. Yes No. Log in Social login does not work in incognito and private browsers.

Please log in with your username or email to continue. No account yet? Create an account. Edit this Article. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. By using our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Cookie Settings. Learn why people trust wikiHow. Download Article Explore this Article methods.

Related Articles. Article Summary. Method 1. Create an HTML page if you don't have one yet. You'll be adding your download link to an HTML web page. If you don't have an existing site, you can create a basic HTML page to test out the download link. Open a folder on your server for both the page and the file. The easiest way to link a file is by placing the file in the same folder as the page's HTML file.

Use the control panel file manager or the file browser in your FTP program to navigate to the folder containing the HTML file you'll be adding the link to.

Your FTP client should already be configured to connect to your webserver since you've uploaded your site there before. If your web server has an online control panel, you can access your server files directly through the web management interface.

You'll be able to access this when you sign into your site as an administrator. Once you're in the control panel, select the "File Manager" option. If you created your website using a website creation tool like WordPress, Weebly, or Wix, see the platform-specific instructions in the methods below.

Upload the file you want to create a link to. Note that some servers may limit the size of the file you are allowed to upload, and large files can eat through your allotted bandwidth pretty quickly. To upload files using your FTP program, drag the file into the folder in the FTP window that you want to upload it to. It will begin uploading immediately. Your upload speeds will typically be much slower than your download speeds, so it may take a while to completely upload the file.

If you are using the virtual control panel file manager, click the "Upload" button at the top of the window. Browse your computer for the file you want to upload. Large files may take a while to upload to your server. Open the page you want to add your link to in your code editor. Once the file is uploaded, you'll need to add the link to it on your web page.

Open the HTML file that you want to add the link to. You can double-click it in the control panel file manager to open it in the built-in page editor. Find the spot on the page that you want to add the link. Place your cursor in the spot in the code that you want to insert your download link. This could be in the body of a paragraph, at the bottom of a page, or anywhere else. Add the code for the link. Enter the following HTML5 code for your download link. This will start the download immediately for users after they click the link.

The button does issue a POST request. The url in the dev tools network tab is the same as the page url. I tried a php curl solution first, but I could never get the file returned. It always returned an error message. The web page uses some kind of validation to check that the button was actually clicked. Could you update your question with the error s you get when using the pure HTTP approach?

Add a comment. Sign up or log in Sign up using Google. Sign up using Facebook. Sign up using Email and Password. Post as a guest Name. Email Required, but never shown. The Overflow Blog. Podcast Who is building clouds for the independent developer? Exploding turkeys and how not to thaw your frozen bird: Top turkey questions