875

(Preface: this question is about ASP.NET MVC 3.0 which was released in 2011, it is not about ASP.NET Core 3.0 which was released in 2019)

I want to upload file in asp.net mvc. How can I upload the file using html input file control?

2
  • 2
    where do you want to store the file ? database or server harddisk? For the first part the second answer will do the trick. For the second part you will need to setup a file path and a place to store the files and the you should use this : 4guysfromrolla.com/webtech/faq/FileSystemObject/faq4.shtml Commented Jul 21, 2011 at 11:36
  • 11
    @madicemickael The reference you make is for WScript/ASP Classic. The requested question is regarding use in .Net 4 (MVC 3)
    – Tracker1
    Commented Oct 3, 2011 at 23:49

23 Answers 23

1180
+50

You don't use a file input control. Server side controls are not used in ASP.NET MVC. Checkout the following blog post which illustrates how to achieve this in ASP.NET MVC.

So you would start by creating an HTML form which would contain a file input:

@using (Html.BeginForm("Index", "Home", FormMethod.Post, new { enctype = "multipart/form-data" }))
{
    <input type="file" name="file" />
    <input type="submit" value="OK" />
}

and then you would have a controller to handle the upload:

public class HomeController : Controller
{
    // This action renders the form
    public ActionResult Index()
    {
        return View();
    }

    // This action handles the form POST and the upload
    [HttpPost]
    public ActionResult Index(HttpPostedFileBase file)
    {
        // Verify that the user selected a file
        if (file != null && file.ContentLength > 0) 
        {
            // extract only the filename
            var fileName = Path.GetFileName(file.FileName);
            // store the file inside ~/App_Data/uploads folder
            var path = Path.Combine(Server.MapPath("~/App_Data/uploads"), fileName);
            file.SaveAs(path);
        }
        // redirect back to the index action to show the form once again
        return RedirectToAction("Index");        
    }
}
18
  • 7
    Working on something a little more complex at the moment, but as a start point, you have pushed me very far in the correct direction! Thanks for this! :)
    – Wil
    Commented May 17, 2011 at 13:45
  • 238
    Nice answer. It's also worth noting that if you're trying to upload large files (greater than the default 4 MB) you'll want to set <httpRuntime maxRequestLength="x" /> in your web.config, where x is the number of KB allowed for upload.
    – rsbarro
    Commented May 22, 2011 at 20:33
  • 87
    Another point is you can replace the controller and action names (strings) in the Html.BeginForm() call like so: Html.BeginForm(null, null, FormMethod.Post, new { enctype = "multipart/form-data" }). This is useful if it is a partial view that is called from multiple parent views (or similar).
    – Cymen
    Commented May 23, 2011 at 19:39
  • 8
    If users need to link to the file from other pages, you can replace ~/App_Data/ with ~/Content/
    – Tom Wayson
    Commented Oct 28, 2011 at 20:39
  • 4
    If you're getting null for HttpPostedFileBase, make sure your html form tag has the enctype="multipart/form-data" attribute, as seen above in the first code example.
    – jtlowe
    Commented Feb 20, 2015 at 23:12
168

to transfer to byte[] (e.g. for saving to DB):

using (MemoryStream ms = new MemoryStream()) {
    file.InputStream.CopyTo(ms);
    byte[] array = ms.GetBuffer();
}

To transfer the input stream directly into the database, without storing it in the memory you can use this class taken from here and a bit changed:

public class VarbinaryStream : Stream {
private SqlConnection _Connection;

private string _TableName;
private string _BinaryColumn;
private string _KeyColumn;
private int _KeyValue;

private long _Offset;

private SqlDataReader _SQLReader;
private long _SQLReadPosition;

private bool _AllowedToRead = false;

public VarbinaryStream(
    string ConnectionString,
    string TableName,
    string BinaryColumn,
    string KeyColumn,
    int KeyValue,
    bool AllowRead = false)
{
  // create own connection with the connection string.
  _Connection = new SqlConnection(ConnectionString);

  _TableName = TableName;
  _BinaryColumn = BinaryColumn;
  _KeyColumn = KeyColumn;
  _KeyValue = KeyValue;


  // only query the database for a result if we are going to be reading, otherwise skip.
  _AllowedToRead = AllowRead;
  if (_AllowedToRead == true)
  {
    try
    {
      if (_Connection.State != ConnectionState.Open)
        _Connection.Open();

      SqlCommand cmd = new SqlCommand(
                      @"SELECT TOP 1 [" + _BinaryColumn + @"]
                            FROM [dbo].[" + _TableName + @"]
                            WHERE [" + _KeyColumn + "] = @id",
                  _Connection);

      cmd.Parameters.Add(new SqlParameter("@id", _KeyValue));

      _SQLReader = cmd.ExecuteReader(
          CommandBehavior.SequentialAccess |
          CommandBehavior.SingleResult |
          CommandBehavior.SingleRow |
          CommandBehavior.CloseConnection);

      _SQLReader.Read();
    }
    catch (Exception e)
    {
      // log errors here
    }
  }
}

// this method will be called as part of the Stream ímplementation when we try to write to our VarbinaryStream class.
public override void Write(byte[] buffer, int index, int count)
{
  try
  {
    if (_Connection.State != ConnectionState.Open)
      _Connection.Open();

    if (_Offset == 0)
    {
      // for the first write we just send the bytes to the Column
      SqlCommand cmd = new SqlCommand(
                                  @"UPDATE [dbo].[" + _TableName + @"]
                                            SET [" + _BinaryColumn + @"] = @firstchunk 
                                        WHERE [" + _KeyColumn + "] = @id",
                              _Connection);

      cmd.Parameters.Add(new SqlParameter("@firstchunk", buffer));
      cmd.Parameters.Add(new SqlParameter("@id", _KeyValue));

      cmd.ExecuteNonQuery();

      _Offset = count;
    }
    else
    {
      // for all updates after the first one we use the TSQL command .WRITE() to append the data in the database
      SqlCommand cmd = new SqlCommand(
                              @"UPDATE [dbo].[" + _TableName + @"]
                                        SET [" + _BinaryColumn + @"].WRITE(@chunk, NULL, @length)
                                    WHERE [" + _KeyColumn + "] = @id",
                           _Connection);

      cmd.Parameters.Add(new SqlParameter("@chunk", buffer));
      cmd.Parameters.Add(new SqlParameter("@length", count));
      cmd.Parameters.Add(new SqlParameter("@id", _KeyValue));

      cmd.ExecuteNonQuery();

      _Offset += count;
    }
  }
  catch (Exception e)
  {
    // log errors here
  }
}

// this method will be called as part of the Stream ímplementation when we try to read from our VarbinaryStream class.
public override int Read(byte[] buffer, int offset, int count)
{
  try
  {
    long bytesRead = _SQLReader.GetBytes(0, _SQLReadPosition, buffer, offset, count);
    _SQLReadPosition += bytesRead;
    return (int)bytesRead;
  }
  catch (Exception e)
  {
    // log errors here
  }
  return -1;
}
public override bool CanRead
{
  get { return _AllowedToRead; }
}

protected override void Dispose(bool disposing)
{
  if (_Connection != null)
  {
    if (_Connection.State != ConnectionState.Closed)
      try { _Connection.Close();           }
      catch { }
    _Connection.Dispose();
  }
  base.Dispose(disposing);
}

#region unimplemented methods
public override bool CanSeek
{
  get { return false; }
}

public override bool CanWrite
{
  get { return true; }
}

public override void Flush()
{
  throw new NotImplementedException();
}

public override long Length
{
  get { throw new NotImplementedException(); }
}

public override long Position
{
  get
  {
    throw new NotImplementedException();
  }
  set
  {
    throw new NotImplementedException();
  }
}
public override long Seek(long offset, SeekOrigin origin)
{
  throw new NotImplementedException();
}

public override void SetLength(long value)
{
  throw new NotImplementedException();
}
#endregion unimplemented methods  }

and the usage:

  using (var filestream = new VarbinaryStream(
                            "Connection_String",
                            "Table_Name",
                            "Varbinary_Column_name",
                            "Key_Column_Name",
                            keyValueId,
                            true))
  {
    postedFile.InputStream.CopyTo(filestream);
  }
6
  • 12
    using (MemoryStream ms = new MemoryStream()) { /* ... */ }
    – enashnash
    Commented Oct 3, 2011 at 10:53
  • 7
    byte[] data = File.ReadAllBytes(filepath) much better.
    – Elisabeth
    Commented Feb 22, 2013 at 19:26
  • 1
    Do you still have to upload the file to the App_Data (or equivalent) folder first, before attempting to convert it to a byte array, or can you do this direct from the file on disk? Commented Mar 22, 2013 at 21:43
  • 2
    don't prefer saving in DB directly as it is having performance issue especially if the files have great sizes. Commented Jun 25, 2013 at 21:05
  • 7
    @Elisa but with an uploaded file it's not saved to disk yet, so you can't use File.ReadAllBytes
    – drzaus
    Commented Mar 26, 2014 at 18:06
63

Alternative method to transfer to byte[] (for saving to DB).

@Arthur's method works pretty good, but doesn't copy perfectly so MS Office documents may fail to open after retrieving them from the database. MemoryStream.GetBuffer() can return extra empty bytes at the end of the byte[], but you can fix that by using MemoryStream.ToArray() instead. However, I found this alternative to work perfectly for all file types:

using (var binaryReader = new BinaryReader(file.InputStream))
{
    byte[] array = binaryReader.ReadBytes(file.ContentLength);
}

Here's my full code:

Document Class:

public class Document
{
    public int? DocumentID { get; set; }
    public string FileName { get; set; }
    public byte[] Data { get; set; }
    public string ContentType { get; set; }
    public int? ContentLength { get; set; }

    public Document()
    {
        DocumentID = 0;
        FileName = "New File";
        Data = new byte[] { };
        ContentType = "";
        ContentLength = 0;
    }
}

File Download:

[HttpGet]
public ActionResult GetDocument(int? documentID)
{
    // Get document from database
    var doc = dataLayer.GetDocument(documentID);

    // Convert to ContentDisposition
    var cd = new System.Net.Mime.ContentDisposition
    {
        FileName = doc.FileName, 

        // Prompt the user for downloading; set to true if you want 
        // the browser to try to show the file 'inline' (display in-browser
        // without prompting to download file).  Set to false if you 
        // want to always prompt them to download the file.
        Inline = true, 
    };
    Response.AppendHeader("Content-Disposition", cd.ToString());

    // View document
    return File(doc.Data, doc.ContentType);
}

File Upload:

[HttpPost]
public ActionResult GetDocument(HttpPostedFileBase file)
{
    // Verify that the user selected a file
    if (file != null && file.ContentLength > 0)
    {
        // Get file info
        var fileName = Path.GetFileName(file.FileName);
        var contentLength = file.ContentLength;
        var contentType = file.ContentType;

        // Get file data
        byte[] data = new byte[] { };
        using (var binaryReader = new BinaryReader(file.InputStream))
        {
            data = binaryReader.ReadBytes(file.ContentLength);
        }

        // Save to database
        Document doc = new Document()
        {
            FileName = fileName,
            Data = data,
            ContentType = contentType,
            ContentLength = contentLength,
        };
        dataLayer.SaveDocument(doc);

        // Show success ...
        return RedirectToAction("Index");
    }
    else
    {
        // Show error ...
        return View("Foo");
    }
}

View (snippet):

@using (Html.BeginForm("GetDocument", "Home", FormMethod.Post, new { enctype = "multipart/form-data" }))
{
    <input type="file" name="file" />
    <input type="submit" value="Upload File" />
}
4
  • @kewal, dataLayer.GetDocument and dataLayer.SaveDocument are method calls specific to the project I'm working on. You will want to replace those with your own, to get and save to your own production database.
    – Lane
    Commented Nov 17, 2013 at 18:21
  • Hi! Your code looks work on mine but the Document doc = new Document() is error what reference should I add for this code? thx
    – user27
    Commented Jan 8, 2014 at 6:38
  • 1
    @Lane - database storage is usually more expensive than file system storage
    – Jogi
    Commented Mar 8, 2016 at 8:11
  • Is it possible not to use a form? I mean with a simple click of a normal button, can we send the file to the controller?
    – William
    Commented Apr 6, 2021 at 10:06
50

Often you want to pass a viewmodel also, and not the only one file. In the code below you'll find some other useful features:

  • checking if the file has been attached
  • checking if file size is 0
  • checking if file size is above 4 MB
  • checking if file size is less than 100 bytes
  • checking file extensions

It could be done via the following code:

[HttpPost]
public ActionResult Index(MyViewModel viewModel)
{
    // if file's content length is zero or no files submitted

    if (Request.Files.Count != 1 || Request.Files[0].ContentLength == 0)
    {
        ModelState.AddModelError("uploadError", "File's length is zero, or no files found");
        return View(viewModel);
    }

    // check the file size (max 4 Mb)

    if (Request.Files[0].ContentLength > 1024 * 1024 * 4)
    {
        ModelState.AddModelError("uploadError", "File size can't exceed 4 MB");
        return View(viewModel);
    }

    // check the file size (min 100 bytes)

    if (Request.Files[0].ContentLength < 100)
    {
        ModelState.AddModelError("uploadError", "File size is too small");
        return View(viewModel);
    }

    // check file extension

    string extension = Path.GetExtension(Request.Files[0].FileName).ToLower();

    if (extension != ".pdf" && extension != ".doc" && extension != ".docx" && extension != ".rtf" && extension != ".txt")
    {
        ModelState.AddModelError("uploadError", "Supported file extensions: pdf, doc, docx, rtf, txt");
        return View(viewModel);
    }

    // extract only the filename
    var fileName = Path.GetFileName(Request.Files[0].FileName);

    // store the file inside ~/App_Data/uploads folder
    var path = Path.Combine(Server.MapPath("~/App_Data/uploads"), fileName);

    try
    {
        if (System.IO.File.Exists(path))
            System.IO.File.Delete(path);

        Request.Files[0].SaveAs(path);
    }
    catch (Exception)
    {
        ModelState.AddModelError("uploadError", "Can't save file to disk");
    }

    if(ModelState.IsValid)
    {
        // put your logic here

        return View("Success");
    }

    return View(viewModel);         
}

Make sure you have

@Html.ValidationMessage("uploadError")

in your view for validation errors.

Also keep in mind that default maximum request length is 4MB (maxRequestLength = 4096), to upload larger files you have to change this parameter in web.config:

<system.web>
    <httpRuntime maxRequestLength="40960" executionTimeout="1100" />

(40960 = 40 MB here).

Execution timeout is the whole number of seconds. You may want to change it to allow huge files uploads.

2
  • @Roman Why do you use 1024 * 1024 * 4 instead of just using the result: 4194304?
    – numaroth
    Commented Jul 31, 2014 at 14:58
  • 9
    Because it's easier to read. 4194304 will be compiled right to the binary. So these the resulting binary is the same. Commented Jul 31, 2014 at 15:56
35

In the view:

<form action="Categories/Upload" enctype="multipart/form-data" method="post">
    <input type="file" name="Image">
    <input type="submit" value="Save">
</form>

while the following code in the controller:

public ActionResult Upload()
{
    foreach (string file in Request.Files)
    {
       var hpf = this.Request.Files[file];
       if (hpf.ContentLength == 0)
       {
            continue;
       }

       string savedFileName = Path.Combine(
                AppDomain.CurrentDomain.BaseDirectory, "PutYourUploadDirectoryHere");
                savedFileName = Path.Combine(savedFileName, Path.GetFileName(hpf.FileName));

        hpf.SaveAs(savedFileName);
    }

    ...
}
15

I have to upload file in 100 kb chunks of file and last of the upload file store in database using command. I hope, it will helpfull to you.

    public HttpResponseMessage Post(AttachmentUploadForm form)
    {
        var response = new WebApiResultResponse
        {
            IsSuccess = true,
            RedirectRequired = false
        };

        var tempFilesFolder = Sanelib.Common.SystemSettings.Globals.CreateOrGetCustomPath("Temp\\" + form.FileId);

        File.WriteAllText(tempFilesFolder + "\\" + form.ChunkNumber + ".temp", form.ChunkData);

        if (form.ChunkNumber < Math.Ceiling((double)form.Size / 102400)) return Content(response);

        var folderInfo = new DirectoryInfo(tempFilesFolder);
        var totalFiles = folderInfo.GetFiles().Length;

        var sb = new StringBuilder();

        for (var i = 1; i <= totalFiles; i++)
        {
            sb.Append(File.ReadAllText(tempFilesFolder + "\\" + i + ".temp"));
        }

        var base64 = sb.ToString();
        base64 = base64.Substring(base64.IndexOf(',') + 1);
        var fileBytes = Convert.FromBase64String(base64);
        var fileStream = new FileStream(tempFilesFolder + "\\" + form.Name, FileMode.OpenOrCreate, FileAccess.ReadWrite);
        fileStream.Seek(fileStream.Length, SeekOrigin.Begin);
        fileStream.Write(fileBytes, 0, fileBytes.Length);
        fileStream.Close();

        Directory.Delete(tempFilesFolder, true);

        var md5 = MD5.Create();

        var command = Mapper.Map<AttachmentUploadForm, AddAttachment>(form);
        command.FileData = fileBytes;
        command.FileHashCode = BitConverter.ToString(md5.ComputeHash(fileBytes)).Replace("-", "");

        return ExecuteCommand(command);
    }

Javascript (Knockout Js)

define(['util', 'ajax'], function (util, ajax) {
"use strict";

var exports = {},
     ViewModel, Attachment, FileObject;

//File Upload
FileObject = function (file, parent) {
    var self = this;
    self.fileId = util.guid();
    self.name = ko.observable(file.name);
    self.type = ko.observable(file.type);
    self.size = ko.observable();
    self.fileData = null;
    self.fileSize = ko.observable(file.size / 1024 / 1024);
    self.chunks = 0;
    self.currentChunk = ko.observable();

    var reader = new FileReader();

    // Closure to capture the file information.
    reader.onload = (function (e) {
        self.fileData = e.target.result;
        self.size(self.fileData.length);
        self.chunks = Math.ceil(self.size() / 102400);
        self.sendChunk(1);
    });

    reader.readAsDataURL(file);

    self.percentComplete = ko.computed(function () {
        return self.currentChunk() * 100 / self.chunks;
    }, self);

    self.cancel = function (record) {
        parent.uploads.remove(record);
    };

    self.sendChunk = function (number) {
        var start = (number - 1) * 102400;
        var end = number * 102400;
        self.currentChunk(number);
        var form = {
            fileId: self.fileId,
            name: self.name(),
            fileType: self.type(),
            Size: self.size(),
            FileSize: self.fileSize(),
            chunkNumber: number,
            chunkData: self.fileData.slice(start, end),
            entityTypeValue: parent.entityTypeValue,
            ReferenceId: parent.detail.id,
            ReferenceName: parent.detail.name
        };

        ajax.post('Attachment', JSON.stringify(form)).done(function (response) {
            if (number < self.chunks)
                self.sendChunk(number + 1);
            if (response.id != null) {
                parent.attachments.push(new Attachment(response));
                self.cancel(response);
            }
        });
    };
};

Attachment = function (data) {
    var self = this;
    self.id = ko.observable(data.id);
    self.name = ko.observable(data.name);
    self.fileType = ko.observable(data.fileType);
    self.fileSize = ko.observable(data.fileSize);
    self.fileData = ko.observable(data.fileData);
    self.typeName = ko.observable(data.typeName);
    self.description = ko.observable(data.description).revertable();
    self.tags = ko.observable(data.tags).revertable();
    self.operationTime = ko.observable(moment(data.createdOn).format('MM-DD-YYYY HH:mm:ss'));

    self.description.subscribe(function () {
        var form = {
            Id: self.id(),
            Description: self.description(),
            Tags: self.tags()
        };

        ajax.put('attachment', JSON.stringify(form)).done(function (response) {
            self.description.commit();
            return;
        }).fail(function () {
            self.description.revert();
        });
    });

    self.tags.subscribe(function () {
        var form = {
            Id: self.id(),
            Description: self.description(),
            Tags: self.tags()
        };

        ajax.put('attachment', JSON.stringify(form)).done(function (response) {
            self.tags.commit();
            return;
        }).fail(function () {
            self.tags.revert();
        });
    });
};

ViewModel = function (data) {
    var self = this;

    // for attachment
    self.attachments = ko.observableArray([]);
    $.each(data.attachments, function (row, val) {
        self.attachments.push(new Attachment(val));
    });

    self.deleteAttachmentRecord = function (record) {
        if (!confirm("Are you sure you want to delete this record?")) return;
        ajax.del('attachment', record.id(), { async: false }).done(function () {
            self.attachments.remove(record);
            return;
        });
    };


exports.exec = function (model) {
    console.log(model);
    var viewModel = new ViewModel(model);
    ko.applyBindings(viewModel, document.getElementById('ShowAuditDiv'));
};

return exports;
});

HTML Code:

<div class="row-fluid spacer-bottom fileDragHolder">
    <div class="spacer-bottom"></div>
    <div class="legend">
        Attachments<div class="pull-right">@Html.AttachmentPicker("AC")</div>
    </div>
    <div>
        <div class="row-fluid spacer-bottom">
            <div style="overflow: auto">
                <table class="table table-bordered table-hover table-condensed" data-bind="visible: uploads().length > 0 || attachments().length > 0">
                    <thead>
                        <tr>
                            <th class=" btn btn-primary col-md-2" style="text-align: center">
                                Name
                            </th>
                            <th class="btn btn-primary col-md-1" style="text-align: center">Type</th>
                            <th class="btn btn-primary col-md-1" style="text-align: center">Size (MB)</th>
                            <th class="btn btn-primary col-md-1" style="text-align: center">Upload Time</th>
                            <th class="btn btn-primary col-md-1" style="text-align: center">Tags</th>
                            <th class="btn btn-primary col-md-6" style="text-align: center">Description</th>
                            <th class="btn btn-primary col-md-1" style="text-align: center">Delete</th>
                        </tr>
                    </thead>
                    <tbody>
                        <!-- ko foreach: attachments -->
                        <tr>
                            <td style="text-align: center" class="col-xs-2"><a href="#" data-bind="text: name,attr:{'href':'/attachment/index?id=' + id()}"></a></td>
                            <td style="text-align: center" class="col-xs-1"><span data-bind="text: fileType"></span></td>
                            <td style="text-align: center" class="col-xs-1"><span data-bind="text: fileSize"></span></td>
                            <td style="text-align: center" class="col-xs-2"><span data-bind="text: operationTime"></span></td>
                            <td style="text-align: center" class="col-xs-3"><div contenteditable="true" data-bind="editableText: tags"></div></td>
                            <td style="text-align: center" class="col-xs-4"><div contenteditable="true" data-bind="editableText: description"></div></td>
                            <td style="text-align: center" class="col-xs-1"><button class="btn btn-primary" data-bind="click:$root.deleteAttachmentRecord"><i class="icon-trash"></i></button></td>
                        </tr>
                        <!-- /ko -->
                    </tbody>
                    <tfoot data-bind="visible: uploads().length > 0">
                        <tr>
                            <th colspan="6">Files upload status</th>
                        </tr>
                        <tr>
                            <th>Name</th>
                            <th>Type</th>
                            <th>Size (MB)</th>
                            <th colspan="2">Status</th>
                            <th></th>
                        </tr>
                        <!-- ko foreach: uploads -->
                        <tr>
                            <td><span data-bind="text: name"></span></td>
                            <td><span data-bind="text: type"></span></td>
                            <td><span data-bind="text: fileSize"></span></td>
                            <td colspan="2">
                                <div class="progress">
                                    <div class="progress-bar" data-bind="style: { width: percentComplete() + '%' }"></div>
                                </div>
                            </td>
                            <td style="text-align: center"><button class="btn btn-primary" data-bind="click:cancel"><i class="icon-trash"></i></button></td>
                        </tr>
                        <!-- /ko -->
                    </tfoot>
                </table>
            </div>
            <div data-bind="visible: attachments().length == 0" class="span12" style="margin-left:0">
                <span>No Records found.</span>
            </div>
        </div>
10

How i do mine is pretty much as above ill show you my code and how to use it with a MYSSQL DB...

Document table in DB -

int Id ( PK ), string Url, string Description, CreatedBy, TenancyId DateUploaded

The above code ID, being the Primary key, URL being the name of the file ( with file type on the end ), file description to ouput on documents view, CreatedBy being who uploaded the file, tenancyId, dateUploaded

inside the view you must define the enctype or it will not work correctly.

@using (Html.BeginForm("Upload", "Document", FormMethod.Post, new { enctype = "multipart/form-data" }))
{
<div class="input-group">
    <label for="file">Upload a document:</label>
    <input type="file" name="file" id="file" />
</div>
}

The above code will give you the browse button, then inside my project I have a class basically called IsValidImage which just checks the filesize is under your specified max size, checks if its an IMG file, this is all in a class bool function. So if true returns true.

public static bool IsValidImage(HttpPostedFileBase file, double maxFileSize, ModelState ms )
{
    // make sur the file isnt null.
    if( file == null )
        return false;

// the param I normally set maxFileSize is 10MB  10 * 1024 * 1024 = 10485760 bytes converted is 10mb
var max = maxFileSize * 1024 * 1024;

// check if the filesize is above our defined MAX size.
if( file.ContentLength > max )
    return false;

try
{
    // define our allowed image formats
    var allowedFormats = new[] { ImageFormat.Jpeg, ImageFormat.Png, ImageFormat.Gif, ImageFormat.Bmp };

    // Creates an Image from the specified data stream.      
    using (var img = Image.FromStream(file.InputStream))
    {
        // Return true if the image format is allowed
        return allowedFormats.Contains(img.RawFormat);
    }
}
catch( Exception ex )
{
    ms.AddModelError( "", ex.Message );                 
}
return false;   
}

So in the controller:

if (!Code.Picture.IsValidUpload(model.File, 10, true))
{                
    return View(model);
}

// Set the file name up... Being random guid, and then todays time in ticks. Then add the file extension
// to the end of the file name
var dbPath = Guid.NewGuid().ToString() + DateTime.UtcNow.Ticks + Path.GetExtension(model.File.FileName);

// Combine the two paths together being the location on the server to store it
// then the actual file name and extension.
var path = Path.Combine(Server.MapPath("~/Uploads/Documents/"), dbPath);

// set variable as Parent directory I do this to make sure the path exists if not
// I will create the directory.
var directoryInfo = new FileInfo(path).Directory;

if (directoryInfo != null)
    directoryInfo.Create();

// save the document in the combined path.
model.File.SaveAs(path);

// then add the data to the database
_db.Documents.Add(new Document
{
    TenancyId = model.SelectedTenancy,
    FileUrl = dbPath,
    FileDescription = model.Description,
    CreatedBy = loggedInAs,
    CreatedDate = DateTime.UtcNow,
    UpdatedDate = null,
    CanTenantView = true
});

_db.SaveChanges();
model.Successfull = true;
10
public ActionResult FileUpload(upload mRegister) {
    //Check server side validation using data annotation
    if (ModelState.IsValid) {
        //TO:DO
        var fileName = Path.GetFileName(mRegister.file.FileName);
        var path = Path.Combine(Server.MapPath("~/Content/Upload"), fileName);
        mRegister.file.SaveAs(path);

        ViewBag.Message = "File has been uploaded successfully";
        ModelState.Clear();
    }
    return View();
}
10

Giving complete Solution

First use input in .CShtml in MVC View

<input type="file" id="UploadImg" /></br>
<img id="imgPreview" height="200" width="200" />

Now call Ajax call

  $("#UploadImg").change(function () {
    var data = new FormData();
    var files = $("#UploadImg").get(0).files;
    if (files.length > 0) {
        data.append("MyImages", files[0]);
    }

    $.ajax({
        // url: "Controller/ActionMethod"
        url: "/SignUp/UploadFile",
        type: "POST",
        processData: false,
        contentType: false,
        data: data,
        success: function (response)
        {
            //code after success
            $("#UploadPhoto").val(response);
            $("#imgPreview").attr('src', '/Upload/' + response);
        },
        error: function (er) {
            //alert(er);
        }

    });
});

Controller Json Call

[HttpGet]
public JsonResult UploadFile()
    {
        string _imgname = string.Empty;
        if (System.Web.HttpContext.Current.Request.Files.AllKeys.Any())
        {
            var pic = System.Web.HttpContext.Current.Request.Files["MyImages"];
            if (pic.ContentLength > 0)
            {
                var fileName = Path.GetFileName(pic.FileName);
                var _ext = Path.GetExtension(pic.FileName);

                _imgname = Guid.NewGuid().ToString();
                var _comPath = Server.MapPath("/MyFolder") + _imgname + _ext;
                _imgname = "img_" + _imgname + _ext;

                ViewBag.Msg = _comPath;
                var path = _comPath;
                tblAssignment assign = new tblAssignment();
                assign.Uploaded_Path = "/MyFolder" + _imgname + _ext;
                // Saving Image in Original Mode
                pic.SaveAs(path);
            }
        }
        return Json(Convert.ToString(_imgname), JsonRequestBehavior.AllowGet);
    }
2
  • what this Controller??
    – Dorath
    Commented Jun 22, 2016 at 18:56
  • 1
    check now Json method UploadFile, amended method
    – Anjan Kant
    Commented Jun 23, 2016 at 10:39
7

I am giving you the simple and easy method to understand and learn.

First you have to write the following code in your .Cshtml file.

<input name="Image" type="file" class="form-control" id="resume" />

then in your controller put following code:

if (i > 0) {
    HttpPostedFileBase file = Request.Files["Image"];


    if (file != null && file.ContentLength > 0) {
        if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(file.FileName)) {
            string extension = Path.GetExtension(file.FileName);

            switch ((extension.ToLower())) {
                case ".doc":
                    break;
                case ".docx":
                    break;
                case ".pdf":
                    break;
                default:
                    ViewBag.result = "Please attach file with extension .doc , .docx , .pdf";
                    return View();
            }

            if (!Directory.Exists(Server.MapPath("~") + "\\Resume\\")) {
                System.IO.Directory.CreateDirectory(Server.MapPath("~") + "\\Resume\\");
            }

            string documentpath = Server.MapPath("~") + "\\Resume\\" + i + "_" + file.FileName;
            file.SaveAs(documentpath);
            string filename = i + "_" + file.FileName;
            result = _objbalResume.UpdateResume(filename, i);
            Attachment at = new Attachment(documentpath);

            //ViewBag.result = (ans == true ? "Thanks for contacting us.We will reply as soon as possible" : "There is some problem. Please try again later.");
        }
    } else {
        ...
    }
}

For this you have to make BAL and DAL layer as per your Database.

3

Here is my working example:

[HttpPost]
    [ValidateAntiForgeryToken]
    public async Task<ActionResult> Create(Product product, HttpPostedFileBase file)
    {
        if (!ModelState.IsValid)
            return PartialView("Create", product);
        if (file != null)
        {

            var fileName = Path.GetFileName(file.FileName);
            var guid = Guid.NewGuid().ToString();
            var path = Path.Combine(Server.MapPath("~/Content/Uploads/ProductImages"), guid + fileName);
            file.SaveAs(path);
            string fl = path.Substring(path.LastIndexOf("\\"));
            string[] split = fl.Split('\\');
            string newpath = split[1];
            string imagepath = "Content/Uploads/ProductImages/" + newpath;
            using (MemoryStream ms = new MemoryStream())
            {
                file.InputStream.CopyTo(ms);
                byte[] array = ms.GetBuffer();
            }
            var nId = Guid.NewGuid().ToString();
            // Save record to database
            product.Id = nId;
            product.State = 1;
            product.ImagePath = imagepath;
            product.CreatedAt = DateTime.Now;
            db.Products.Add(product);
            await db.SaveChangesAsync();
            TempData["message"] = "ProductCreated";

            //return RedirectToAction("Index", product);
        }
        // after successfully uploading redirect the user
        return Json(new { success = true });
    }
3

please pay attention this code for upload image only. I use HTMLHelper for upload image. in cshtml file put this code

@using (Html.BeginForm("UploadImageAction", "Admin", FormMethod.Post, new { enctype = "multipart/form-data", id = "myUploadForm" }))
{
    <div class="controls">
       @Html.UploadFile("UploadImage")
    </div>
     <button class="button">Upload Image</button>
}

then create a HTMLHelper for Upload tag

public static class UploadHelper
{
public static MvcHtmlString UploadFile(this HtmlHelper helper, string name, object htmlAttributes = null)
{
    TagBuilder input = new TagBuilder("input");
    input.Attributes.Add("type", "file");
    input.Attributes.Add("id", helper.ViewData.TemplateInfo.GetFullHtmlFieldId(name));
    input.Attributes.Add("name", helper.ViewData.TemplateInfo.GetFullHtmlFieldName(name));

    if (htmlAttributes != null)
    {
        var attributes = HtmlHelper.AnonymousObjectToHtmlAttributes(htmlAttributes);
        input.MergeAttributes(attributes);
    }

    return new MvcHtmlString(input.ToString());
   }
}

and finally in Action Upload your file

        [AjaxOnly]
        [HttpPost]
        public ActionResult UploadImageAction(HttpPostedFileBase UploadImage)
        {
           string path = Server.MapPath("~") + "Files\\UploadImages\\" + UploadImage.FileName;
           System.Drawing.Image img = new Bitmap(UploadImage.InputStream);    
           img.Save(path);

           return View();
        }
3
MemoryStream.GetBuffer() can return extra empty bytes at the end of the byte[], but you can fix that by using MemoryStream.ToArray() instead. However, I found this alternative to work perfectly for all file types:

using (var binaryReader = new BinaryReader(file.InputStream))
{
    byte[] array = binaryReader.ReadBytes(file.ContentLength);
}
Here's my full code:

Document Class:

public class Document
{
    public int? DocumentID { get; set; }
    public string FileName { get; set; }
    public byte[] Data { get; set; }
    public string ContentType { get; set; }
    public int? ContentLength { get; set; }

    public Document()
    {
        DocumentID = 0;
        FileName = "New File";
        Data = new byte[] { };
        ContentType = "";
        ContentLength = 0;
    }
}
File Download:

[HttpGet]
public ActionResult GetDocument(int? documentID)
{
    // Get document from database
    var doc = dataLayer.GetDocument(documentID);

    // Convert to ContentDisposition
    var cd = new System.Net.Mime.ContentDisposition
    {
        FileName = doc.FileName, 

        // Prompt the user for downloading; set to true if you want 
        // the browser to try to show the file 'inline' (display in-browser
        // without prompting to download file).  Set to false if you 
        // want to always prompt them to download the file.
        Inline = true, 
    };
    Response.AppendHeader("Content-Disposition", cd.ToString());

    // View document
    return File(doc.Data, doc.ContentType);
}
File Upload:

[HttpPost]
public ActionResult GetDocument(HttpPostedFileBase file)
{
    // Verify that the user selected a file
    if (file != null && file.ContentLength > 0)
    {
        // Get file info
        var fileName = Path.GetFileName(file.FileName);
        var contentLength = file.ContentLength;
        var contentType = file.ContentType;

        // Get file data
        byte[] data = new byte[] { };
        using (var binaryReader = new BinaryReader(file.InputStream))
        {
            data = binaryReader.ReadBytes(file.ContentLength);
        }

        // Save to database
        Document doc = new Document()
        {
            FileName = fileName,
            Data = data,
            ContentType = contentType,
            ContentLength = contentLength,
        };
        dataLayer.SaveDocument(doc);

        // Show success ...
        return RedirectToAction("Index");
    }
    else
    {
        // Show error ...
        return View("Foo");
    }
}
View (snippet):

@using (Html.BeginForm("GetDocument", "Home", FormMethod.Post, new { enctype = "multipart/form-data" }))
{
    <input type="file" name="file" />
    <input type="submit" value="Upload File" />
}
3

Simple way to save multiple files

cshtml

@using (Html.BeginForm("Index","Home",FormMethod.Post,new { enctype = "multipart/form-data" }))
{
    <label for="file">Upload Files:</label>
    <input type="file" multiple name="files" id="files" /><br><br>
    <input type="submit" value="Upload Files" />
    <br><br>
    @ViewBag.Message
}

Controller

[HttpPost]
        public ActionResult Index(HttpPostedFileBase[] files)
        {
            foreach (HttpPostedFileBase file in files)
            {
                if (file != null && file.ContentLength > 0)
                    try
                    {
                        string path = Path.Combine(Server.MapPath("~/Files"), Path.GetFileName(file.FileName));
                        file.SaveAs(path);
                        ViewBag.Message = "File uploaded successfully";
                    }
                    catch (Exception ex)
                    {
                        ViewBag.Message = "ERROR:" + ex.Message.ToString();
                    }

                else
                {
                    ViewBag.Message = "You have not specified a file.";
                }
            }
            return View();
        }
3

Since i have found issue uploading file in IE browser i would suggest to handle it like this.

View

@using (Html.BeginForm("UploadFile", "Home", FormMethod.Post, new { enctype = "multipart/form-data" }))
{
    <input type="file" name="file" />
    <input type="submit" value="Submit" />
}

Controller

public class HomeController : Controller
{
    public ActionResult UploadFile()
    {
        return View();
    }

    [HttpPost]
    public ActionResult UploadFile(MyModal Modal)
    {
            string DocumentName = string.Empty;
            string Description = string.Empty;

            if (!String.IsNullOrEmpty(Request.Form["DocumentName"].ToString()))
                DocumentName = Request.Form["DocumentName"].ToString();
            if (!String.IsNullOrEmpty(Request.Form["Description"].ToString()))
                Description = Request.Form["Description"].ToString();

            if (!String.IsNullOrEmpty(Request.Form["FileName"].ToString()))
                UploadedDocument = Request.Form["FileName"].ToString();

            HttpFileCollectionBase files = Request.Files;

            string filePath = Server.MapPath("~/Root/Documents/");
            if (!(Directory.Exists(filePath)))
                Directory.CreateDirectory(filePath);
            for (int i = 0; i < files.Count; i++)
            {
                HttpPostedFileBase file = files[i];
                // Checking for Internet Explorer  
                if (Request.Browser.Browser.ToUpper() == "IE" || Request.Browser.Browser.ToUpper() == "INTERNETEXPLORER")
                {
                    string[] testfiles = file.FileName.Split(new char[] { '\\' });
                    fname = testfiles[testfiles.Length - 1];
                    UploadedDocument = fname;
                }
                else
                {
                    fname = file.FileName;
                    UploadedDocument = file.FileName;
                }
                file.SaveAs(fname);
                return RedirectToAction("List", "Home");
}
3

file upload using formdata

.cshtml file

     var files = $("#file").get(0).files;
     if (files.length > 0) {
                data.append("filekey", files[0]);}


   $.ajax({
            url: '@Url.Action("ActionName", "ControllerName")', type: "POST", processData: false,
            data: data, dataType: 'json',
            contentType: false,
            success: function (data) {
                var response=data.JsonData;               
            },
            error: function (er) { }

        });

Server side code

if (System.Web.HttpContext.Current.Request.Files.AllKeys.Any())
                {
                    var pic = System.Web.HttpContext.Current.Request.Files["filekey"];
                    HttpPostedFileBase filebase = new HttpPostedFileWrapper(pic);
                    var fileName = Path.GetFileName(filebase.FileName);


                    string fileExtension = System.IO.Path.GetExtension(fileName);

                    if (fileExtension == ".xls" || fileExtension == ".xlsx")
                    {
                        string FileName = Guid.NewGuid().GetHashCode().ToString("x");
                        string dirLocation = Server.MapPath("~/Content/PacketExcel/");
                        if (!Directory.Exists(dirLocation))
                        {
                            Directory.CreateDirectory(dirLocation);
                        }
                        string fileLocation = Server.MapPath("~/Content/PacketExcel/") + FileName + fileExtension;
                        filebase.SaveAs(fileLocation);
}
}
1

Html:

@using (Html.BeginForm("StoreMyCompany", "MyCompany", FormMethod.Post, new { id = "formMyCompany", enctype = "multipart/form-data" }))
{
   <div class="form-group">
      @Html.LabelFor(model => model.modelMyCompany.Logo, htmlAttributes: new { @class = "control-label col-md-3" })
      <div class="col-md-6">
        <input type="file" name="Logo" id="fileUpload" accept=".png,.jpg,.jpeg,.gif,.tif" />
      </div>
    </div>

    <br />
    <div class="form-group">
          <div class="col-md-offset-3 col-md-6">
              <input type="submit" value="Save" class="btn btn-success" />
          </div>
     </div>
}  

Code Behind:

public ActionResult StoreMyCompany([Bind(Exclude = "Logo")]MyCompanyVM model)
{
    try
    {        
        byte[] imageData = null;
        if (Request.Files.Count > 0)
        {
            HttpPostedFileBase objFiles = Request.Files["Logo"];

            using (var binaryReader = new BinaryReader(objFiles.InputStream))
            {
                imageData = binaryReader.ReadBytes(objFiles.ContentLength);
            }
        }

        if (imageData != null && imageData.Length > 0)
        {
           //Your code
        }

        dbo.SaveChanges();

        return RedirectToAction("MyCompany", "Home");

    }
    catch (Exception ex)
    {
        Utility.LogError(ex);
    }

    return View();
}
1

Checkout my solution

public string SaveFile(HttpPostedFileBase uploadfile, string saveInDirectory="/", List<string> acceptedExtention =null)
{
    acceptedExtention = acceptedExtention ?? new List<String>() {".png", ".Jpeg"};//optional arguments

    var extension = Path.GetExtension(uploadfile.FileName).ToLower();

    if (!acceptedExtention.Contains(extension))
    {
        throw new UserFriendlyException("Unsupported File type");
    }
    var tempPath = GenerateDocumentPath(uploadfile.FileName, saveInDirectory);
    FileHelper.DeleteIfExists(tempPath);
    uploadfile.SaveAs(tempPath);

    var fileName = Path.GetFileName(tempPath);
    return fileName;
}

private string GenerateDocumentPath(string fileName, string saveInDirectory)
{
    System.IO.Directory.CreateDirectory(Server.MapPath($"~/{saveInDirectory}"));
    return Path.Combine(Server.MapPath($"~/{saveInDirectory}"), Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension(fileName) +"_"+ DateTime.Now.Ticks + Path.GetExtension(fileName));
}

add these functions in your base controller so you can use them in all controllers

checkout how to use it

SaveFile(view.PassportPicture,acceptedExtention:new List<String>() { ".png", ".Jpeg"},saveInDirectory: "content/img/PassportPicture");

and here is a full example

[HttpPost]
public async Task<JsonResult> CreateUserThenGenerateToken(CreateUserViewModel view)
{// CreateUserViewModel contain two properties of type HttpPostedFileBase  
    string passportPicture = null, profilePicture = null;
    if (view.PassportPicture != null)
    {
        passportPicture = SaveFile(view.PassportPicture,acceptedExtention:new List<String>() { ".png", ".Jpeg"},saveInDirectory: "content/img/PassportPicture");
    }
    if (view.ProfilePicture != null)
    {
        profilePicture = SaveFile(yourHttpPostedFileBase, acceptedExtention: new List<String>() { ".png", ".Jpeg" }, saveInDirectory: "content/img/ProfilePicture");
    }
    var input = view.MapTo<CreateUserInput>();
    input.PassportPicture = passportPicture;
    input.ProfilePicture = profilePicture;


    var getUserOutput = await _userAppService.CreateUserThenGenerateToken(input);
    return new AbpJsonResult(getUserOutput);
    //return Json(new AjaxResponse() { Result = getUserOutput, Success = true });

}
1
  • what about, form if you had to send date, and text with upload file Commented Dec 13, 2018 at 5:26
1

In Controller

 if (MyModal.ImageFile != null)
                    {
                        MyModal.ImageURL = string.Format("{0}.{1}", Guid.NewGuid().ToString(), MyModal.ImageFile.FileName.Split('.').LastOrDefault());
                        if (MyModal.ImageFile != null)
                        {
                            var path = Path.Combine(Server.MapPath("~/Content/uploads/"), MyModal.ImageURL);
                            MyModal.ImageFile.SaveAs(path);
                        }
                    }

In View

<input type="hidden" value="" name="..."><input id="ImageFile" type="file" name="ImageFile" src="@Model.ImageURL">

In Modal Class

 public HttpPostedFileBase ImageFile { get; set; }

Create a folder as uploads in Content folder in project

1

Most of the answers seems legit enough although I did a sample project for you on donnetfiddle

I'm using LumenWorks.Framework for CSV work but its not a must have.

Demo

View

            @using (Html.BeginForm("Index", "Home", "POST")) 

            {
                <div class="form-group">

                        <label for="file">Upload Files:</label>
                        <input type="file" multiple name="files" id="files" class="form-control"/><br><br>
                        <input type="submit" value="Upload Files" class="form-control"/>
                </div>

Controller:

    [HttpPost]
    public ActionResult Index(HttpPostedFileBase upload)
    {
        if (ModelState.IsValid)
        {
            if (upload != null && upload.ContentLength > 0)
            {
                // Validation content length 
                if (upload.FileName.EndsWith(".csv") || upload.FileName.EndsWith(".CSV"))
                {
                    //extention validation 
                    ViewBag.Result = "Correct File Uploaded";
                }
            }
        }

        return View();
    }
1

I have faced this same error while i am doing file uploading concept. I know lot of answer provided by developers for this question.

Even though why i am answering to this question is, have got this error by the below mentioned inattentive mistake.

<input type="file" name="uploadedFile" />

While giving name attribute make sure that your controller parameter are also having the same name value "uploadedFile". Like this :

   [HttpPost]
            public ActionResult FileUpload(HttpPostedFileBase uploadedFile)
            {

            }

otherwise it won't get mapped.

1

If you happen to stumble here like me and wondering that in spite the right code why still your code is not working. Then please look for name attribute in input control which you might have accidentally missed or never bothered to keep it in the first place.

<input class="custom-file-input" name="UploadFile" id="UploadFile" type="file" onchange="ValidateFile(this);" accept=".xls, .xlsx">
                             
0

if anyone looking for multiple file upload with Ajax then , here is my article on this Multiple file upload with Ajax in Asp.Net MVC

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