CODEWITHSUNDEEP
javascripthtml
kaaris
kaaris

Reputation: 11

Find size of file of download links with javascript

I was wondering if there was a way to use js to find out the file size for a file that i'm linking to a webpage.

I want to make it so that on hovering over the download link, a modal box pops up saying the file size of the file

Upvotes: 1

Views: 841

Answers (1)

Aurel Bílý
Aurel Bílý

Reputation: 7973

No, for that to happen with Javascript only the browser would have to download the file first to check its size, which beats the purpose. There is a HEAD method in HTTP, though it may not be supported easily (either by the browser or the server).

In general, when servers show filesizes, they are pre-calculated (and ideally cached) server-side, so using PHP / node.js / Django / whatever back-end. It is possible to retrieve this information asynchronously using AJAX triggered by mouse hover. However, this is probably much more wasteful (bandwidth-wise, code-wise) than simply sending the filesize attached with any file link – the filesize is just a couple of bytes anyway.

Upvotes: 1

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