{"id":12981,"date":"2024-03-19T13:09:51","date_gmt":"2024-03-19T13:09:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bodhost.com\/kb\/?p=12981"},"modified":"2026-02-26T14:02:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T14:02:11","slug":"how-to-make-links-trigger-direct-file-downloads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bodhost.com\/kb\/how-to-make-links-trigger-direct-file-downloads\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Make Links Trigger Direct File Downloads"},"content":{"rendered":"

Learn how to make files download directly when you click their links, rather than opening in a browser window.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Here is how to download files upon clicking on a link-\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Navigate to your website\u2019<\/span>s File Manager and <\/span>locate<\/span> the .<\/span>htaccess<\/span> file. If you <\/span>don’t<\/span> see it, you may need to enable \u201cShow Hidden Files\u201d<\/span> in your File Manager settings.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. To make all desired file extensions downloadable when someone clicks the link,<\/span> add the following line of code-\n

    AddType<\/span> application\/octet-stream .<\/span>avi<\/span> .mpg .mov .pdf .<\/span>xls<\/span> .mp4\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    For example, if you only want .pdf files to be downloadable, the line of code would look like this:<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>
    \nAddType<\/span> application\/octet-stream .pdf\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n

  3. After adding the line of code, save the changes to the .<\/span>htaccess<\/span> file.<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. If you do not see the changes on your live site, clear the cache to ensure the changes take effect.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    By following <\/span>the above-outlined <\/span>steps, you can make files download <\/span>immediately<\/span> upon clicking a link.<\/span> If you find any difficulty, <\/span>get in touch with<\/span> our support staff. <\/span>Also, do not forget to check our latest shared web hosting plans<\/a>. <\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Learn how to make files download directly when you click their links, rather than opening in a browser window.\u00a0 Here is how to download files upon clicking on a link-\u00a0…<\/p>\n

    Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[666],"tags":[1513],"class_list":["post-12981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","tag-file-downloads"],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Make Links Trigger Direct File Downloads<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn how to make files download directly when you click their links, rather than opening in a browser window.\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bodhost.com\/kb\/how-to-make-links-trigger-direct-file-downloads\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Make Links Trigger Direct File Downloads\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn how to make files download directly when you click their links, rather than opening in a browser window.\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.bodhost.com\/kb\/how-to-make-links-trigger-direct-file-downloads\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Knowledge Base - bodHOST\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-03-19T13:09:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-26T14:02:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Paul Lopez\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Paul Lopez\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" 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