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PHP File Upload

Author: Guitarman 03/11/2022
Language: PHP
Tags: php uplaod file

Description:

Here's some sample code to upload a file using PHP.

Article:

Configure The "php.ini" File

First, ensure that PHP is configured to allow file uploads.

In your "php.ini" file, search for the file_uploads directive, and set it to On:

file_uploads = On

Create The HTML Form

Next, create an HTML form that allow users to choose the image file they want to upload:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>

<form action="upload.php" method="post" enctype="multipart/form-data">
  Select image to upload:
  <input type="file" name="fileToUpload" id="fileToUpload">
  <input type="submit" value="Upload Image" name="submit">
</form>

</body>
</html>

Some rules to follow for the HTML form above:

Make sure that the form uses method="post"
The form also needs the following attribute: enctype="multipart/form-data". It specifies which content-type to use when submitting the form

Without the requirements above, the file upload will not work.

Other things to notice:

The type="file" attribute of the <input> tag shows the input field as a file-select control, with a "Browse" button next to the input control

The form above sends data to a file called "upload.php", which we will create next.

Create The Upload File PHP Script

The "upload.php" file contains the code for uploading a file:

<?php
$target_dir = "uploads/";
$target_file = $target_dir . basename($_FILES["fileToUpload"]["name"]);
$uploadOk = 1;
$imageFileType = strtolower(pathinfo($target_file,PATHINFO_EXTENSION));
// Check if image file is a actual image or fake image
if(isset($_POST["submit"])) {
  $check = getimagesize($_FILES["fileToUpload"]["tmp_name"]);
  if($check !== false) {
    echo "File is an image - " . $check["mime"] . ".";
    $uploadOk = 1;
  } else {
    echo "File is not an image.";
    $uploadOk = 0;
  }
}
?>

PHP script explained:

$target_dir = "uploads/" - specifies the directory where the file is going to be placed
$target_file specifies the path of the file to be uploaded
$uploadOk=1 is not used yet (will be used later)
$imageFileType holds the file extension of the file (in lower case)
Next, check if the image file is an actual image or a fake image