How do I force files to open in the browser instead of downloading (PDF)?

pdf http-headers browser embed embedding
elloalisboa picture elloalisboa · Jun 9, 2011 · Viewed 341.4k times · Source

Is there a way to force PDF files to open in the browser when the option "Display PDF in browser" is unchecked?

I tried using the embed tag and an iframe, but it only works when that option is checked.

What can I do?

Answer

ColinM picture ColinM · Aug 10, 2012

To indicate to the browser that the file should be viewed in the browser, the HTTP response should include these headers:

Content-Type: application/pdf
Content-Disposition: inline; filename="filename.pdf"

To have the file downloaded rather than viewed:

Content-Type: application/pdf
Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="filename.pdf"

The quotes around the filename are required if the filename contains special characters such as filename[1].pdf which may otherwise break the browser's ability to handle the response.

How you set the HTTP response headers will depend on your HTTP server (or, if you are generating the PDF response from server-side code: your server-side programming language).

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