Laravel Excel download not working - php

Question

The problem is the same as described here Laravel Excel Download using Controller
But I just can not believe that there is no method to deal with Excel downloads in Laravel without using another resource. I was already able handle the instant downloads in controller with response() for PDFs.
Mabybe the headers are wrong? My code:
public function getFile($file) {
$path = storage_path('app/excel/exports/' . $file);
$headers = array('Content-Type' => File::mimeType($path));
return response()->download($path, $file, $headers);
}
So the excel file is created and saved correctly in my storage folder (happens before the code above). Then I use an axios.get method to download the file with the function above.
Headers I am getting:
Accept-Ranges:bytes
Cache-Control:public
Connection:keep-alive
Content-Disposition:attachment; filename="test_file.xlsx"
Content-Length:7066
Content-Type:application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet
But whatever I do or try to change the download just won't start.

Answer 1

You can try with these two headers.
return response()->download($path, $file, [
'Content-Type' => 'application/vnd.ms-excel',
'Content-Disposition' => "attachment; filename='Report.xls'"
]);
Thanks,

Answer 2

I manged to solve it.
It seems to be not possible to solve this with a simple axios.get request to the route. Instead I needed to open the route directly with a link.
Did not work with:
HTML
<button #click="downloadExcel()">Download Table as Excel File</button>
downloadExcel() {
axios.get('/customers/export');
}
Simple solution (instead of just using axios.get):
<a :href="/customers/export"><button>Download Table as Excel File</button></a>
So it would also be possible to open the route after the axios request with:
downloadExcel() {
let newWindow = window.open();
axios.get('/customers/export')
.then(response => {
newWindow.location = 'http://' + window.location.hostname + '/customers/export';
});
}