How to create download link to download a file instead of redirecting to browser?

Question

I am trying to put a link to download a pdf from server, instead of redirecting the browser to open the pdf in another page. I have seen such options in many sites but unable to get the code. And most people says it should be possible with php only, could anyone help me for this.

Answer 1

Redirect it to a php page with this code:

$path_to_file = '/var/www/somefile.pdf'; //Path to file you want downloaded
$file_name = "somefile.pdf"; //Name of file for download
header('Pragma: public');   // required
header('Expires: 0');    // no cache
header('Cache-Control: must-revalidate, post-check=0, pre-check=0');
header("Content-Type: application/octet-stream");
header('Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="'.$file_name.'"');
header('Content-Transfer-Encoding: binary');
readfile($path_to_file);
die();