Simple uploader Using PHP

**speed2x** · 14-07-2013, 05:19 AM

I create a lot of websites that allow administrators to upload files to their own website. Since allowing user customization has become more and more important on websites these days, I thought I'd share how easy it is to handle file uploads in PHP.

The XHTML Form

HTML Code:

<form action="accept-file.php" method="post" enctype="multipart/form-data">
	Your Photo: <input type="file" name="photo" size="25" />
	<input type="submit" name="submit" value="Submit" />
</form>

You'll need to use the multipart/form-data value for the form's enctype property. You'll also obviously need at least one input element of the file type. The form's action tag must provide a URL which points the a file containing the piece of PHP below.

The PHP

PHP Code:


//if they DID upload a file...

if($_FILES['photo']['name'])

{

    //if no errors...

    if(!$_FILES['photo']['error'])

    {

        //now is the time to modify the future file name and validate the file

        $new_file_name = strtolower($_FILES['photo']['tmp_name']); //rename file

        if($_FILES['photo']['size'] > (1024000)) //can't be larger than 1 MB

        {

            $valid_file = false;

            $message = 'Oops!  Your file\'s size is to large.';

        }

        

        //if the file has passed the test

        if($valid_file)

        {

            //move it to where we want it to be

            move_uploaded_file($_FILES['photo']['tmp_name'], 'uploads/'.$new_file_name);

            $message = 'Congratulations!  Your file was accepted.';

        }

    }

    //if there is an error...

    else

    {

        //set that to be the returned message

        $message = 'Ooops!  Your upload triggered the following error:  '.$_FILES['photo']['error'];

    }

}



//you get the following information for each file:

$_FILES['field_name']['name']

$_FILES['field_name']['size']

$_FILES['field_name']['type']

$_FILES['field_name']['tmp_name']

My commenting in the PHP above outlines the way the process works, so I'll just mention a few notes about file uploads in PHP:

Many shared hosting servers allow a very low maximum file upload size. If you plan on accepting larger files, you should consider a dedicated or virtual dedicated server.

To adjust the file upload size in PHP, modify the php.ini file's "upload_max_filesize" value. You can also adjust this value using PHP's .ini_set() function.

The file upload counts towards the hosting environment's $_POST size, so you may need to increase the php.ini file's post_max_size value.

Be sure to do a lot of file validation when allowing users to upload files. How horrible would it be to allow a user to upload a .exe file to your server? They could do horrible things on the server.

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**SwiftMove** · 22-04-2019, 09:48 AM

PHP 5 File Upload. Configure The "php.ini" File. First, ensure that PHP is configured to allow file uploads. Check if File Already Exists. Now we can add some restrictions. Limit File Size. The file input field in our HTML form above is named "fileToUpload". Limit File Type. Complete Upload File PHP Script.