download pdf file at client pc and remove pdf file from server side folder after download begin

Question

this is the sample code by which i am downloading pdf at client pc

$("#btndownload").click(function () {
    window.location = '@Url.Action("GeneratePDF", "TestModal")';
    return false;
});

public void GeneratePDF()
{
    bool IsPdfGenerated = false;

    List<Student> studentsVM = new List<Student>
    {
    new Student {ID=1,FirstName="Joy",      LastName="Roy",     FavouriteGames="Hocky"},
    new Student {ID=2,FirstName="Raja",     LastName="Basu",    FavouriteGames="Cricket"},
    new Student {ID=3,FirstName="Arijit",   LastName="Banerjee",FavouriteGames="Foot Ball"},
    new Student {ID=4,FirstName="Dibyendu", LastName="Saha",    FavouriteGames="Tennis"},
    new Student {ID=5,FirstName="Sanjeeb",  LastName="Das",     FavouriteGames="Hocky"},
    };

    var viewToString = StringUtilities.RenderViewToString(ControllerContext, "~/Views/Shared/_Report.cshtml", studentsVM, true);
    string filepath = HttpContext.Server.MapPath("~/PDFArchives/") + "mypdf.pdf";

    Document pdfDoc = null;

    try
    {
    StringReader sr = new StringReader(viewToString);
    pdfDoc = new Document(PageSize.A4, 10f, 10f, 30f, 0f);
    PdfWriter writer = PdfWriter.GetInstance(pdfDoc, new FileStream(filepath, FileMode.Create));
    pdfDoc.Open();
    XMLWorkerHelper.GetInstance().ParseXHtml(writer, pdfDoc, sr);
    pdfDoc.Close();
    IsPdfGenerated = true;
    }
    catch (Exception ex)
    {
    IsPdfGenerated = false;
    }

    System.Web.HttpContext.Current.Response.ContentType = "pdf/application";
    System.Web.HttpContext.Current.Response.AddHeader("content-disposition", "attachment;" +
        "filename=sample101.pdf");
    System.Web.HttpContext.Current.Response.Cache.SetCacheability(HttpCacheability.NoCache);
    System.Web.HttpContext.Current.Response.Write(pdfDoc);
    System.Web.HttpContext.Current.Response.End();

}

i know the pdf file path stored in filepath . after download begin how could i delete the pdf file at server side ? help me with sample code. thanks

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Sep 25 '18 at 02:40

You can simply use File.Delete() method after using Response.End():

System.Web.HttpContext.Current.Response.End();
System.IO.File.Delete(filepath); // add this line

If you're using FileResult action and reading file from stream, you can delete the file by using FileOptions.DeleteOnClose while creating FileStream instance with specified file options overload:

[HttpGet]
public FileResult GeneratePDF()
{
    // other stuff

    string filepath = HttpContext.Server.MapPath("~/PDFArchives/") + "mypdf.pdf";

    // other stuff

    var stream = new FileStream(filepath, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read, FileShare.None, 4096, FileOptions.DeleteOnClose);
    return File(stream, "application/pdf", "sample101.pdf"); 
}

As an alternative, you can create custom attribute which applies to FileResult action as provided in this reference.

download pdf file at client pc and remove pdf file from server side folder after download begin

1 Answers1