send_data

Sends the given binary data to the browser. This method is similar to render :text => data, but also allows you to specify whether the browser should display the response as a file attachment (i.e. in a download dialog) or as inline data. You may also set the content type, the apparent file name, and other things.

Options:

• :filename - suggests a filename for the browser to use.
• :type - specifies an HTTP content type. Defaults to ‘application/octet-stream’. You can specify either a string or a symbol for a registered type register with Mime::Type.register, for example :json
• :disposition - specifies whether the file will be shown inline or downloaded. Valid values are ‘inline’ and ‘attachment’ (default).
• :status - specifies the status code to send with the response. Defaults to ‘200 OK’.

Generic data download:

  send_data buffer

Download a dynamically-generated tarball:

  send_data generate_tgz('dir'), :filename => 'dir.tgz'

Display an image Active Record in the browser:

  send_data image.data, :type => image.content_type, :disposition => 'inline'

See send_file for more information on HTTP Content-* headers and caching.

Tip: if you want to stream large amounts of on-the-fly generated data to the browser, then use render :text => proc { ... } instead. See ActionController::Base#render for more information.