How to Generate a PDF from a Binary Web-Service Response in JavaScript Across Browsers?

Building PDF from Binary Web-Service Response in JavaScript

Background:

This question addresses the challenge of generating a PDF file from a binary string retrieved via an Ajax request. The provided binary stream consists of the PDF header and content. While the data-uri method works in some browsers, it fails in Internet Explorer 9 and Firefox.

The Issue:

The concern lies in finding a cross-browser solution that allows building a PDF file from the binary response without relying on editing the web-service implementation.

Solution:

To resolve this issue, the following approach is suggested:

Leveraging Blobs and Download Attributes:

By setting the responseType of the XMLHttpRequest object to "blob," the response will be received as a Blob object. This Blob represents the PDF file. Subsequently, you can create a download link using the createObjectURL method to allow users to download the PDF.

To demonstrate this solution, the following code snippet can be employed:

<code class="javascript">var request = new XMLHttpRequest();
request.open("GET", "/path/to/pdf", true); 
request.responseType = "blob";
request.onload = function (e) {
    if (this.status === 200) {
        // `blob` response
        console.log(this.response);
        // create `objectURL` of `this.response` : `.pdf` as `Blob`
        var file = window.URL.createObjectURL(this.response);
        var a = document.createElement("a");
        a.href = file;
        a.download = this.response.name || "detailPDF";
        document.body.appendChild(a);
        a.click();
        // remove `a` following `Save As` dialog, 
        // `window` regains `focus`
        window.onfocus = function () {                     
          document.body.removeChild(a)
        }
    };
};
request.send();</code>

Benefits:

This method offers the following advantages:

• Compatibility with all major browsers, including IE9, Firefox, Opera, Chrome, and Safari
• Avoids the deficiencies encountered with the data-uri approach in some browsers
• Allows users to conveniently download the PDF file

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