http - How do I force download with HTML/JavaScript?

Question

I have a link and, if a user clicks it, I need 2 things to happen:

• A proper HTTP response is sent to the user (especially with Content-Type: video/mp4)
• and a video file will automatically begin downloading.

I have seen something of the sort with PHP, but is it possible only with HTML/JavaScript?

Answer 1

you can use the download attribute

<a href="http..." download></a>

or specify a filename using

<a href="http..." download="filename.pdf"></a>

see more: https://developer.mozilla.org/en/HTML/element/a#attr-download