C# MVC website PDF file in stored in byte array, display in browser

Question

I am receiving a byte[] which contains a PDF.

I need to take the byte[] and display the PDF in the browser. I have found similar questions like this - How to return PDF to browser in MVC?. But, it opens the PDF in a PDF viewer, also I am getting an error saying the file couldn't be opened because it's - "not a supported file type or because the file has been damaged".

How can I open the PDF in the browser? My code so far looks like the following -

    public ActionResult DisplayPDF()
    {
        byte[] byteArray = GetPdfFromDB();
        Stream stream = new MemoryStream(byteArray);
        stream.Flush(); 
        stream.Position = 0; 

        return File(stream, "application/pdf", "Labels.pdf");
    }

Already answered here: stackoverflow.com/questions/779430/… — Michael Teper
– Michael Teper, Commented Jun 5, 2013 at 15:26

Weihui Guo · Accepted Answer · 2020-02-23 23:45:41Z

13

If you already have the byte[], you should use FileContentResult, which "sends the contents of a binary file to the response". Only use FileStreamResult when you have a stream open.

public ActionResult DisplayPDF()
{
    byte[] byteArray = GetPdfFromDB();

    return new FileContentResult(byteArray, "application/pdf");
}

edited Feb 23, 2020 at 23:45

answered Aug 16, 2019 at 12:50

Weihui Guo

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1 Comment

Deathstalker Over a year ago

This worked perfect for me. Using JavaScript to open a small window and call the controller I was able to use the above code to pull out a pdf image from the database. window.open('GetInvoiceImage?ExternalImage=' + ExternalImage, 'Image_win', 'width=800,height=500,left=0,top=0,scrollbars=yes,resizable=yes,menubar=yes');

Mohsin · Accepted Answer · 2020-05-19 12:22:53Z

12

You can show the byte array PDF directly in your browser simply by using MemoryStream instead of Stream and FileStreamResult instead of File:

public ActionResult DisplayPDF()
{
    byte[] byteArray = GetPdfFromDB();
    using( MemoryStream pdfStream = new MemoryStream())
    {
        pdfStream.Write(byteArray , 0,byteArray .Length);
        pdfStream.Position = 0;
        return new FileStreamResult(pdfStream, "application/pdf");
    }
}

edited May 19, 2020 at 12:22

Mohsin

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answered Mar 29, 2016 at 16:11

Roberto C.

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4 Comments

Rob Over a year ago

Hey! Put that in a using clause!

berkeleybross Over a year ago

@Rob MVC disposes of streams in fileresults for you, because you cant wrap it in a using clause (the stream will be disposed before MVC gets a chance to read it)

HelpfulProgrammer Over a year ago

Use Response.AddHeader("content-disposition", "inline;filename=Test.pdf"); to set the filename but not download the file immediately. You get Response for example by subclassing System.Web.Mvc.Controller when you have an MVC app.

HelpfulProgrammer Over a year ago

inline + filename doesn’t seem to be a correct header. Chrome and Firefox respect the set username but Edge does not. So be careful and aware of that.

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