File upload capability (1GB files)

Is there a utility to allow customers to upload large files? My customers need to upload files as large as 1GB.

If anyone has a suggestion or is willing to write a utility, I would be interested in paying for it.

Zencart has upload facility built in using attributes BUT
read
http://www.zen-cart.com/forum/showpost.php?p=283078&postcount=4

If the changing of "Maximum File Upload Size" in ADMIN >> Configuration >>Maximum Values doesn't do it, you might want to check with your host to see if a limit is set there.

dbltoe:

If the changing of "Maximum File Upload Size" in ADMIN >> Configuration >>Maximum Values doesn't do it, you might want to check with your host to see if a limit is set there.

I have changed the maximum values. I also added the File attribute which browses for the file. It seems to upload the file but I can't find it. Whe the file has finished uploading, it goes directly to the shopping cart, which I assume is an indicatin tht the file was uploaded successfully. I attempted to upload a larger file and when it is complete, it goes to an empty shopping cart which I again assume the file upload was not successful. The largre file was 26MB, I change the max file size to: 307200000
It also does not a comment or note to the confirmation email indicating that a file was uploaded or what its file name is.
Are there instructions anywhere showing how to implement this capability?

Previous post below may help...
http://www.zen-cart.com/forum/showpost.php?p=283448&postcount=9

We're into unfamiliar territory for me now.

Looks like Misty has steered you in the right direction and, hopefully, website rob will be able to help you out.

misty:

Previous post below may help...
http://www.zen-cart.com/forum/showpost.php?p=283448&postcount=9

I am using zencart 1.3.7.
I am obviously missing something. I am able to upload a small .pdf file but not a 5mb .psd file.

If you are willing to help me out for a fee I would really apprecaite your help. We could spend three days exchanging emails when a 5 minute phone call or access to my site would fix it in a minute. I may be asking too much of zen cart.

If you are interested please send me an email at [email protected]. Thanks.

PHP has an ini setting "upload_max_filesize" which by default is set to 2MB. That would need to be increased on your server before any PHP function would co-operate in uploading a larger file.

Even then, uploading files as large as 1GB via a browser is asking for trouble. This is pushing their capabilities to the limit in a non-core area.

A more normal approach for this requirement would be an anonymous FTP account that allows customer to upload their files using proper tools with proper error messages in case of problem. Often this is combined with a server side utility that whips uploaded files way to a protected directory to stop the next person along from downloading them.

kuroi:

PHP has an ini setting "upload_max_filesize" which by default is set to 2MB. That would need to be increased on your server before any PHP function would co-operate in uploading a larger file.

Even then, uploading files as large as 1GB via a browser is asking for trouble. This is pushing their capabilities to the limit in a non-core area.

A more normal approach for this requirement would be an anonymous FTP account that allows customer to upload their files using proper tools with proper error messages in case of problem. Often this is combined with a server side utility that whips uploaded files way to a protected directory to stop the next person along from downloading them.

Thanks for the input. We do have an FTP site and encourage our customers to use it. Unfortunately, most customers do not want to download and install an FTP client and IE times out uploading large files. FireFox and Chrome do not even support logging into an FTP site. This is obviously a complex problem with no simple solution. I have been struggling with this for years. We had an open FTP site and ended up with gigs and gigs of ######## and other files. Someone figured out the paths and just took it over.
What is the setting and where is it located for the 2MB file limit? There is a .htaccess file in the root directory and I noticed one in the /image/uploads/ directory also.

Thanks again.

When I mentioned 1GB files, that is the exception. Most files are under 100MB but it is not unusual for a 300MB file.

Kuroi has explained where file upload sizes are set

PHP has an ini setting "upload_max_filesize" which by default is set to 2MB. That would need to be increased on your server before any PHP function would co-operate in uploading a larger file.
Might want to ask your webhost to advise..PLUS adding files
to zip may work better...

hllight:

Thanks for the input. We do have an FTP site and encourage our customers to use it. Unfortunately, most customers do not want to download and install an FTP client and IE times out uploading large files. FireFox and Chrome do not even support logging into an FTP site. This is obviously a complex problem with no simple solution. I have been struggling with this for years. We had an open FTP site and ended up with gigs and gigs of ######## and other files. Someone figured out the paths and just took it over.
What is the setting and where is it located for the 2MB file limit? There is a .htaccess file in the root directory and I noticed one in the /image/uploads/ directory also.

Thanks again.
Your FTP problem is common to anyone using anonymous FTP, which is why it is no longer recommended or allowed by many Hosters.

Your upload problem requires an Outside the Box solution. Awhile back with a Client running a Print shop, a 3rd party Upload script was used to get around the upload problems. You should post in the Commercial Section of the Forum. You can post Jobs to be done and deal with people who are familiar with Zen Cart and the coding required.

Something you need to know ahead of time is whether your Hosting account runs PHP as CGI. If that doesn't make sense to you, you can ask your Hoster or you can find it within Zen Cart using:

Admin > Tools > Server Version / Info

Mind you, if you run a Dedicated Server it makes everything a lot easier as you can do what you want. :smile:

The PHP ini values are set in your php.ini file. The location of this file depends upon how php has been installed on your server. It will be outside of your web space and changing values requires the server to be rebooted before they take effect. So definitely one that would require help from whoever manages your server.

There are ways of overriding these values. For example, inserting the following in your .htaccess file may work.

php_value upload_max_filesize 100M
php_value post_max_size 100M
php_value max_execution_time 1000
php_value max_input_time 1000
However these sort of changes are often blocked by web hosts (who tend not to want their defaults overridden). So again one to discuss with whoever manages your server.

So let's step back a moment. The fundamental problem here is that although there are tools for moving large files around the internet, your customers don't want to use them (and I can understand the resistance - even though we know that it's really easy).

Although there is an FTP plugin for Firefox (FireFTP), I'm guessing that needing to install a plugin won't go down to well and anyway most of your customers will most likely be using IE, which believes that it already does the job, though your experiences suggest that it doesn't.

Another browser-based approaches involves slicing. The idea being that the large file is slicing into acceptably small chunks, transmitted and then re-assembled on the server. You can find a low-cost java (not javascript) browser plugin at upload.thinfile.com/resume/ though I've not tried this myself. I think that I saw a javascript/php variant of this approach a couple of years back, but sadly can't remember where.

An alternative approach is that offered by mailbigfile.com. In effect they host the form where the file is uploaded, which for a small charge can be branded with your company's details.

Thank you for your response, the commerical section is an excelent idea. I was not aware of that location.

kuroi:

The PHP ini values are set in your php.ini file. The location of this file depends upon how php has been installed on your server. It will be outside of your web space and changing values requires the server to be rebooted before they take effect. So definitely one that would require help from whoever manages your server.

There are ways of overriding these values. For example, inserting the following in your .htaccess file may work.

However these sort of changes are often blocked by web hosts (who tend not to want their defaults overridden). So again one to discuss with whoever manages your server.

So let's step back a moment. The fundamental problem here is that although there are tools for moving large files around the internet, your customers don't want to use them (and I can understand the resistance - even though we know that it's really easy).

Although there is an FTP plugin for Firefox (FireFTP), I'm guessing that needing to install a plugin won't go down to well and anyway most of your customers will most likely be using IE, which believes that it already does the job, though your experiences suggest that it doesn't.

Another browser-based approaches involves slicing. The idea being that the large file is slicing into acceptably small chunks, transmitted and then re-assembled on the server. You can find a low-cost java (not javascript) browser plugin at upload.thinfile.com/resume/ though I've not tried this myself. I think that I saw a javascript/php variant of this approach a couple of years back, but sadly can't remember where.

An alternative approach is that offered by mailbigfile.com. In effect they host the form where the file is uploaded, which for a small charge can be branded with your company's details.

Thanks for the information. I will contact my ISP and see what can and cannot be done for the short term. I think an external application is likely the way to go if it is possible.