Skip to content
geeksforgeeks
  • Tutorials
    • Python
    • Java
    • Data Structures & Algorithms
    • ML & Data Science
    • Interview Corner
    • Programming Languages
    • Web Development
    • CS Subjects
    • DevOps And Linux
    • School Learning
    • Practice Coding Problems
  • Courses
    • DSA to Development
    • Get IBM Certification
    • Newly Launched!
      • Master Django Framework
      • Become AWS Certified
    • For Working Professionals
      • Interview 101: DSA & System Design
      • Data Science Training Program
      • JAVA Backend Development (Live)
      • DevOps Engineering (LIVE)
      • Data Structures & Algorithms in Python
    • For Students
      • Placement Preparation Course
      • Data Science (Live)
      • Data Structure & Algorithm-Self Paced (C++/JAVA)
      • Master Competitive Programming (Live)
      • Full Stack Development with React & Node JS (Live)
    • Full Stack Development
    • Data Science Program
    • All Courses
  • PHP Tutorial
  • PHP Exercises
  • PHP Array
  • PHP String
  • PHP Calendar
  • PHP Filesystem
  • PHP Math
  • PHP Programs
  • PHP Array Programs
  • PHP String Programs
  • PHP Interview Questions
  • PHP GMP
  • PHP IntlChar
  • PHP Image Processing
  • PHP DsSet
  • PHP DsMap
  • PHP Formatter
  • Web Technology
Open In App

How to automatically start a download in PHP ?

Last Updated : 14 Sep, 2020
Comments
Improve
Suggest changes
Like Article
Like
Report

This post deals with creating a start downloading file using PHP. The idea is to make a download button which will redirect you to another page with the PHP script that will automatically start the download.

Creating a download button: html
<!DOCTYPE html> <html>  <head>     <meta name="viewport" content=         "width=device-width, initial-scale=1">     <style>         .btn {             background-color: limeGreen;             border: none;             color: white;             padding: 12px 30px;             cursor: pointer;             font-size: 20px;         }          .btn:hover {             background-color: green;         }     </style> </head>  <body>     <center>         <p>Auto width:</p>         <button class="btn">             <i class="fa fa-download">Download</i>         </button>         <p>Full width:</p>         <button class="btn" style="width:100%">             <i class="fa fa-download">Download</i>         </button>     </center> </body>  </html> 
Output:

To redirect to some file which has the file to be downloaded, create an HTML form as shown below.

html
<form action="downloadFile.php" method="post">  <input type="submit" name="submit" value="Download" /> </form> 
Output:

PHP code to download: When the user clicks the above button, the code will be redirected to the "downloadFile.php" file. Now, use the URL of the file and PHP file_get_contents() function to download the file.

php
<?php     // Initialize a file URL to  // the variable  $url =  'https://write.geeksforgeeks.org/wp-content/uploads/gfg-40.png';     // Use basename() function to  // return the file   $file_name = basename($url);      // Use file_get_contents() function  // to get the file from url and use  // file_put_contents() function to  // save the file by using base name  if(file_put_contents( $file_name,        file_get_contents($url))) {      echo "File downloaded successfully";  }  else {      echo "File downloading failed.";  } ?>  
Output:
  • Before running the program:
  • After running the program:

S

samrat2825
Improve
Article Tags :
  • PHP
  • CSS-Misc
  • HTML-Misc
  • PHP-Misc

Similar Reads

    How to create admin login page using PHP?
    In this article, we will see how we can create a login page for admin, connected with the database, or whose information to log in to the page is already stored in our database.  Follow the steps to create an admin login page using PHP:  Approach: Make sure you have XAMPP or WAMP installed on your w
    4 min read
    Signup form using PHP and MySQL Database
    The task is to create and design a sign-up form in which if the user enters details, the HTML form data are inserted into our MySQL server database. Approach: First task is that we have to create our MySQL server Database and a Table according to our requirements. We connect our MySQL server Databas
    4 min read
    Online Group Chat application using PHP
    Prerequisites: Technical knowledge: HTMLCSSJavascript (basics)PHP (Database connectivity)SQL queries Softwares to be installed: XAMPP server: This is a free software which contains web server Apache, Database management system for MySQL (or MariaDB). It can be downloaded for free from the official s
    9 min read
    How to Resize JPEG Image in PHP ?
    Why do we need to resize images? In a website, often, we need to scale an image to fit a particular section. Sometimes, it becomes necessary to scale down any image of random size to fit a cover photo section or profile picture section. Also, we need to show a thumbnail of a bigger image. In those c
    2 min read
    How to make PDF file downloadable in HTML link using PHP ?
    In web development, it is common to provide users with downloadable resources, such as PDF files. If you want to create a downloadable PDF link using HTML and PHP, this article will guide you through the process of making a PDF file downloadable when the user clicks on a link. ApproachCreate an HTML
    3 min read
    How to extract img src and alt from html using PHP?
    Extraction of image attributes like 'src', 'alt', 'height', 'width' etc from a HTML page using PHP. This task can be done using the following steps. Loading HTML content in a variable(DOM variable). Selecting each image in that document. Selecting attribute and save it's content to a variable. Outpu
    2 min read
    Upload pdf file to MySQL database for multiple records using PHP
    We will upload multiple records to the database and display all the records from the database on the same page.  In this article, we will see how we can upload PDF files to a MySQL database using PHP.  Approach: Make sure you have XAMPP or WAMP installed on your machine. In this tutorial, we will be
    7 min read
    Mailer multiple address in PHP
    In this article, we will be demonstrating how we can send the mail to the multiple addresses from the database using the PHP. PHPMailer library is used to send any email safely from the unknown e-mail to any mail id using PHP code through XAMPP web-server for this project. Installation process for a
    2 min read
    Covid 19 Tracker Web App using PHP
    In this article, we will see how to create a web application for tracking the Covid19 using PHP. Our Covid19 Tracker app will give the latest information for the States and Union Territories of India about the following things.Number of Active Cases of Covid19.Number of Confirmed Cases of Covid19.Nu
    3 min read
    How to automatically start a download in PHP ?
    This post deals with creating a start downloading file using PHP. The idea is to make a download button which will redirect you to another page with the PHP script that will automatically start the download. Creating a download button: html <!DOCTYPE html> <html> <head> <meta na
    2 min read
geeksforgeeks-footer-logo
Corporate & Communications Address:
A-143, 7th Floor, Sovereign Corporate Tower, Sector- 136, Noida, Uttar Pradesh (201305)
Registered Address:
K 061, Tower K, Gulshan Vivante Apartment, Sector 137, Noida, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Uttar Pradesh, 201305
GFG App on Play Store GFG App on App Store
Advertise with us
  • Company
  • About Us
  • Legal
  • Privacy Policy
  • In Media
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise with us
  • GFG Corporate Solution
  • Placement Training Program
  • Languages
  • Python
  • Java
  • C++
  • PHP
  • GoLang
  • SQL
  • R Language
  • Android Tutorial
  • Tutorials Archive
  • DSA
  • Data Structures
  • Algorithms
  • DSA for Beginners
  • Basic DSA Problems
  • DSA Roadmap
  • Top 100 DSA Interview Problems
  • DSA Roadmap by Sandeep Jain
  • All Cheat Sheets
  • Data Science & ML
  • Data Science With Python
  • Data Science For Beginner
  • Machine Learning
  • ML Maths
  • Data Visualisation
  • Pandas
  • NumPy
  • NLP
  • Deep Learning
  • Web Technologies
  • HTML
  • CSS
  • JavaScript
  • TypeScript
  • ReactJS
  • NextJS
  • Bootstrap
  • Web Design
  • Python Tutorial
  • Python Programming Examples
  • Python Projects
  • Python Tkinter
  • Python Web Scraping
  • OpenCV Tutorial
  • Python Interview Question
  • Django
  • Computer Science
  • Operating Systems
  • Computer Network
  • Database Management System
  • Software Engineering
  • Digital Logic Design
  • Engineering Maths
  • Software Development
  • Software Testing
  • DevOps
  • Git
  • Linux
  • AWS
  • Docker
  • Kubernetes
  • Azure
  • GCP
  • DevOps Roadmap
  • System Design
  • High Level Design
  • Low Level Design
  • UML Diagrams
  • Interview Guide
  • Design Patterns
  • OOAD
  • System Design Bootcamp
  • Interview Questions
  • Inteview Preparation
  • Competitive Programming
  • Top DS or Algo for CP
  • Company-Wise Recruitment Process
  • Company-Wise Preparation
  • Aptitude Preparation
  • Puzzles
  • School Subjects
  • Mathematics
  • Physics
  • Chemistry
  • Biology
  • Social Science
  • English Grammar
  • Commerce
  • World GK
  • GeeksforGeeks Videos
  • DSA
  • Python
  • Java
  • C++
  • Web Development
  • Data Science
  • CS Subjects
@GeeksforGeeks, Sanchhaya Education Private Limited, All rights reserved
We use cookies to ensure you have the best browsing experience on our website. By using our site, you acknowledge that you have read and understood our Cookie Policy & Privacy Policy
Lightbox
Improvement
Suggest Changes
Help us improve. Share your suggestions to enhance the article. Contribute your expertise and make a difference in the GeeksforGeeks portal.
geeksforgeeks-suggest-icon
Create Improvement
Enhance the article with your expertise. Contribute to the GeeksforGeeks community and help create better learning resources for all.
geeksforgeeks-improvement-icon
Suggest Changes
min 4 words, max Words Limit:1000

Thank You!

Your suggestions are valuable to us.

What kind of Experience do you want to share?

Interview Experiences
Admission Experiences
Career Journeys
Work Experiences
Campus Experiences
Competitive Exam Experiences