a codeigniters helper function in a controllers function is not executing - php

Question

this is a call to a controllers function :
function downloadFile(fn,con)
{
var loadUrl = "/Fast-Docs/index.php/Docs/downloadFile";
alert('hi');
$.post(
loadUrl,
{content: con, filename: fn});
}
controllers function :
public function downloadFile()
{
$this->load->helper('download');
$content=$this->input->post('content');
$fn=$this->input->post('filename');
return force_download($fn,$content);
}
but file is not downloading.
i know the reason why its not working but i dnt know how to fix it. so whats the solution. you need some more info , feel free to ask.

Answer 1

I don't completely understand what you are trying to do. Anyway, there is a fundamental problem in your code.
You are doing an ajax request to the "/Fast-Docs/index.php/Docs/downloadFile" URL, but you are ignoring the response.
My suggestion is: forget about ajax and use a simple link.
Download file
Then in the controller:
public function downloadFile($filename)
{
//Validate file name
if($filename != 'validFileName') die('Invalid file name');
//Set headers
$this->load->helper('download');
$content = file_get_contents('/images/' . $filename);
force_download($filename, $content);
}
If for some reason you can't use a link, you can redirect to the download page (by setting window.location).
If you really need to use ajax, give a look at this.