preserve $_FILES['file1']['tmp_name']; for move_uploaded_file()

mgscom

Hello,
To use the move_uploaded_file(), basically we need to have the following:

Form:
<input type="hidden" name="MAX_FILE_SIZE" value="5120000" />
<input type="FILE" name="file1" value="{file1}" size="50">

PHP:
$file1_tmp = $FILES['file1']['tmp_name'];
$file1_name = $FILES['file1']['name'];
$file1_size = $FILES['file1']['size'];
$file1_type = $FILES['file1']['type'];

Upload:
if (!move_uploaded_file($file1_tmp,$upload_dir.$file1_name))

However, after I have checked the file, I might need to go to another page to prompt the user to make a choice in case of duplicated file names, etc. The other page will be simple choice of buttons, without the form. If the user decides to continue to upload, if I call if (!move_uploaded_file($file1_tmp,$upload_dir.$file1_name)), the move will fail. My guess is that $file1_tmp is no longer valid due to switching to different pages.

Does anyone have any suggestions how can I continue to do the upload after I have prompted the user on a different page... Thanks.

Jason

drew010

move_uploaded_file will overwrite existing files in case you didnt know (maybe i misread above but it seems you are assuming it returns false if the destination exists.)
once the php script that handled the upload ends, php deletes the temporary file in the cleanup process (whether you move it or not).
the best way to do this is use [man]file_exists[/man] to see if the destination exists. if it does, copy the temp file to some new location, then ask them to enter a new name and you can move it again. if the file doesnt exist, just move it as normal.

mgscom

Thank you for your reply. I am aware of the fact that move_uploaded_file will overwrite the destination file. Actually my example was a bad one. The point was that between the user clicking form submit and the actual call of move_uploaded_file, I might need to go to a different page to prompt user for something. I have saved the tmp file name (not the file itself). But when I called move_uploaded_file with the same tmp name later, the upload failed. You had a good tip, the tmp file will be deleted once the PHP script finishes. I think the different page actually start the script again so the previous tmp file was gone by the time I called move_uploaded_file. I will do an experiment that before I go to the next page, I save the tmp file somewhere (since I know the name and the tmp location on the server). Then when I call move_uploaded_file later, I point to that tmp file. Not sure if that would work.... (I do not know that is the content of this type of tmp file created by the server -- any clue? I do not think it is the full copy of the file to be uploaded, content-wise...

drew010

the temp file $_FILES['file1']['tmp_name'] does point to the full contents of the file the user uploaded, the flow of how it works i outline below:

user submits form
-- file is sent to the webserver through an http request
-- once request is complete the webserver runs php
-- php receives the contents of the http request and saves the file to a temp location
-- your code runs
-- code reaches the end
-- page is displayed to the user
-- php deletes the temp file

id code it something like this:

if (file_exists('my_file_path/' . $_FILES['file1']['name'])) { //file exists
  move_uploaded_file($_FILES['file1']['tmp_name'], 'my_temp_file_path/' . uniqid(rand()));
  //decide here how to associate that file with the right person.
  //perhaps use a session variable, or a hidden field containing the name of the new temp file
  //output the file name exists and display new form
} else { //file doesnt exist
  move_uploaded_file($_FILES['file1']['tmp_name'], 'my_file_path/' . $_FILES['file1']['name']);
}

the other alternative to this is enumerate the file names if they already exist, i.e. filename_1.ext filename_2.exe
the other possibility is to not use their file names at all and generate your own unique ones.

mgscom

Thank you for your response and the insight... I decided not to interact with the user between the form submit and the move_uploaded_file so just move the files ton some specifically named destinations...

By the way, I was able to get a copy of the tmp file between the current script was over and checked that it IS the whole image that I uploaded. I did not try to move the tmp file back to the server's designated tmp location then call move_uploaded_file with the tmp name pointing to that tmp file in the server's tmp folder.... Maybe it would work...

Thanks again,
Jason

zaqa

drew010 wrote:
the temp file $_FILES['file1']['tmp_name'] does point to the full contents of the file the user uploaded, the flow of how it works i outline below:

user submits form
-- file is sent to the webserver through an http request
-- once request is complete the webserver runs php
-- php receives the contents of the http request and saves the file to a temp location
-- your code runs
-- code reaches the end
-- page is displayed to the user
-- php deletes the temp file

id code it something like this:
if (file_exists('my_file_path/' . $_FILES['file1']['name'])) { //file exists
  move_uploaded_file($_FILES['file1']['tmp_name'], 'my_temp_file_path/' . uniqid(rand()));
  //decide here how to associate that file with the right person.
  //perhaps use a session variable, or a hidden field containing the name of the new temp file
  //output the file name exists and display new form
} else { //file doesnt exist
  move_uploaded_file($_FILES['file1']['tmp_name'], 'my_file_path/' . $_FILES['file1']['name']);
}
the other alternative to this is enumerate the file names if they already exist, i.e. filename_1.ext filename_2.exe
the other possibility is to not use their file names at all and generate your own unique ones.

This subject interested me. That's why i write here. I want to kow if it is possible to get the name of temp file at the begining of http request? Becuase i want to write a script which will watch how much size have been uploaded by continuously sending server request for the size of temp_file. But to do so i must know the name of temp file. But it gives the name at the end. Is it possible to get temp_name on the start of http request? If not it seems me i can't reach my aim, can I?