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phpdownloadremote-server

php - How to force download of a file?

I'm looking to add a "Download this File" function below every video on one of my sites. I need to force the user to download the file, instead of just linking to it, since that begins playing a file in the browser sometimes. The problem is, the video files are stored on a separate server.

Any way I can force the download in PHP?

Solution

  • You could try something like this:

    <?php

// Locate.
$file_name = 'file.avi';
$file_url = 'http://www.myremoteserver.com/' . $file_name;

// Configure.
header('Content-Type: application/octet-stream');
header("Content-Transfer-Encoding: Binary"); 
header("Content-disposition: attachment; filename=\"".$file_name."\"");

// Actual download.
readfile($file_url);

// Finally, just to be sure that remaining script does not output anything.
exit;

    I just tested it and it works for me.

    Please note that for readfile to be able to read a remote url, you need to have your fopen_wrappers enabled.