FileResult In ASP.NET Core MVC

public FileResult DownloadFile()  
{  
     return File("/Files/File Result.pdf", "text/plain", "File Result.pdf");  
}  

public FileContentResult DownloadContent()  
{  
            var myfile = System.IO.File.ReadAllBytes("wwwroot/Files/FileContentResult.pdf");  
            return new FileContentResult(myfile, "application/pdf");  
}  

public FileStreamResult CreateFile()  
{  
   var stream = new MemoryStream(Encoding.ASCII.GetBytes("Hello World"));  
   return new FileStreamResult(stream, new MediaTypeHeaderValue("text/plain"))  
   {  
      FileDownloadName = "test.txt"  
   };  
}  

VirtualFileResult

A FileResult that on execution writes the file specified using a virtual path to the response using mechanisms provided by the host. You can use VirtualFileResult if you want to read a file from a virtual address and return it.

public VirtualFileResult VirtualFileResult()  
{  
    return new VirtualFileResult("/Files/PhysicalFileResult.pdf", "application/pdf");  
}  

PhysicalFileResult

A FileResult on execution will write a file from disk to the response using mechanisms provided by the host.You can use PhysicalFileResult to read a file from a physical address and return it, as shown in PhysicalFileResult method.

public PhysicalFileResult PhysicalFileResult()  
{  
   return new PhysicalFileResult(_environment.ContentRootPath + "/wwwroot/Files/PhysicalFileResult.pdf", "application/pdf");  
}  

Step 1. Open Visual Studio 2019 and select the ASP.NET Core Web Application template and click Next.

Step 2. Name the project FileResultActionsCoreMvc_Demo and click Create.

Step 3. Select Web Application (Model-View-Controller), and then select Create. Visual Studio used the default template for the MVC project you just created.

Step 4. In Solution Explorer, right-click the wwwroot folder. Select Add > New Folder. Name the folder Files. Add some files to work with them.

Complete controller code

using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Hosting;  
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc;  
using Microsoft.Net.Http.Headers;  
using System.IO;  
using System.Text;  
  
namespace FileResultActionsCoreMvc_Demo.Controllers  
{  
    public class HomeController : Controller  
    {  
        private readonly IWebHostEnvironment _environment;  
  
        public HomeController(IWebHostEnvironment environment)  
        {  
            _environment = environment;  
        }  
        public IActionResult Index()  
        {  
            return View();  
        }  
  
        public FileResult DownloadFile()  
        {  
            return File("/Files/File Result.pdf", "text/plain", "File Result.pdf");  
        }  
  
        public FileContentResult DownloadContent()  
        {  
            var myfile = System.IO.File.ReadAllBytes("wwwroot/Files/FileContentResult.pdf");  
            return new FileContentResult(myfile, "application/pdf");  
        }  
  
        public FileStreamResult CreateFile()  
        {  
            var stream = new MemoryStream(Encoding.ASCII.GetBytes("Hello World"));  
            return new FileStreamResult(stream, new MediaTypeHeaderValue("text/plain"))  
            {  
                FileDownloadName = "test.txt"  
            };  
        }  
        public VirtualFileResult VirtualFileResult()  
        {  
            return new VirtualFileResult("/Files/PhysicalFileResult.pdf", "application/pdf");  
        }  
  
        public PhysicalFileResult PhysicalFileResult()  
        {  
            return new PhysicalFileResult(_environment.ContentRootPath + "/wwwroot/Files/PhysicalFileResult.pdf", "application/pdf");  
        }  
  
    }  
}  

Step 5. Open Index view which is in views folder under Home folder. Add the below code in Index view.

Index View

@{  
    ViewData["Title"] = "Home Page";  
}  
  
<h3 class="text-center text-uppercase">FileResult Action in core mvc</h3>  
<ul class="list-group list-group-horizontal">  
    <li class="list-group-item"><a asp-action="DownloadFile" asp-controller="Home">File Result</a></li>  
    <li class="list-group-item"><a asp-action="DownloadContent" asp-controller="Home" target="_blank">File Content Result</a></li>  
    <li class="list-group-item"><a asp-action="CreateFile" asp-controller="Home">File Stream Result</a></li>  
    <li class="list-group-item"><a asp-action="VirtualFileResult" asp-controller="Home" target="_blank">Virtual File Result</a></li>  
    <li class="list-group-item"><a asp-action="PhysicalFileResult" asp-controller="Home" target="_blank">Physical File Result</a></li>  
</ul>  

Step 6. Build and run your Project ctrl+F5