Open a new window programmatically

[D. Formenton]

I need to display a file. pdf in a new window (or, rather, in a new tab), other than that used by the application.

The following function shows the file correctly, but unfortunately overwrite the main application window.

  private void show() {
    FacesContext facesContext = FacesContext.getCurrentInstance();
    ExternalContext externalContext = facesContext.getExternalContext();
    HttpServletResponse response = (HttpServletResponse)
            externalContext.getResponse();

    file = new File(filePath, fileName);

    try {
      input = new BufferedInputStream(new FileInputStream(file),
              DEFAULT_BUFFER_SIZE);
      if(response.isCommitted()){
        return;
      }
      response.reset();
      response.setHeader("Content-Type", mimeType);
      response.setHeader("Cache-Control", "no-cache");
      response.setHeader("Content-Length", String.valueOf(file.length()));
      
      output = new BufferedOutputStream(response.getOutputStream(),
              DEFAULT_BUFFER_SIZE);

      byte[] buffer = new byte[DEFAULT_BUFFER_SIZE];
      int length;
      while ((length = input.read(buffer)) > 0) {
        output.write(buffer, 0, length);
      }
      output.flush();
      
      FacesContext.getCurrentInstance().responseComplete();
    } catch (IOException ioe) {
      JsfUtil.addWarningMessage("Errore nell'apertura del file!");
    } finally {
      close(output);
      close(input);
    }
    facesContext.responseComplete();
  }

What changes should I make to the code to make the pdf file opens in a new window?

Thank you.

Domenico

[John Burton]

You could change the target of the command link you are calling that code from. I think "_blank" will open a new window.

<h:commandLink action="BeanName.show" value="open pdf in new window" target="_blank"/>

[Tim Holloway]

You should not attempt to use JSF to render pages that are not in HTML format (such as PDFs and Excel spreadsheets). Use a servlet to render the PDF.

Normally, thanks to the Eolas lawsuit, an attempt to open a PDF in a Microsoft Internet Explorer window will instead result in a new, non-IE window being opened, so unless you're using a non-Microsoft browser, if it replaced what was in your browser window, what you got wasn't a true PDF, it was PDF corrupted by the things JSF does because it thought you were attempting to output an HTML web page.

To reliably open a PDF in an external window, output the PDF from a plain-vanilla servlet and set the "target" attribute on the commandLink of the JSF form that provides the servlet URL to fetch/create the PDF and set your Content-Disposition header appropriately. Note that "target" is not an option on the JSF commandButton, so if you want a "button", tart up a commandLink with suitable button-looking graphics and CSS settings.