How do I check if file exists in jQuery or pure JavaScript?

Question

How do I check if a file on my server exists in jQuery or pure JavaScript?

Answer 1

This is an adaptation to the accepted answer, but I couldn't get what I needed from the answer, and had to test this worked as it was a hunch, so i'm putting my solution up here.

We needed to verify a local file existed, and only allow the file (a PDF) to open if it existed. If you omit the URL of the website, the browser will automatically determine the host name - making it work in localhost and on the server:

$.ajax({

    url: 'YourFolderOnWebsite/' + SomeDynamicVariable + '.pdf',
    type: 'HEAD',
    error: function () {
        //file not exists
        alert('PDF does not exist');

    },
    success: function () {
        //file exists
        window.open('YourFolderOnWebsite/' + SomeDynamicVariable + '.pdf', "_blank", "fullscreen=yes");

    }
});