e-mail links to executable files.

[Robert Halliday]

I would like to send an e-mail with a "Download Here"
link to an executable file on my site. I do not want the
link to take them to the page, but to begin the
download. Can somebody help?

 

[Tom Pepper Willett]

http://www.mysite.com/folder/link.exe

--
-----
Tom Pepper Willett
Microsoft MVP - FrontPage
http://www.microsoft.com/office/frontpage/prodinfo/default.mspx
To find the best Newsgroup for FrontPage support see:
http://www.net-sites.com/sitebuilder/newsgroups.asp

 

[clintonG]

It should be noted that it has not been possible to embed a URL in
the body of an e-mail message, click on it, and initiate a download
process without first launching an instance of a browser.

--
<%= Clinton Gallagher
A/E/C Consulting, Web Design, e-Commerce Software Development
Wauwatosa, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin USA
NET (e-mail address removed)
URL http://www.metromilwaukee.com/clintongallagher/

 

[clintonG]

I was incorrect in my reply and have since learned a technique
that can in fact allow a download dialog to be instantiated from
a URL embedded in the body of a mail document without
loading an instance of the browser.

PART 1:

The embedded URL requires using a name=value pair QueryString
in the request for somepage.asp as shown by this pattern...

<a href="domain.com/somepage.asp?name=value">LinkText</a>

Where 'name' is an arbitrary word such as the word 'target'
Where 'value' is the path to the file to be downloaded.

<a href="domain.com/somepage.asp?target=/folder1/file1.zip">

PART 2:

The somepage.asp file contains code to capture the value of
the QueryString passed to somepage.asp. Once captured, the
QueryString value is then used with redirection causing the file
download dialog to display...

Dim strTarget
strTarget = Request.Querystring("target")

' make sure a value was actually passed
If Len(strTarget) > 0 Then
' redirect to target
Response.Redirect(strTarget)
End If

CONCLUSION:

I know this works as I used a URL embedded in a mail document
to download a file provided to me by a 'Well Known Software
Vendor.' I sent them reply mail and asked how it was done.
The explanation I have re-written herein is what I was told.

Thanks to Derek W. the Web Developer who responded to
my RFI. He helped me learn that it is indeed possible to embed a
URL in the body of a mail document that can be used to instantiate
the download file dialog without launching the browser.

-
<%= Clinton Gallagher
A/E/C Consulting, Web Design, e-Commerce Software Development
Wauwatosa, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin USA
NET (e-mail address removed)
URL http://www.metromilwaukee.com/clintongallagher/