Whatever you do, it has to involve the server. The client on it's own won't be able to handle it. See this related thread:
"save as" => save contents of a textbox to a file on client's PC http://groups.google.com/group/jquery-en/browse_thread/thread/64ca14bd5ddcc86f - Richard On Tue, Jul 15, 2008 at 6:08 AM, aharef <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Hi everyone, > > I want to allow my Users to download a file containing nothing but a > string generated in the client. I do have a solution but am rather > unhappy with it. In brief: > > Mission: > * In my App the User is presented a list of checkboxes to let him > select which content (already stored in an attribute of each checkbox) > he wants to download as a XML file - pure clientside. Done. > * With jQuery my App puts together a string containing XML-markup > according to User's selection - still clientside. Done. > * Now I want the User to be able to download the contents of the > string (with the common "Save as"-dialogue) in a file named > "MyData.xml" - also clientside... > > Solution 1 (please see related code below): > * Send the string via Ajax to the backend, where a XML-file called > "MyData.xml" is created on the local drive. > * If this was successful, window.open() is initiated in the client > linking the XML-file. > * User is happy. > > Yet I am unhappy with Solution 1 since > * all data is "uselessly" passed back and forth, even though no > contents are changed (just the 'formatting' as a file)... > * the generated file still needs to be unlinked in a further Ajax-call > after 'x' seconds... > * the file is actually displayed in the browser :( But thats solvable > PHP-Offtopic ;) > Thus I discarded further improvement of Solution 1... > > Solution 2: > * Somehow the string is being 'streamed' into the file-download > initiated after the User decided to "Save file as" (no rightclick!). > > But how? Help! ;) Do you know any tricks or hints to archive Solution > 2 () with jQuery or Javascript? > Many thanks in advance and greetings to a great group! > > Aharef > > > <code> > var filename = "data/MyData.xml"; > var xmlString = generateXmlString(); // <?xml version="1.0"? > ><contacts><contact>[EMAIL PROTECTED]</contact><contact>[EMAIL > >PROTECTED]</contact></ > contacts> > > jQuery.ajax({ > url: "createfile.php", > data: "&filename="+filename+"&xml="+xmlString+"&", > dataType: "html", > error: function() { alert("Sorry, couldn't create your > file..."); }, > success: function(filename) { window.open(filename,"_blank"); } > }); > </code> >
