How to Effectively Download Files Using AJAX and PHP?

How to Download a File Via AJAX in PHP

Downloading files through an AJAX call in PHP requires creative approaches beyond the conventional AJAX methods. Here's how to address this challenge:

Instead of using AJAX for file downloads, consider opening a new window and setting its address to the download link. This is a simple and effective technique.

Alternatively, you can use JavaScript's document.location property to redirect the user's browser directly to the download link. Here's an example:

function csv() {
  ajaxRequest = ajax();
  postdata = "data=" + document.getElementById("id").value;
  ajaxRequest.onreadystatechange = function () {
    var ajaxDisplay = document.getElementById('ajaxDiv');
    if (ajaxRequest.readyState == 4 && ajaxRequest.status == 200) {
      document.location = 'download.php?filename=' + ajaxRequest.responseText;
    }
  };
  ajaxRequest.open("POST", "csv.php", false);
  ajaxRequest.setRequestHeader('Content-Type', 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded');
  ajaxRequest.send(postdata);
}

This code creates a separate PHP script called download.php, responsible for downloading the file specified in the filename parameter.

In download.php, use the following code snippet to force the file download:

$fileName = 'file.csv';
$downloadFileName = 'newfile.csv';

if (file_exists($fileName)) {
  header('Content-Description: File Transfer');
  header('Content-Type: text/csv');
  header('Content-Disposition: attachment; filename='.$downloadFileName);
  ob_clean();
  flush();
  readfile($fileName);
  exit;
}

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