How to transform XML text received through an AJAX request into a file

Question

I'm making an AJAX request to the server and getting a response as XML text and I've tried a bunch of ways to transform it into a downloadable file but none are working.

I've done something similar for a pdf but the difference is that for the pdf the content is returned as a blob, here's the code:

         $.ajax({
            method: "GET",
            beforeSend: function(request) {
                request.setRequestHeader("Authorization", bearer));
            },
            url: url,
            xhrFields: {
                responseType: "blob"
            },
            success(blob) {
                var link = document.createElement("a");
                link.href = window.URL.createObjectURL(blob);
                link.download = "file.xml";
                link.click();
            }
        });

How can I transform this code so it works the same way when receiving XML text?

request.setRequestHeader("Content-Type", "application/pdf"); makes no sense. You are making a GET request. The body has no content to describe the type of. — Quentin
– Quentin, Commented Feb 19, 2020 at 10:55
"How can I transform this code so it works the same way when receiving XML text?" — Do nothing. (Well, you might want to change file.pdf to file.xml). It should just work. What's the problem? — Quentin
– Quentin, Commented Feb 19, 2020 at 10:56
Why creating a link element? If you have an url it mimicks the same as you change the url of the current page. (Like location.href) — gramgram
– gramgram, Commented Feb 19, 2020 at 11:00
@VítorMartins what I mean is if you create a link on the fly and click it programatically, it's the same as a redirect. If you want a file to be downloaded and not opened within the browser, you can use Content-Type: application/octet-stream and Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="file.xml". It works if you receiving the url of the xml and not the content of the xml. — gramgram
– gramgram, Commented Feb 19, 2020 at 12:06

gramgram · Accepted Answer · 2020-02-19 13:38:42Z

1

If you receive the url of the XML and not the content of the XML file, you can use the headers like

Content-Type: application/octet-stream
Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="file.xml"

It forces the browser to download the XML. You don't need to create a link on the fly and click it programatically, just open the received url by redirecting (location.href) or open in new window/tab (window.open). Latter is handy if you want to make sure to stay on the current page but restricted in some cases. Have fun!

answered Feb 19, 2020 at 13:38

gramgram

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