Categories:

Adding MIME Types

What if your server wasn't set up to deliver certain file types properly? A common occurrence with MP3 or even SWF files. Simple enough to fix:

AddType application/x-shockwave-flash swf

AddType is specifying that you are adding a MIME type. The application string is the actual parameter of the MIME you are adding, and the final little bit is the default extension for the MIME type you just added, in our example this is swf for ShockWave File.

By the way, here's a neat little trick that few know about, but you get to be part of the club since JavaScript Kit loves you: To force a file to be downloaded, via the Save As browser feature, you can simply set a MIME type to application/octet-stream and that immediately prompts you for the download. I have no idea how that would be useful, but that question has come up in our Forums from time to time, so there ya' go.

http://www.javascriptkit.com
Copyright © 1997-2005 JavaScript Kit. NO PART may be reproduced without author's permission.