Send binary data to the user as a file download. May set content type, apparent file name, and specify whether to show data inline or download as an attachment.

Options:

• :filename - Suggests a filename for the browser to use.
• :type - specifies an HTTP content type. Defaults to ‘application/octet-stream’.
• :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.

Source Code

# File action_controller/streaming.rb, line 115
def send_data(data, options = {}) #:doc:
  logger.info "Sending data #{options[:filename]}" if logger
  send_file_headers! options.merge(:length => data.size)
  @performed_render = false
  render :status => options[:status], :text => data
end