IE8 can't download pdf file - model-view-controller

Question

I have MVC application that return PDF file.
public FileStreamResult GetDocument(int id)
{
return File(stream, "application/octet-stream", documentsModel.Name);
}
I have two test server. One is private and another is public.
From private I can download document and I get:
GET /Documents/GetDocument/3576 HTTP/1.1
Accept: */*
Accept-Language: en-GB
User-Agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 8.0; Windows NT 6.1; Trident/4.0; SLCC2; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; .NET CLR 3.5.30729; .NET CLR 3.0.30729; Media Center PC 6.0; .NET4.0C; .NET4.0E; BRI/2)
Accept-Encoding: gzip, deflate
Host: appserver
Connection: Keep-Alive
Cookie: ASP.NET_SessionId=vgzn4qkelxdmic3nbaqftsxd; .FidesAuthCookie=BF08E0DCAAA54D7D78AB6BD30D5ECA523C045F9B401B10693B6CE57D7D4C677C0908E24D92511DC75A487D6CAE6DD780AA8B4419A5A5D9258A4985AF6870D3AD1A0B3C01B8A620A1E14FEDDE298CCE255AE4B4C2F76D2635B8C5DF332AF19AAB; dynatree-active=3576; dynatree-focus=; dynatree-expand=496%2C603%2Cfolder_622; dynatree-select=
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
**Cache-Control: private, s-maxage=0**
Content-Type: application/octet-stream
Server: Microsoft-IIS/7.5
Set-Cookie: .FidesAuthCookie=BF08E0DCAAA54D7D78AB6BD30D5ECA523C045F9B401B10693B6CE57D7D4C677C0908E24D92511DC75A487D6CAE6DD780AA8B4419A5A5D9258A4985AF6870D3AD1A0B3C01B8A620A1E14FEDDE298CCE255AE4B4C2F76D2635B8C5DF332AF19AAB; expires=Fri, 13-Apr-2012 13:31:05 GMT; path=/
X-AspNetMvc-Version: 3.0
Content-Disposition: attachment; filename=test.pdf
X-AspNet-Version: 4.0.30319
X-Powered-By: ASP.NET
Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2012 13:01:04 GMT
Content-Length: 49613
From my public server I get
GET /Documents/GetDocument/97 HTTP/1.1
Accept: */*
Accept-Language: en-GB
User-Agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 8.0; Windows NT 6.1; Trident/4.0; SLCC2; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; .NET CLR 3.5.30729; .NET CLR 3.0.30729; Media Center PC 6.0; .NET4.0C; .NET4.0E; BRI/2)
Accept-Encoding: gzip, deflate
Host: beta.qi-care.nl
Connection: Keep-Alive
Cookie: ASP.NET_SessionId=h3utp0bfu4zwhqysntame3we; dynatree-active=97; dynatree-focus=; dynatree-expand=4%2Cfolder_10; dynatree-select=; .FidesAuthCookie=F0DED3D98BF4115C910B0A29EC2C809902B49F15518952DFA78DDB4358B5F0C1A9EDAFB50DD0CA761B433ED68034C2539ABCCDA0C50FF5EEEE3573D3C77E550416CDB24B302C9EB831AC597040E6D255E9B582E8A29D5FC03454F2A0742ECC9DEC61070091F9A66D1C3FC7F9CA10C1B8BB9B5109CB613C98AEE32AFE5A0F8A28
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
**Cache-Control: private, no-cache="Set-Cookie", s-maxage=0**
Content-Type: application/octet-stream
Server: Microsoft-IIS/7.5
Set-Cookie: .FidesAuthCookie=F0DED3D98BF4115C910B0A29EC2C809902B49F15518952DFA78DDB4358B5F0C1A9EDAFB50DD0CA761B433ED68034C2539ABCCDA0C50FF5EEEE3573D3C77E550416CDB24B302C9EB831AC597040E6D255E9B582E8A29D5FC03454F2A0742ECC9DEC61070091F9A66D1C3FC7F9CA10C1B8BB9B5109CB613C98AEE32AFE5A0F8A28; expires=Fri, 13-Apr-2012 13:19:35 GMT; path=/
X-AspNetMvc-Version: 3.0
Content-Disposition: attachment; filename=test.pdf
X-AspNet-Version: 4.0.30319
X-Powered-By: ASP.NET
Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2012 12:49:35 GMT
Content-Length: 49613
and I get error
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/323308
For some reason, I have from these two server, two different responses. But I found on Microsoft support that client should change registry
To resolve this issue in Internet Explorer 7 and in Internet Explorer 8, follow these steps:
Start Registry Editor.
For a per-user setting, locate the following registry key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings
For a per-computer setting, locate the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings
On the Edit menu, click Add Value.
To override the directive for HTTPS connections, add the following registry value:
"BypassSSLNoCacheCheck"=Dword:00000001
To override the directive for HTTP connections, add the following registry value:
"BypassHTTPNoCacheCheck"=Dword:00000001
Quit Registry Editor.
Microsoft

Answer 1

We faced this problem at work, it turned out to be a bug in Internet Explorer (in our case IE8-), that gives an error when trying to download a file in SSL (Are you in https, right?). The problem is that if the server sends to the browser an http header that disables caching, Explorer gives an error. In your case, maxage=0 is equivalent to Cache-Control: no cache.
The solution server side is that you should overwrite this header to tell IE8 to cache the response, with Cache-Control: private for example.
Be careful that some application servers (such as in our case Websphere Application Server) append automatically no-cache="Set-Cookie" when a cookie is set.
Finally, there is another solution, if applicable, that solves the problem, but it should be applied client-side on the browser:
look at Method 1:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2549423