How to create a file in memory for user to download, but not through server?
Simple solution for HTML5 ready browsers...
function download(filename, text) {
var element = document.createElement('a');
element.setAttribute('href', 'data:text/plain;charset=utf-8,' + encodeURIComponent(text));
element.setAttribute('download', filename);
element.style.display = 'none';
document.body.appendChild(element);
element.click();
document.body.removeChild(element);
}
form * {
display: block;
margin: 10px;
}
<form onsubmit="download(this['name'].value, this['text'].value)">
<input type="text" name="name" value="test.txt">
<textarea name="text"></textarea>
<input type="submit" value="Download">
</form>
Usage
download('test.txt', 'Hello world!');
You can use data URIs. Browser support varies; see Wikipedia. Example:
<a href="data:application/octet-stream;charset=utf-16le;base64,//5mAG8AbwAgAGIAYQByAAoA">text file</a>
The octet-stream is to force a download prompt. Otherwise, it will probably open in the browser.
For CSV, you can use:
<a href="data:application/octet-stream,field1%2Cfield2%0Afoo%2Cbar%0Agoo%2Cgai%0A">CSV Octet</a>
Try the jsFiddle demo.