Re: [phplib] Protected Files From: Adam N. Thompson, MCNE, MCSE (athompso <email protected>)
Date: 05/12/00

> > > Anyways, I have some more questions: When I download something,
it wont use
> > > GetRight if that is installed -- and I would like it to, because
GetRight is
> >
> > Your script has to send the correct content-type, so that the
> > client passes the data to the right plug-in/program.
>
> I dont (in this case) want it to go to a plug-in... I want this to be
a
> download, not a streamed file. This is for a music e-com site where
people
> purchase an MP3 and then download and save it. What content-type
should I
> use? If I used whatever the MP3 type is, it might just stream into
WinAmp
> and not allow (or at least not prompt the user) to save, confusing the
user.

1) If GetRight is installed, it works automatically. It literally takes
over the downloading function of the browser.

2) Plugins automatically do their dirty work. THERE IS NO WAY (afaik)
to tell a browser to *SAVE* a file that it wants to open or play
automatically. The end-user can select "Save link as" or "Save Target
as" (depending on which browser they're in) but the website has no
control over this.

In my own tests, setting Content-Disposition headers for things like PDF
and MPG files made absolutely no difference whatsoever - the !@#!%^&
plugin opened the file anyway. According to Netscape's developer
documentation (no, I don't have the link handy), this behaviour is
determined entirely client-side and the server has no input into the
process.

3) Some download agents (like GetRight, for example) register their own
file type. What this means is that you can offer a *separate* link on
your site that points to a GetRight control file. Unfortunately, I
don't know of any way to determine automatically that a user has
GetRight (or any of the others) installed - which means you always have
to show the link, potentially confusing users. 

--
Adam Thompson, MCNE, MCSE, CWT, A+
Vice-President / Chief Technology Officer, Commerce Design Inc.
<athompso <email protected>>
tel: (204) 942-1648, fax: (204) 989-8080, cell: (204) 782-6198

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