How to set up a web page for friends to 'one click' upload files to your server

If you wanted friends to upload a couple of files to your server, and they were not computer literate enough to know how to use an FTP program, can you set up a web page for them to just click on a link and browse to a local file to upload to your server?


Edit: regarding 'security risk' concerns: This would be a page that would only be temporarily enabled for someone else to upload small files to your server, then the page would be taken down eliminating permanent security risk concerns.

Should be pretty easy. Some HTML form where they can browse for and select the file, then you'd have some php or other code behind to save the file to your web server.

Yes. It can be done.

I think the level of effort would be easier doing simple instructions for an ftp program though.

Drop box isn't an option?

This would be if you have a server and want to get a file from a relatively computer illiterate person.

So I need HTML code to create page where they can simply click on Upload and browse to their file to upload to my server.

Yea, the HTML file would give you the page with the upload button (form). Then you'd have a separate file (or possibly two depending on how it was written), which performed all the uploading operations to your server.

I'm gonna go ahead and second what ED suggested tho. Creating a shared folder in google drive or Dropbox and giving them a link to it would be much less work for you. The HTML part of the page you have in mind is the easy part. Getting the code behind all set up to work with your web server can be a pain.

How large are the files? Any reason Dropbox wouldn't work? Once they were there, you could just FTP them to your server?

What if they needed to share 16 high res files with me.
They don't know how to zip them
Drop box would require installation and then at best they might be able to figure out how to send me 16 links.

I'm surprised there isn't a standard HTML code and your friends would just go to a single page you give them a link to then all they would do is click on Upload and browse to 16 files > Done.

I have used dropbox/google with some pretty large files successfully (I think around 20MB?).

What I do for computer illiterate people I need to help are walk throughs over the phone/chat. I install with them so I can see screen by screen (or webex into their box... but that also requires installation - though its stupid proof via the link). I really think that would be the easiest way to do it(install with via phone/chat/webex).

Truth be told, it could have been done already going that route...but to be fair, if someone already had the code written for a webpage like you want that could have been done too, LOL!

I'm sure there is example code out there somewhere. I might even be able to help you out a bit with it (though, no promises. Not an expert, have a newborn, work, bla bla bla ).

Do you have to install something for google drive? I know that Dropbox really pushes for the install, but I think if you go through google, you just create a shared folder (you can share with anyone to whom you send the link), then as long as they're logged in to a google account, they can manipulate the folder however they please (upload, download, rename...).

Play around with it for a bit and see what you come up with.

EDIT:

Go into your Google Drive and right click on a new folder to share



Then "Change..." who has access to "Anyone with the link" (or specific people, though I've never tried that one).

And after selecting "Anyone with the link", change Access to "Can edit" and Save.



Then copy the link and send it to them.

Tell them to log into their google account (I logged into my sister's to test this ), then click on it and in the top right corner, click "Add to Drive"



Then "Open in Drive"



Then "Upload", selecting their file and uploading it to the shared folder.



Once it's there, you can do what you need to with it.

For future uploads, by the same person, just tell them to click that same link and again click "Open in Drive" and then, "Upload".

ninjacore said:

Should be pretty easy. Some HTML form where they can browse for and select the file, then you'd have some php or other code behind to save the file to your web server.

Click to expand...

Simply putting a page out there with an upload button is a huge security risk. Since this is being hosted on my VPS, I'd rather you not go that route. There should be pre-built "applications" that you can setup to share files, but I'm not familiar with any.