Disable safari from unzip downloaded file

Question

I'm having a small problem with encrypted zip downloads in Safari. I've set all appropriate headers to force a download, but when the file's downloaded Safari tries to unzip it which results in a corrupt file. What I've read it's because Safari flags the file as safe and then tries to open it.

Is there a way to disable Safari from open the file after downloaded it?

Answer 1

Definitely not the most elegant version there is but you may end up using a browser junction and have your download script change attachment name in combination with a notice for Safari users:

<?php

// $attachmentId used later-on would be a passed parameter that is used 
// to define attachment name

$attachmentId= $_GET['id'];

$userAgent = $_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT']; 
if (strpos($userAgent , 'Chrome') === FALSE && 
strpos($userAgent , 'Safari') !== FALSE)
{
  $attachmentName= 'download.zipname';
  $userNotice= 'SAFARI users: please rename the file from download.zipname to download.zip (due to Safari\'s ZIP file policy (more info))';
} else {
  $attachmentName= 'download.zip';
  $userNotice= '';
}
?>
<span class="notice"><?php print $userNotice; ?></span>
<a href="download.php?id=<?php print $attachmentId;?>" name="<?php print $attachmentName; ?>">Download</a>

So basically before starting the download, you would set up this pre-download page to define the required attachment name and to inform safari users about what has to be done to successfully download the file.

Answer 2

You can't disable this server-side :(

It's Safari's default behavior to unpack archives after downloading them. This can be disabled in Safari: Preferences -> General -> Uncheck the box Open "safe" files after downloading at the bottom. But it's up to users themselves to do this.

If you like, you can display a warning about this behavior on the download page.

PS: The zip won't disappear! Safari may (optionally) unpack it, but the downloaded zip will still be next to the unpacked folder.