How to get the name of the file that the user can download? – Download

by
Maya Patel
django django-views download fileresponse

Quick Fix: Extract the file name from the Content-Disposition header of the HTTP response using JavaScript. Set the ‘download’ attribute of an anchor tag with the file name to enable downloading.

The Solutions:

Solution 1: Using FileResponse and Fetch API

This solution demonstrates how to get the name of a file returned from a server using Fetch API and Django’s FileResponse.

The key steps involved are:

  1. Set the Content-Disposition header in the FileResponse:

    • This header provides information about the file, including its name.
    • Example: headers = {'Access-Control-Expose-Headers': 'Content-Disposition'}, and add it to your FileResponse: FileResponse(protected_pdf_file, as_attachment=True, filename='result.pdf', headers=headers)
  2. Use Fetch API to make a POST request:

    • Send the request to the specified URL with the appropriate data.
  3. Extract the Content-Disposition header from the response:

    • Use the response.headers.get('Content-Disposition') method to obtain the header value.
  4. Parse the Content-Disposition header:

    • Split the header value into parts using the ; delimiter.
    • The file name is typically found in the second part, after the filename= parameter.
  5. Assign the extracted file name to a variable for use later:

    • Store the file name in a variable, such as fileName.
  6. Create an object URL from the Blob response:

    • Use URL.createObjectURL(data) to create a URL for the downloaded file.
  7. Set the download attribute of the download link:

    • Set the download attribute of the download link to the fileName variable to specify the file name for the download.

With these steps, you can retrieve the file name from the server and enable the user to download the file with the correct name using the download link.

Q&A

How to get the filename of the response?

Get the value of the Content-Disposition header.

How to split the header value?

Use the split() method to split the value of the Content-Disposition header into parts.

How to use fileName?

Use fileName variable in download_link.download to set the file name for the user download.

Video Explanation:

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