How to Make Pdf File Downloadable in HTML Link

How to make PDF file downloadable in HTML link?

Instead of linking to the .PDF file, instead do something like

<a href="pdf_server.php?file=pdffilename">Download my eBook</a>

which outputs a custom header, opens the PDF (binary safe) and prints the data to the user's browser, then they can choose to save the PDF despite their browser settings. The pdf_server.php should look like this:

header("Content-Type: application/octet-stream");

$file = $_GET["file"] .".pdf";
header("Content-Disposition: attachment; filename=" . urlencode($file));   
header("Content-Type: application/octet-stream");
header("Content-Type: application/download");
header("Content-Description: File Transfer");            
header("Content-Length: " . filesize($file));
flush(); // this doesn't really matter.
$fp = fopen($file, "r");
while (!feof($fp))
{
    echo fread($fp, 65536);
    flush(); // this is essential for large downloads
} 
fclose($fp); 

PS: and obviously run some sanity checks on the "file" variable to prevent people from stealing your files such as don't accept file extensions, deny slashes, add .pdf to the value

is it possible to make an hyperlink to only download a pdf file?

Let’s say you have a PDF that you want to let people download. The file will be like this:

<a href="/path/to/your/receipt.pdf">Download Receipt</a>

In most browsers, clicking on the link will open the file directly in the browser.

But, if you add the download attribute to the link, it will tell the browser to download the file instead.

<a href="/path/to/your/receipt.pdf" download>Download Receipt</a>

The download attribute works in all modern browsers, including MS Edge, but not Internet Explorer.

In the latest versions of Chrome, you cannot download cross-origin files (they have to be hosted on the same domain).

(HTML) Download a PDF file instead of opening them in browser when clicked

There is now the HTML 5 download attribute that can handle this.

I agree, and think Sarim's answer is good (it probably should be the chosen answer if the OP ever returns). However, this answer is still the reliable way to handle it (as Yiğit Yener's answer points out and--oddly--people agree with). While the download attribute has gained support, it's still spotty:

http://caniuse.com/#feat=download

HTML: How to download a pdf file using a link

You could try adding the download attribute to the a, it's quite well supported.

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