John Davidson

Message:

I've recently started working on an Image Upload web application in PHP, and I plan on sending an $_FILES variable to another form, after being taken from a previous form.

For example:
form1 has an <input type="file" name="image">. After that,
form2 takes it using $_FILES['image'] and wants to send it to form3 via $_SESSION['image'] = $_FILES['image'].

The problem is, after I try to move_uploaded_file() using that session variable, the file isn't moved into the directory. My upload directory (in which I store all the images) is empty.

That's how I tried moving the file:

$file = "upload/".$link.".".pathinfo($_SESSION['file']['name'], PATHINFO_EXTENSION);

move_uploaded_file($_SESSION['file']['tmp_name'], $file);

Don't worry about $link. That's just some "key" I use in my links (a way to auto-generate the links).

I also tried declaring another $_FILES variable and assigning it the value of $_SESSION['file'], and then use it in move_uploaded_file(), but still didn't work.

My question is: is it possible to correctly pass a $_FILES variable to $_SESSION? If yes, how does it come that it doesn't work in my case. What did I do wrong?

If you need more code and (or) information, feel free to leave a comment and I'll provide it to you as soon as possible.

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My Answer:
It is not recommended to store the $_FILES variable in the $_SESSION variable as it can lead to security vulnerabilities and potential issues with file uploads. Instead, you should store the file path or other necessary information in the $_SESSION variable and then use that information to move the uploaded file.

Here is an example of how you can achieve this:

In form1, after the file is uploaded, store the file path in the $_SESSION variable:

php
$_SESSION['image_path'] = 'upload/' . $link . '.' . pathinfo($_FILES['image']['name'], PATHINFO_EXTENSION);


Then, in form2, retrieve the file path from the $_SESSION variable and use it to move the uploaded file:

php
$file = $_SESSION['image_path'];
move_uploaded_file($_FILES['image']['tmp_name'], $file);


This way, you are not storing the entire $_FILES variable in the $_SESSION variable, but just the necessary information to move the uploaded file. This should help resolve the issue you are facing with moving the file to the upload directory.