Detect when browser receives file download

Question

I have a page that allows the user to download a dynamically-generated file. It takes a long time to generate, so I'd like to show a "waiting" indicator. The problem is, I can't figure out how to detect when the browser has received the file, so I can hide the indicator.

I'm making the request in a hidden form, which POSTs to the server, and targets a hidden iframe for its results. This is so I don't replace the entire browser window with the result. I listen for a "load" event on the iframe, in the hope that it will fire when the download is complete.

I return a "Content-Disposition: attachment" header with the file, which causes the browser to show the "Save" dialog. But the browser doesn't fire a "load" event in the iframe.

One approach I tried is using a multi-part response. So it would send an empty HTML file, as well as the attached downloadable file. For example:

Content-type: multipart/x-mixed-replace;boundary="abcde"

--abcde
Content-type: text/html

--abcde
Content-type: application/vnd.fdf
Content-Disposition: attachment; filename=foo.fdf

file-content
--abcde

This works in Firefox; it receives the empty HTML file, fires the "load" event, then shows the "Save" dialog for the downloadable file. But it fails on IE and Safari; IE fires the "load" event but doesn't download the file, and Safari downloads the file (with the wrong name and content-type), and doesn't fire the "load" event.

A different approach might be to make a call to start the file creation, then poll the server until it's ready, then download the already-created file. But I'd rather avoid creating temporary files on the server.

Does anyone have a better idea?

Answer 1

If you have download a file, which is saved, as opposed to being in the document, there's no way to determine when the download is complete, since it is not in the scope of the current document, but a separate process in the browser.

Answer 2

If Xmlhttprequest with blob is not an option then you can open your file in new window and check if eny elements get populated in that window body with interval.

var form = document.getElementById("frmDownlaod");
 form.setAttribute("action","downoad/url");
 form.setAttribute("target","downlaod");
 var exportwindow = window.open("", "downlaod", "width=800,height=600,resizable=yes");
 form.submit();

var responseInterval = setInterval(function(){
	var winBody = exportwindow.document.body
	if(winBody.hasChildNodes()) // or 'downoad/url' === exportwindow.document.location.href
	{
		clearInterval(responseInterval);
		// do your work
		// if there is error page configured your application for failed requests, check for those dom elemets 
	}
}, 1000)
//Better if you specify maximun no of intervals

Answer 3

One possible solution uses JavaScript on the client.

The client algorithm:

1. Generate a random unique token.
2. Submit the download request, and include the token in a GET/POST field.
3. Show the "waiting" indicator.
4. Start a timer, and every second or so, look for a cookie named "fileDownloadToken" (or whatever you decide).
5. If the cookie exists, and its value matches the token, hide the "waiting" indicator.

The server algorithm:

1. Look for the GET/POST field in the request.
2. If it has a non-empty value, drop a cookie (e.g. "fileDownloadToken"), and set its value to the token's value.

---

Client source code (JavaScript):

function getCookie( name ) {
  var parts = document.cookie.split(name + "=");
  if (parts.length == 2) return parts.pop().split(";").shift();
}

function expireCookie( cName ) {
    document.cookie = 
        encodeURIComponent(cName) + "=deleted; expires=" + new Date( 0 ).toUTCString();
}

function setCursor( docStyle, buttonStyle ) {
    document.getElementById( "doc" ).style.cursor = docStyle;
    document.getElementById( "button-id" ).style.cursor = buttonStyle;
}

function setFormToken() {
    var downloadToken = new Date().getTime();
    document.getElementById( "downloadToken" ).value = downloadToken;
    return downloadToken;
}

var downloadTimer;
var attempts = 30;

// Prevents double-submits by waiting for a cookie from the server.
function blockResubmit() {
    var downloadToken = setFormToken();
    setCursor( "wait", "wait" );

    downloadTimer = window.setInterval( function() {
        var token = getCookie( "downloadToken" );

        if( (token == downloadToken) || (attempts == 0) ) {
            unblockSubmit();
        }

        attempts--;
    }, 1000 );
}

function unblockSubmit() {
  setCursor( "auto", "pointer" );
  window.clearInterval( downloadTimer );
  expireCookie( "downloadToken" );
  attempts = 30;
}

Example server code (PHP):

$TOKEN = "downloadToken";

// Sets a cookie so that when the download begins the browser can
// unblock the submit button (thus helping to prevent multiple clicks).
// The false parameter allows the cookie to be exposed to JavaScript.
$this->setCookieToken( $TOKEN, $_GET[ $TOKEN ], false );

$result = $this->sendFile();

Where:

public function setCookieToken(
    $cookieName, $cookieValue, $httpOnly = true, $secure = false ) {

    // See: http://stackoverflow.com/a/1459794/59087
    // See: http://shiflett.org/blog/2006/mar/server-name-versus-http-host
    // See: http://stackoverflow.com/a/3290474/59087
    setcookie(
        $cookieName,
        $cookieValue,
        2147483647,            // expires January 1, 2038
        "/",                   // your path
        $_SERVER["HTTP_HOST"], // your domain
        $secure,               // Use true over HTTPS
        $httpOnly              // Set true for $AUTH_COOKIE_NAME
    );
}

Answer 4

If you're streaming a file that you're generating dynamically, and also have a realtime server-to-client messaging library implemented, you can alert your client pretty easily.

The server-to-client messaging library I like and recommend is Socket.io (via Node.js). After your server script is done generating the file that is being streamed for download your last line in that script can emit a message to Socket.io which sends a notification to the client. On the client, Socket.io listens for incoming messages emitted from the server and allows you to act on them. The benefit of using this method over others is that you are able to detect a "true" finish event after the streaming is done.

For example, you could show your busy indicator after a download link is clicked, stream your file, emit a message to Socket.io from the server in the last line of your streaming script, listen on the client for a notification, receive the notification and update your UI by hiding the busy indicator.

I realize most people reading answers to this question might not have this type of a setup, but I've used this exact solution to great effect in my own projects and it works wonderfully.

Socket.io is incredibly easy to install and use. See more: http://socket.io/