How to Upload a File to a File Server

How to Upload Files to Your Server From Your Ain Website

This is a simple, functional File Transfer Protocol that allows file uploads (one-way communication)
This particular FTP being demonstrated below is restricted to protect this site
However the code shown beneath does non comprise these restrictions
Uploads can only be washed to the Uploads Folder or the Documents Folder for demonstration purposes
The file uploaded cannot be a PHP, CSS, ASP, JS, or XML file to protect the site
The file cannot be an index file to protect the site
The password of the FTP below is abc

In this commodity, we demonstrate how you tin can upload files to your server from your own website.

This means y'all can skipping using a file transfer protocol (FTP) like filezila or an FTP of your web hosting provider and just utilise your website.

And so literally you can just go to your website and upload files to your website'southward server using your ain website.

Know that this can form above is only used for upload files to your website'due south server. It cannot retrieve files from your website. This is why it's a one-mode FTP. If you want to retrieve files from your website, then you'll have to use a complete FTP similar filezilla or the FTP of your web hosting company.

So how is this washed?

And information technology'southward relatively simple. PHP has functionality that allows file uploading.

Y'all create a uncomplicated file upload class using plain HTML.

Y'all and so tin can PHP to add the functionality to the form so that files can be uploaded to the server of your website and thus exist displayed on your website.

PHP has a function called move_uploaded_file() that allows you to move a file that yous uploaded to whatsoever directory on your site. If you upload this PHP upload file to the root directory of your website (the directory which contains the site'due south homepage), yous tin can upload files to any directory of your site.

So information technology's not complicated. And this gives increased efficiency. With file upload, you no longer take to log in to your website hosting business relationship, then your hosting space, and so the FTP provided past the web hosting company. Instead, y'all can just skip all of this if you need to upload a file and just practice it from your website. It saves fourth dimension, can be more efficient, and gets the job done. And, with an FTP like filezila, if you don't have your own computer available, you can't even utilize it. Filezilla must exist downloaded on a calculator in order to be used. If you lot are at work, for instance, say you lot have spare time, and you want to upload a file to your website, normally on piece of work computers, you cannot download any software whatsoever. Normally the Information technology departments block any installation of software. The same is truthful for any public computers such as at libraries or schools. You are blocked from downloading any software packages unless you lot have administrative privileges. So if y'all are at a place like a library or work or school and take files on your flash bulldoze, dropbox, or email available and would like to publish on the web, filezilla cannot be used to do so. Though information technology is a not bad FTP if you have your laptop available, it's not always accessible if you don't.

So about this file upload class we are creating, it only allows you just to upload files to your site. Information technology doesn't allow y'all to get files that are already on your site. For that, yous would demand a complete FTP similar filezilla or use your web hosting visitor'southward FTP.

However, again, if you just want to upload a file to your website, this works very well.

So for this file upload system, we accept a 'Choose File' button that allows you to specify which file y'all want to upload. Nosotros then have a textbox that allows you to specify which directory you would like to upload the file to. Lastly, nosotros have a password box that provides security to this form so that if anyone finds this course, that person can't just upload any file to your site.

It'due south virtually completely necessary to add a password text box to a FTP because you desire to protect your site. You have to have some security measure in place so that no 1 can just find your FTP on your website and upload anything that they desire on it. It is very smart to add a password option. You lot need some security mensurate to protect your website. Some people may find it annoying to have to put in a password every fourth dimension they upload a file to their website, only information technology'due south worth someone damaging your site. Merely imagine, you lot create a website and you have pages uploaded to your site. Now someone comes along and uploads the same files you lot have, overwriting those files, and now you've lost all your pages on your website. A hacker could even upload an index file and erase your homepage. This is why security is then important. Ane proficient strong password protects heavily against this. However, if you make up one's mind that is just besides annoying to have to put in a countersign each time that you lot upload a file to your site, then you can see the following code which creates an FTP that doesn't require a password at the following link: Upload Grade that Requires No Countersign . Y'all would have to put this FTP in some primitive name on your homepage so that information technology isn't easily plant.

This FTP needs to get published to your root binder on your website (the home folio binder). This needs to exist done so that you could reach all the directories on your website. How the PHP move_uploaded_file() function works is it takes the current directory you lot're at and yous tin upload a file to that directory and farther directories in that pathway. So publishing the FTP to your root directory (which contains the abode page) allows you to reach whatsoever directory on your website. Then this is the all-time way to do it.

Other than this, the FTP contains a textbox that allows you to specify which directory (or binder) you lot want to upload (or publish) the certificate to. If you go along this text box blank, it uploads the document to the root directory of your site. So if your site is www.instance.com and the file you uploaded is monkey.jpg, the image file can be constitute at www.example.com/monkey.jpg.

If you type in images to the Upload textbox, the monkey.jpg image volition exist found at world wide web.example.com/images/monkey.jpg. Besides know that you lot can enter /images, images/, or images, and all will produce the same consequence. This is considering the code nosotros have running corrects either 3 of them and so that they all work. So you don't have to worry most the same technical of putting in the directory. You can simply just put the name of the directory and it will work out.

Ane last example, if you blazon in Documents and you have a binder named Documents and you upload the file, bills.pdf, this will appear at www.case.com/Documents/bills.pdf.

And so you pretty much get the idea of how this works.

All you lot take to exercise is copy all iii codes found below and salvage it equally a PHP page and publish to the root directory of your website. Before you practise that, alter the password to 'abc' to something much harder. Then yous will be able to upload any certificate to any directory on your website.

And then this is a very piece of cake, uncomplicated, and highly constructive way to upload files to your website.

And so below we get over the lawmaking required to set up this file upload form.

HTML Code

So beneath we will get-go with the HTML code needed to create the file upload class.

Then the HTML shown above is very basic.

We create a form, a file upload form. Nosotros set the activity equal to #upload. This allows usa the form, once submitted, to spring to where nosotros take <a proper name="upload><a/>. We set the method equal to Postal service, because information technology'due south a big amount of data and we don't want the data appended to a URL. We want the data in an actual location, which is where we're uploading the image file to. The enctype argument is unique and needed for file uploads. It must be present.

The side by side line creates a file upload push button. We proper noun it "file".

The next line creates a submit button. Since it's an upload button, nosotros proper noun information technology "Upload".

We then end the form.

This is all the HTML lawmaking needed. The HTML simply creates the upload form.

The PHP lawmaking shown below is what really adds functionality to the upload course then that it actually performs an upload.

PHP Code

There are 2 PHP blocks of code to make this image upload work.

The first and the biggest block is shown below.

Then this is evidently a big block of code. We'll explain it all now below.

The $proper noun variable stores the name of the file beingness uploaded. This includes the name of the file plus its extension. So if upload a file named mortage and its of the format pdf, the $name variable stores mortgage.pdf.

The $tmp_name stores the temporary proper name of the file. When we offset upload the file, it isn't carried over directly to the final destination, which is the folder we want it transferred to. Instead, it gets a temporary. Nosotros and then accept to use the function, move_uploaded_file() to transfer the file using the temporary name to its final destination folder. So, again, the variable $tmp_name is very of import for uploading the file.

The $submitbutton variable stores whether the submit push has been clicked or not.

The variable $where_to_upload takes the input entered into the place where a user wants to upload the document to and stores it. Only in case there is whatever unnecessary, unintentional infinite entered in by the user, the next line erases whatsoever whitespace.

The $password1 variable takes the input that a user has entered into the countersign text box and stores information technology.

The variable $password2 is where you lot set up the password in your code. You can fix it to any password yous want. Obviously, you want to choose a somewhat difficult countersign to figure out so that your website is more than secure. You definitely want to change the password from 'abc' to something else.

The variable $length stores the length of the $name variable, which is the variable that stores the name and file extension of the file being uploaded. The reason we notice out the length of the string is considering we want to know how long it is, so that nosotros know the position of the last grapheme. The last character will be at the string length minus one. The reason we practise this is because nosotros desire to know whether the last character is "/" or not. If information technology is not, nosotros append "/" to the string. If it is, we go out it alone.

The variable $commencement represents the first grapheme in the string. We desire to see whether this character is "/" or not. If information technology is, nosotros remove it. If information technology is not, nosotros leave it solitary.

We practice this so that the pathway can be completely correct.

Now we go into the heart of the code.

Nosotros use an if statement to run into if the $name variable has been set. This means that the submit button has been clicked, in other words.

If the $proper noun variable is empty, and then the user hasn't specified any file in the upload. Therefore, we output the statement, "Delight choose a file".

If the $name variable isn't empty and the password entered by the user matches the countersign you lot gear up in the PHP code, then the file is uploaded using the temporary name to identify yous specified in the where to upload textbox.

Else, if the password entered is incorrect, nosotros output the statement, "The password entered is incorrect. The file has not been uploaded."

This completes the showtime cake of PHP code.

The second cake of PHP code is shown beneath.

So this cake of PHP code is much smaller.

If the $proper noun isn't empty and the countersign entered is right, the statement output is, "The file yous uploaded is shown below." The link to the file is then shown below.

The one negative, which really doesn't fifty-fifty actually count as a negative, that can exist seen about this is that every time you lot upload a file, yous take to enter in your password. Using a FTP like filezilla or the ane provided by your web hosting company, in one case you lot are logged in, you don't have to enter a password each time to login. But this is a small negative, considering it's only a password and y'all can autosave it using your web browser, so yous really don't have to enter information technology in each time.

So this is all that is necessary to upload files to your website using your own website.

Related Resources

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