Allow uploading of multiple images at once from plog-upload.php

[anti]

We should have multiple file upload fields to allow the user to upload multiple images at once. But instead of displaying all (how many exactly?) the upload fields at once, we could add them dynamically, like Gmail does.

[anti]

Gmail's interface

[mike]

I think this is a great idea, and I'm sure the whole team agrees, but we struggled with this problem quite a bit during the initial design and implementation stages of Plogger. The primary problem is that uploading multiple files will likely take a long time, and with no indication of progress or failure, users are likely to cancel the upload before it is done. Additionally, isn't there a 2MB limit to HTML form uploads? The only solutions we could find were ActiveX controls. Maybe there is an AJAX solution?

[anti]

2M is the default in php.ini and can be changed, but it will be a problem for lots of users of course who can't change it or are not aware of that limit.

Setting priority to lowest for now, maybe we'll find a good solution in the future.

[anonymous]

Multiple files, etc.:

http://pear.php.net/package/HTTP_Upload

[mike]

Maybe not 100% of the way there to clearing this ticket, but I did implement ZIP archive uploads today in plog-upload.php. This allows you to upload multiple files without the multiple upload control problem.

One usability thing left to do for this though, we need to pass the Album name and Collection name set on the upload interface to the import page so they don't have to set them twice. Also, it would be nice if we could disable the caption and description boxes if they select a zip file, as these settings do not apply across multiple files and are set on the next page (plog-import.php). I'm not sure how to do this, but some clever JS/DOM manipulation could probably do the trick.

[sidtheduck]

Currently, I am working on integrating SWFupload to allow multiple file uploads via javascript/flash for my own use on my personal site. Once I get it done, I can send a diff if wanted / needed.

pros - queues and uploads images one at a time thereby working within the limits set by max_execution_time and upload_max_filesize.

cons - Full functionality only works with Flash 9 (and doesn't work for Flash on Linux) but degrades nicely if flash is not detected (could establish degredation for Linux users as well)

still working on - Have to finish up the PHP backend in plog-upload.php for SWFupload errors. Also working on average upload speed and an overall progress meter. Finally, I would like to add a 'delete' option for accidental file uploads (also add this function to plog-import.php as well as auto-deletion of empty folders during plog-import.php to keep the uploads folder clean automatically).

I have a semi-working test site here if you want to see it in action. The uploads are disabled, so they don't actually go anywhere at this point and only the first thumbnail shows up (and it's of a BBQ that is already on the server). It'll get the point across for what I am attempting though.

Let me know what ya'll think.

p.s. I've also edited / updated the plog-upload.php file to unzip a .zip file into a new folder based on the zipfile name (so it's not just dumped into the main 'uploads' folder). I could easily work on updating the transfer of Album and Collection names from plog-upload to plog-import.

[sidtheduck]

Progress has been slow of late because I haven't had a whole lot of time, but I just wanted to post a follow up that the new Wordpress 2.5 is using SWFupload for their uploads as well! I'll try to finish this up sometime soon!