Linking to file with.Map extension

Hyperlinking problem on IIS 5.1 file with .map extension

[washstone]

I have a customer that wants a web application that allows his customers to download/view a variety of file types. Word documents, pdfs, text files, and a proprietary text file with a ‘.map’ extension.

The application works fine with the exception of the ‘.map’ extension files. On my IIS 5.1 server, clicking a link like the one below opens up another instance of the originating web page and will not allow the download of the file.

<a href="test/test.map" target="_blank">test for map extension</a>

I have tested this on multiple clients and two separate web servers. Oddly enough I can navigate directly to the file using the direct url to the file. (like pasting "http://mydomain.com/virtualdirectory/test/test.map" into the browser)

I can also right click the hyperlink and ‘save as’ without a problem.

I changed the mime type on the virtual directory in IIS to relate '.map' to text/plain and restarted the web server and still no dice.

I should mention that the .NET 1.1 and 2.0 framework is on this server but the application is actually a static and classic .asp site.

Has anyone experienced this and or can anyone explain what is going on with this? A solution would be also greatly appreciated.

[aspdaddy]

If its not a webpage you are linking to , whats the purpose of: target="_blank

[washstone]

It is easier to see what is happening. If the target isn't blank you'll just see a flashing browser.