Are there any best practices for downloading multiple files in PHP to avoid issues like the second download failing?

When downloading multiple files in PHP, it is important to ensure that each download is handled separately to avoid issues like the second download failing. One way to achieve this is by using the `ob_end_clean()` function to clear the output buffer before initiating each download. This will prevent any previous output from interfering with subsequent downloads. 

<?php

// List of files to download
$files = array('file1.pdf', 'file2.jpg', 'file3.zip');

foreach ($files as $file) {
    // Clear the output buffer
    ob_end_clean();

    // Set appropriate headers for the file download
    header('Content-Description: File Transfer');
    header('Content-Type: application/octet-stream');
    header('Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="' . basename($file) . '"');
    header('Expires: 0');
    header('Cache-Control: must-revalidate');
    header('Pragma: public');
    header('Content-Length: ' . filesize($file));

    // Flush the output buffer
    ob_clean();
    flush();

    // Output the file for download
    readfile($file);
}

Keywords

PHP file download multiple files error handling headers

Related Questions