Force Download A Pdf Link Using Javascript Ajax Jquery

Downloading a PDF file from a link using JavaScript, AJAX, and jQuery can be a handy feature for many websites. With just a few lines of code, you can give users the ability to download PDF files directly with a simple click. In this article, we'll guide you through the process of implementing this functionality step by step.

To start, you'll need to have a basic understanding of JavaScript, AJAX, and jQuery. These technologies are commonly used in web development to create interactive and dynamic web pages.

First, let's create a simple HTML structure with a link to the PDF file you want to download:

<title>Force Download PDF Link</title>


<a href="your-pdf-file.pdf" id="downloadLink">Download PDF</a>

In the above code snippet, we've added an anchor tag with the link to the PDF file and assigned an ID of "downloadLink" to it. Next, we've included jQuery in the head section of the HTML file and linked an external JavaScript file called "app.js".

Now, let's move on to the JavaScript code in the "app.js" file:

$(document).ready(function() {
    $('#downloadLink').click(function(e) {
        e.preventDefault();
        var pdfUrl = $(this).attr('href');
        downloadPdf(pdfUrl);
    });

    function downloadPdf(pdfUrl) {
        $.ajax({
            url: pdfUrl,
            method: 'GET',
            xhrFields: {
                responseType: 'blob'
            },
            success: function(response) {
                var blob = new Blob([response]);
                var link = document.createElement('a');
                link.href = window.URL.createObjectURL(blob);
                link.download = 'downloaded-pdf.pdf';
                link.click();
            }
        });
    }
});

In the JavaScript code above, we first wait for the document to be ready using `$(document).ready()`. We then target the click event on the download link with the ID "downloadLink". When the link is clicked, we prevent the default behavior of the anchor tag using `e.preventDefault()`.

Next, we retrieve the URL of the PDF file from the anchor tag's href attribute and pass it to the `downloadPdf` function. Inside the `downloadPdf` function, we make an AJAX request to fetch the PDF file as a binary blob.

Upon a successful response, we create a new blob object using the data received and create a temporary anchor element. We set the URL of the anchor element to the object URL of the blob and specify the filename for the downloaded PDF.

Finally, we trigger a click event on the anchor element, which initiates the download process for the PDF file.

By following these instructions and understanding the code provided, you can easily implement a feature that allows users to force download PDF files from a link using JavaScript, AJAX, and jQuery.