Upload files using list box in PHP

Question

I want to upload files from a list box in php.

I am able to do it by using <input type="file"> which I found on http://www.tizag.com/phpT/fileupload.php

But when I change this <input type="file"> by <select>

i am trying this way

<form enctype="multipart/form-data" action="upload.php" method="POST">
<input type="hidden" name="MAX_FILE_SIZE" value="100000" />
Choose a file to upload: <input name="uploadedfile" type="file" />
<select name="uploadedfile" id = "fileName" size="3" style="width: 100%">
<option id = "uploadedfile" value="c:	ext.txt">c:	ext.txt</option>
</select>
<input type="submit" value="Upload File" />
</form> 

and PHP code remains the same for both cases

<?php
$target_path = "uploads/";
$target_path = $target_path . basename( $_FILES['uploadedfile']['value']); 


if(move_uploaded_file($_FILES['uploadedfile']['tmp_name'], $target_path)) {
    echo "The file ".  basename( $_FILES['uploadedfile']['value']). 
    " has been uploaded";
} else{
    echo "There was an error uploading the file, please try again!";
}

?>

it does not work........

Regards Hemant

Answer 1

You can only use an <input type="file" /> to upload files for security reasons. These input types display a file select box and allow a user to select a file in a secure way. Allowing a server to select arbitrary files to upload like you are trying to do would be a gross breach of security.

For instance, say I implemented your <select> based option (and it worked). I could select your Windows password file to upload. I could select all sorts of nasty files that are in predefined locations.

As a total aside, your HTML has two elements with the same name. Which one is actually sent to the server will be somewhat dependant on your browser and server. You really only want one form element with the same name.