title: ASP.NET MVC: How can I get the browser to open and display a PDF instead of displaying a download prompt?
body: <p>Ok, so I have an action method that generates a PDF and returns it to the browser. The problem is that instead of automatically opening the PDF, IE displays a download prompt even though it knows what kind of file it is. Chrome does the same thing. In both browsers if I click a link to a PDF file that is stored on a server it will open up just fine and never display a download prompt.</p>
  
  <p>Here is the code that is called to return the PDF:</p>
  
  <pre><code>public FileResult Report(int id)
  {
      var customer = customersRepository.GetCustomer(id);
      if (customer != null)
      {
          return File(RenderPDF(this.ControllerContext, "~/Views/Forms/Report.aspx", customer), "application/pdf", "Report - Customer # " + id.ToString() + ".pdf");
      }
      return null;
  }
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>Here's the response header from the server:</p>
  
  <pre><code>HTTP/1.1 200 OK
  Server: ASP.NET Development Server/10.0.0.0
  Date: Thu, 16 Sep 2010 06:14:13 GMT
  X-AspNet-Version: 4.0.30319
  X-AspNetMvc-Version: 2.0
  Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="Report - Customer # 60.pdf"
  Cache-Control: private, s-maxage=0
  Content-Type: application/pdf
  Content-Length: 79244
  Connection: Close
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>Do I have to add something special to the response to get the browser to open the PDF automatically?</p>
  
  <p>Any help is greatly appreciated! Thanks!</p>