How to save a base64 image to user's disk using JavaScript?
I have converted the source content from the <img> html tag to a base64String using JavaScript. The image was displayed clearly. Now I want to save that image to user's disk using javascript.
<html>
<head>
<script>
function saveImageAs () {
var imgOrURL;
embedImage.src = "data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAUA" +
"AAAFCAYAAACNbyblAAAAHElEQVQI12P4//8/w38GIAXDIBKE0DHxgljNBAAO" +
"9TXL0Y4OHwAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==";
imgOrURL = embedImage;
if (typeof imgOrURL == 'object')
imgOrURL = embedImage.src;
window.win = open(imgOrURL);
setTimeout('win.document.execCommand("SaveAs")', 0);
}
</script>
</head>
<body>
<a href="#" ONCLICK="saveImageAs(); return false" >save image</a>
<img id="embedImage" alt="Red dot">
</body>
</html>
This code worked well when I set the image path as source for <img> html tag. However, when I pass the source as base64String does not work.
How to achieve what I want?
Answer
HTML5 download attribute
Just to allow user to download the image or other file you may use the HTML5 download attribute.
Static file download
<a href="/images/image-name.jpg" download>
<!-- OR -->
<a href="/images/image-name.jpg" download="new-image-name.jpg">
Dynamic file download
In cases requesting image dynamically it is possible to emulate such download.
If your image is already loaded and you have the base64 source then:
function saveBase64AsFile(base64, fileName) {
var link = document.createElement("a");
document.body.appendChild(link); // for Firefox
link.setAttribute("href", base64);
link.setAttribute("download", fileName);
link.click();
}
Otherwise if image file is downloaded as Blob you can use FileReader to convert it to Base64:
function saveBlobAsFile(blob, fileName) {
var reader = new FileReader();
reader.onloadend = function () {
var base64 = reader.result ;
var link = document.createElement("a");
document.body.appendChild(link); // for Firefox
link.setAttribute("href", base64);
link.setAttribute("download", fileName);
link.click();
};
reader.readAsDataURL(blob);
}
Firefox
The anchor tag you are creating also needs to be added to the DOM in Firefox, in order to be recognized for click events (Link).
IE is not supported: Caniuse link