ASP.NET Web API in IE

Question

I am starting to use the new ASP.NET Web API. When I open a sample service method call using a browser like FF or Chrome, it returns the xml correctly in the browser. However, in Internet Explorer (7-9) it brings up a prompt:

Do you want to open or save read (58 bytes) from [servername]?

When I select Open, it asks which program to open with, and then it will display the xml in that program. I was hoping since the methods accept the GET method that it would just return the results in the browser, however that doesn't seem to be the case with IE. I have run into this sort of issue before with ASP.NET MVC when returning JSON, however I'm not even returning JSON in this case.

How do I tell IE to return the results in the browser like FF and Chrome do?

Answer 1

I've noticed that too. It is actually returning the results as JSON. To view the result of the call go into the developer tools (F12), then go to Network, click start monitoring and resend your request. You should see the result appear in the trace list. You can then double click it and select View Body to see the response body.