Rails how do I - export data with send_data then redirect_to a new page?

Question

I have a rails app that allows a user to download a generated CSV file. After the file is downloaded, I\'d like to redirect the user to a new URL or action. Is there a trick

Answer 1

In my case, I have a download link in page 1 and after the successfull download, i just want to redirect them to page 1 ( same page which has the download link ). If you have a same case like mine, please do the below one.

Just add the target="_blank" in your download button/link. This is only for send_data render method. If you use send_file, you have to handle this in js.

It redirects to the separate page and pops up a download file save option. Once you saved, it closes the new tab and takes them to the page which you clicked the download button.

Answer 2

send_data is a render, so you can't do anything after it in a controller method.

The ways around it all involve Javascript. Here's one way I hacked together and never really liked:

• user hits submit
• small window pops up and connects to the controller to download the file
• main window redirects to the next page

Eventually I turned file generation into a background job. Then the user went to a jobs page (that didn't need a subsequent redirect) to get the files.