PDF file download through XHR Request

Question

Is it totally impossible to download a pdf file through an XHR request? I know there are many other discussions already on this topic but sadly, I am still not satisfied wit

Answer 1

Have a look at this JQuery plugin jquery-file-download-plugin and here is the demo page of this plugin demo . I think its inserting iframe dynamically to DOM and produces look and feel just like AJAX request. It might be helpful for you.

Answer 2

It certainly depends on the size of the PDF file, but this would be a workable approach if the PDF isn't too large:

1. Show the "waiting image" and download the PDF using $http.

   $http.get('http://my.example.com/foo.pdf').success(function(pdfData) {
     ... do something with pdfData ...
   });
   

2. Convert pdfData to Base64 encoding and use a data URI scheme to create a URL for the downloaded PDF file.

3. Redirect to that URL.