GetDownloadHandler API

Stages the latest version of a document as a temporary server-side file and returns a download handler GUID along with file metadata and the negotiated chunk size. This is the first step in the chunked download workflow for large files. Use DownloadFileChunk to retrieve the file data in sequential chunks, then DeleteDownloadHandler to clean up the temporary file when done.

To download a specific version rather than the latest, use GetDownloadHandlerByVersion.

Endpoint

/srv.asmx/GetDownloadHandler

Methods

GET /srv.asmx/GetDownloadHandler?AuthenticationTicket=...&Path=...&PreferedChunkSize=...
POST /srv.asmx/GetDownloadHandler (form data)
SOAP Action: http://tempuri.org/GetDownloadHandler

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`AuthenticationTicket`	string	Yes	Authentication ticket obtained from `AuthenticateUser`.
`Path`	string	Yes	Full infoRouter path to the document (e.g. `/Finance/Reports/Q1-Report.pdf`), or a short document ID path (`~D{id}` or `~D{id}.ext`).
`PreferedChunkSize`	int	Yes	Preferred byte size for each chunk when calling `DownloadFileChunk`. The server clamps this value between 262,144 bytes (256 KB) minimum and 33,554,432 bytes (32 MB) maximum. The actual chunk size used is returned in the `ChunkSize` attribute of the response.

Response

Success Response

The server stages the document file, creates a temporary handler, and returns file metadata along with the handler GUID.

<response success="true"
          Size="2097152"
          ContentType="application/pdf"
          ModificationDate="2024-06-15"
          VersionNumber="0"
          AlterDocumentName="Q1-Report.pdf"
          RenderedContent="false"
          CRC32="a3f1c29d"
          ChunkSize="1048576"
          downloadhandler="7f3a1b2c-d4e5-6789-abcd-ef0123456789" />

Response Attributes

Attribute	Description
`success`	`true` if the handler was created successfully.
`Size`	Total size of the staged file in bytes. Use this with `ChunkSize` to calculate the total number of chunks needed.
`ContentType`	MIME type of the document (e.g. `application/pdf`, `application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document`).
`ModificationDate`	Last modification date of the document version in `yyyy-MM-dd` format.
`VersionNumber`	Always `0` for this API (indicating the latest version was staged). Use `GetDownloadHandlerByVersion` to stage a specific version.
`AlterDocumentName`	The file name to use when saving the downloaded file on the client side.
`RenderedContent`	`true` if the file is a server-rendered temporary representation (e.g. a converted format); `false` if it is the original stored file.
`CRC32`	CRC32 checksum of the full file for integrity verification. Empty string when `RenderedContent` is `true`.
`ChunkSize`	The actual chunk size in bytes to use with `DownloadFileChunk`. This is the `PreferedChunkSize` value clamped to the allowed range (256 KB – 32 MB).
`downloadhandler`	GUID identifying the staged temporary file on the server. Pass this to `DownloadFileChunk` to retrieve file data in chunks, and to `DeleteDownloadHandler` to clean up after the download completes.

Error Response

<response success="false" error="[901] Session expired or Invalid ticket" />

Required Permissions

The calling user must have at least read access to the document. Offline (archived) documents cannot be downloaded and return an error.

Chunked Download Workflow

1. GetDownloadHandler        →  stage file, obtain downloadhandler GUID + ChunkSize + Size
2. DownloadFileChunk (×N)    →  download chunks sequentially until lastchunk="true"
3. DeleteDownloadHandler     →  clean up the temporary staged file on the server

Chunk iteration pattern:

chunkSize   = response/@ChunkSize
totalSize   = response/@Size
handler     = response/@downloadhandler
offset      = 0

loop:
    GET /srv.asmx/DownloadFileChunk
        ?DownloadHandler={handler}
        &StartOffset={offset}
        &ChunkSize={chunkSize}

    append base64-decoded chunk bytes to output file
    offset += chunk/@chunklength

    if chunk/@lastchunk == "true": break

GET /srv.asmx/DeleteDownloadHandler?DownloadHandler={handler}

Always use chunklength from the DownloadFileChunk response (not the requested ChunkSize) when advancing StartOffset, because the final chunk may be smaller.

Example

GET Request

GET /srv.asmx/GetDownloadHandler
  ?AuthenticationTicket=3f2504e0-4f89-11d3-9a0c-0305e82c3301
  &Path=/Finance/Reports/Q1-Report.pdf
  &PreferedChunkSize=1048576
HTTP/1.1

POST Request

POST /srv.asmx/GetDownloadHandler HTTP/1.1
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded

AuthenticationTicket=3f2504e0-4f89-11d3-9a0c-0305e82c3301
&Path=/Finance/Reports/Q1-Report.pdf
&PreferedChunkSize=1048576

SOAP Request

<soap:Envelope xmlns:soap="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/"
               xmlns:tns="http://tempuri.org/">
  <soap:Body>
    <tns:GetDownloadHandler>
      <tns:AuthenticationTicket>3f2504e0-4f89-11d3-9a0c-0305e82c3301</tns:AuthenticationTicket>
      <tns:Path>/Finance/Reports/Q1-Report.pdf</tns:Path>
      <tns:PreferedChunkSize>1048576</tns:PreferedChunkSize>
    </tns:GetDownloadHandler>
  </soap:Body>
</soap:Envelope>

Notes

The PreferedChunkSize value is clamped server-side: values below 262,144 bytes (256 KB) are raised to 262,144; values above 33,554,432 bytes (32 MB) are lowered to 33,554,432. Always read the actual ChunkSize from the response.
The staged file is stored as a temporary server-side file. Always call DeleteDownloadHandler after completing (or abandoning) a download to free disk space.
Both full infoRouter paths and short document ID paths (~D{id} or ~D{id}.ext) are accepted for the Path parameter.
Offline (archived) documents cannot be staged and will return an error response.
The handler is tied to the authenticated session. Do not share handler GUIDs across different user sessions.
To download a specific version of a document use GetDownloadHandlerByVersion.
To download small documents without chunking use DownloadDocument (returns raw bytes directly).

GetDownloadHandlerByVersion - Create a download handler for a specific version of a document
DownloadFileChunk - Download a single chunk of a staged file using a handler GUID
DeleteDownloadHandler - Delete a download handler and discard the staged temporary file
GetDownloadInfo - Get download metadata without staging a handler
DownloadDocument - Download the latest version of a document as a raw byte array (no chunking)

Error Codes

Error	Description
`[900] Authentication failed`	Invalid or missing authentication ticket.
`[901] Session expired or Invalid ticket`	The ticket has expired or does not exist.
Document not found	The specified `Path` does not resolve to an existing document.
Offline document error	The document is in an archived/offline library and cannot be downloaded.
`SystemError:...`	An unexpected server-side error occurred.

For detailed documentation visit: https://support.inforouter.com/api-docs/GetDownloadHandler