JSP View :
 <a href="download">Download String </a> 
 @RequestMapping(value = "/download", method = RequestMethod.GET)
 public @ResponseBody
 void downloadFile(HttpServletResponse resp) {
  String downloadFileName= "download.txt";
  String downloadStringContent= getStringToWrite(); // implement this
  try {
   OutputStream out = resp.getOutputStream();
   resp.setContentType("text/plain; charset=utf-8");
   resp.addHeader("Content-Disposition","attachment; filename=\"" + downloadFileName + "\"");
   out.write(downloadStringContent.getBytes(Charset.forName("UTF-8")));
   out.flush();
   out.close();
  } catch (IOException e) {
  }
 }
Check this as well : spring mvc download a file from server
