CODEWITHSUNDEEP
ruby-on-railsruby
Audie
Audie

Reputation: 193

Rails: download file with "Open With" option

I'm running Rails 2.2.3. I have a controller that I am using to manage uploading and downloading files. I have successfully linked to files on the view to allow a user to download, but when the download dialog box opens, it only shows a Save File option. I'd like to have the "Open With" option available as well. I'm using Firefox 3.6 on Ubuntu 10.

This is the controller that is used to "send" the file to the user:

def show

  @document = Document.find(params[:id])

  respond_to do |format|
    if File.exist?("#{RAILS_ROOT}/#{@document.path}")
      format.html { send_file "#{RAILS_ROOT}/#{@document.path}" }
    else
      flash[:error] = "File #{@document.path} does not exist!"
      format.html { redirect_to(:back) }
    end
  end

end

Upvotes: 1

Views: 1534

Answers (1)

molf
molf

Reputation: 74945

You should set the correct MIME type (and extension) to allow Firefox to recognise what kind of file is being downloaded:

send_file "#{RAILS_ROOT}/#{@document.path}", :type => "application/pdf",
  :filename => "document.pdf"

You can read and store this information when the file is being uploaded.

uploaded_file.content_type  # the uploaded file's MIME type
uploaded_file.original_path # name of the file

Even then, if the MIME type is unknown, I don't think you'll get an Open with prompt. So ultimately this will also depend on the particular kinds of files you are using in your application.

Upvotes: 2

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