How to download an Excel file returned by an Ajax call


Topic: How to download an Excel file returned by an Ajax call

Torroni pro asked a year ago

I have a button that sends an http Ajax request to download an Excel file. The server returns the binary Excel file with the following headers:

Content-Disposition: Attachment;Filename="SummaryReport.xlsx"
Content-Length: 3751
Content-Type: application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet

and the Chrome developer tools window show that the response contains the correct binary data, however Chrome does not download the file. Any idea?


Torroni pro answered a year ago

Found out the solution: I had to split the operation in 2 parts:

  1. clicking the button triggers the creation of the Excel file on the server and it adds an anchor element with a download link
  2. clicking the anchor element downloads the file

Torroni pro answered a year ago

for whomever is interested, this is how I've done it. HTML:

<div class="card-body">
    <div class="row mb-4">
        <div class="col-3">
            <button id="createReport" type="button" class="btn btn-secondary me-3">Report</button>
        </div>
        <a class="d-none" href="orchestrator/createReport/SummaryReport.xlsx" download></a>
    </div>
</div>

JS:

var request = new XMLHttpRequest();
request.open("GET", "orchestrator/createReport", true);
request.onreadystatechange = function () {
    if (request.readyState == XMLHttpRequest.DONE) {
        if (request.status == 200) {
            document.querySelector("#tools a").click();
        } else {
            showMessage("danger", "Error retrieving Summary Report from server");
        }
    }
}
request.send();

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Status

Resolved

Specification of the issue
  • User: Pro
  • Premium support: No
  • Technology: MDB Standard
  • MDB Version: MDB5 6.4.0
  • Device: laptop
  • Browser: Google Chrome Version 112.0.5615.121 (Official Build) (64-bit)
  • OS: Windows 10 Enterprise 22H2
  • Provided sample code: No
  • Provided link: No
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