Web.show_document and File Save As

Question

Hello,
I have a Perl CGI scrfipt on the server that I can call from a web brwoser. Its purpose is do save a file passed in to any locatgion on the PC.
In the borowser I can use:
http://devpong/cgi-bin/cap/savefile.cgi?dirpath=/capexp/to_SGP&fname=ZU060920.C78
and I get a Save As dialog and it is written to that directory. Works very well.
This is the Perl CGI code:
use CGI ':standard';
use CGI::Carp qw(fatalsToBrowser);
my @fileholder;
my ($web_keys)= ["dirpath", "fname", "mode"];
my ($Param) = get_params($Param, $web_keys);
# print_head($Param);
# redirectwindow($Param);
open(DLFILE, "$Param->{dirpath}/$Param->{fname}") || Error('open', 'file');
@fileholder = <DLFILE>;
close (DLFILE) || Error ('close', 'file');
print "Content-Type:application/x-download\n";
print "Content-Disposition:attachment;filename=$Param->{fname}\n\n";
print @fileholder;
I want to do the same thing from the Forms 6i application. In web.show_document I put in the exact same URL that works stand alone in the browser and have tried all of the seceond argument setting (_BLANK, etc.). Just for a millisecond a window opens then immidately closes. I have included a raise FORM_TRIGGER_FAILURE in the trigger to make it wait, but to no avail.
I found a document that said if a URL works in the browser, it will work in web.show_document. That is not true for me.
Do I need to build an html page first to open in the borwser from web.show_document?
Does webutil_file have the ability to let the user choose the destination directory?
What we did in the past was to make sure the file extension was not in the registry of the PC. Then the browser would force a Save As dialog. With XP SP2 this does not work without making several changes to the file types.
That is why I would like a solution that does not rely on file type set up.
Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Answer 1

Well, it sounds like you want the server to tell the client that this content shouldn't be read from cache...
Among the posible solutions:
Apache can be configurated with modules like 'mod_expires' and 'mod_headers'.
Or, you could write a JSP file that sets the appropriate http headers and streams your file accordingly. The http headers I think you're interested in:
- cache-control (to prevent client caching)
- content-disposition (to set the filename of the download)
You might want to read this thread:
http://p2p.wrox.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=29405
Cheers,
Mel.