Display Varbinary Files in the Browser From SQL Server

Question

Can anyone point me to the right forum/direction on how to display varbinary files in the browser (any browser) from SQL Server. I don't want to download them. I simply want to display them in the browser. Invested couple of hours googling but I only see forums on how to download them. Thanks in advance.

Jes Sie · Answer

Hi @ Amit Gupta, file format could be one of the following: .pdf, .docx, .xls, .jpg, .png, .mp3 or video files. The system that I am doing is a document management system. I was able to upload this files in the mssql database. Was able also to view the .pdf file using the generic handler but the rest cannot. Below is my code snippet which I got from googling: Displaying the .pdf extension on the same browser (upload.aspx.cs). int id = int .Parse((sender as LinkButton).CommandArgument); string embed = " " ; embed += "If you are unable to view file, you can download from here " ; embed += " or download Adobe PDF Reader to view the file." ; embed += " " ; ltEmbed.Text = string .Format(embed, ResolveUrl( "~/SIBSAcademics/CURRICULUM/CourseOutline/FileCS.ashx?Id=" ), id); Generic Handler code: int id = int .Parse(context.Request.QueryString[ "ID" ]); byte [] bytes; string fileName, contentType; using (SqlConnection con = DBCS.GetDbCon()) { using (SqlCommand cmd = new SqlCommand()) { cmd.CommandText = "SELECT FileName, Data, ContentType FROM tblCourseOutline WHERE ID=@Id" ; cmd.Parameters.AddWithValue( "@Id" , id); cmd.Connection = con; con.Open(); using (SqlDataReader sdr = cmd.ExecuteReader()) { sdr.Read(); bytes = ( byte [])sdr[ "Data" ]; contentType = sdr[ "ContentType" ].ToString(); fileName = sdr[ "FileName" ].ToString(); } con.Close(); } } context.Response.Buffer = true ; context.Response.Charset = "" ; if (context.Request.QueryString[ "download" ] == "1" ) { context.Response.AppendHeader( "Content-Disposition" , "attachment; filename=" + fileName); } context.Response.Cache.SetCacheability(HttpCacheability.NoCache); context.Response.ContentType = "application/pdf" ; context.Response.BinaryWrite(bytes); context.Response.Flush(); context.Response.End();

Amit Gupta · Answer

What kind of file format stored in that varbinary column?

Display Varbinary Files in the Browser From SQL Server

Answers (2)