Writing code for downloading MP3 files

[MichiKen]

Hello,

I maintain a website that contains audio files that users can listen to simply buy clicking on a built in audio player on the website. However, I'd like to give the users the option of downloading a copy of the mp3 file to their computer so they can listen to it offline.

How do I write the code so that when the user clicks on the link I provided, it will prompt them to do that. I can't just do <a href="MP3file.mp3">MP3 file</a>, because that will just open the file and these are rather large files (15-20MB), so that would take a while to load.

Any thoughts?

[LeeU]

What languages do you have available? What kind of a server is it, Apache Windows?

[erikwillke]

I too would like to know. I am writing in html and have a child's understanding in CSS and Javascript but can figure that out.

I saw another webhosting site that had ?action=save at the end of the url but that didn't work for me. I suspect that was not html.

edited to add that I am hosting on Yahoo small business but have access to several html editors and notepad.

[toenailsin]

a server-side language is required to send the header:
('Content-Type: application/octet-stream')
this forces the browser to download it the file.

or you can edit the config files of the server, and define that header as the default for that filetype.

[Eye for Video]

Could you accomplish this with PHP? If so, how would that be done?
Thanks!
Eye for Video
www.cidigitalmedia.com

[erikwillke]

a server-side language is required to send the header:
('Content-Type: application/octet-stream')
this forces the browser to download it the file.

or you can edit the config files of the server, and define that header as the default for that filetype.

I don't have access to the server side. is there a code that can be placed individually on the anchor? either in css, JS, or html? I don't know PHP yet.

thank you

[erikwillke]

bump

[LeeU]

If you don't have access to the server, your best bet would be to just put a note for them to right-click, etc. to download the file.

[erikwillke]

If you don't have access to the server, your best bet would be to just put a note for them to right-click, etc. to download the file.

I did that for the time being. Maybe I'm not saying it right because I don't exactly know what "having access to the server" means but I did notice when I was having my files hosted on MediaMax that under the hosting side the url had a " ?action=save" code at the end.

Is that something I can do?

thank you