Request for documentation for a pattern and guidance for links/buttons that are document downloads, i.e. PDF

[danbivins]

Description
Currently there isn't clear guidance around how to let a user know that they are about to download a PDF and if that may be a large download. I asked around the teams and this is being handled in various ways — different text, some use an icon and some not, etc.

This could benefit users with slower internet connections, older devices, etc.

This pattern guidance could look like:

• Download your file, PDF {icon}
• Download your file (PDF), 10MB

[danbivins]

Note, from USWDS guidance:

Show file type and size for links to non-HTML content. When possible, create HTML pages instead of linking to files like PDFs. If you do link to a file, tell users ahead of time if the link may trigger a file download, and show the size and format of that file.

We recommend including this information at the end of the link, in the format [FILE_TYPE, SIZE]. We recommend using the file type rather than a product name. Use uppercase for the file type and a comma for the separator. For file size, use the number of pages in the document or the size in MB or KB if the document is not paginated.

Example 1:

GSA published a report, Transforming the American Digital Experience [PDF, 18 pages]

Example 2:

Download the Revised 508 Standards Applicability Checklist [DOCX, 2 pages]

Example 3:

Download the USWDS 2.11.2 Design Kit for Sketch [ZIP, 13.3 MB]