Question

How do I (in my controller) send a pdf that opens in the browser. I have tried this but it only downloads the file (both ie and firefox) without asking.

public ActionResult GetIt()
{
    var filename = @"C:\path\to\pdf\test.pdf";
    // Edit start
    ControllerContext.HttpContext.Response.AddHeader("Content-Disposition", String.Format("inline;filename=\"{0}\"", "test.pdf"));
    // Edit stop
    return File(filename, "application/pdf", Server.HtmlEncode(filename));
}

After adding the edit above it works as it should, thanks.

Answer 1

You need to set the Content disposition HTTP header to inline to indicate to the browser that it should try to use a PDF plugin if it is available.

Something like: Content-Disposition: inline; filename=test.pdf

Note that you cannot force the use of the plugin, it is a decision made by the browser.