Implementing a file upload under html is fairly simple, but I just noticed that there is an 'accept' attribute that can be added to the <input type="file" ...> tag.
Is this attribute useful as a way of limiting file uploads to images, etc? What is the best way to use it?
Alternatively, is there a way to limit file types, preferably in the file dialog, for an html file input tag?
This question is related to
html
filter
cross-browser
mime-types
Back in 2008 this wasn't important because of the lack of mobile OS'es but now quite important thing.
When you set accepted mime types, then in for example Android user is given system dialog with apps which can provide him the content of mime which file input accepts, what is great because navigating through files in file explorer on mobile devices is slow and often stressful.
One important thing is that some mobile browsers (based on Android version of Chrome 36 and Chrome Beta 37) does not support app filtering over extension(s) and multiple mime types.
Accept attribute was introduced in the RFC 1867, intending to enable file-type filtering based on MIME type for the file-select control. But as of 2008, most, if not all, browsers make no use of this attribute. Using client-side scripting, you can make a sort of extension based validation, for submit data of correct type (extension).
Other solutions for advanced file uploading require Flash movies like SWFUpload or Java Applets like JUpload.
If the browser uses this attribute, it is only as an help for the user, so he won't upload a multi-megabyte file just to see it rejected by the server...
Same for the <input type="hidden" name="MAX_FILE_SIZE" value="100000"> tag: if the browser uses it, it won't send the file but an error resulting in UPLOAD_ERR_FORM_SIZE (2) error in PHP (not sure how it is handled in other languages).
Note these are helps for the user. Of course, the server must always check the type and size of the file on its end: it is easy to tamper with these values on the client side.
Back in 2008 this wasn't important because of the lack of mobile OS'es but now quite important thing.
When you set accepted mime types, then in for example Android user is given system dialog with apps which can provide him the content of mime which file input accepts, what is great because navigating through files in file explorer on mobile devices is slow and often stressful.
One important thing is that some mobile browsers (based on Android version of Chrome 36 and Chrome Beta 37) does not support app filtering over extension(s) and multiple mime types.
In 2015 the only way I found to make it work for both Chrome and Firefox is to put all possible extensions you want to support, including variants (including the dot in front !):
accept=".jpeg, .jpg, .jpe, .jfif, .jif"
Problem with Firefox: Using the image/jpeg mime type Firefox will only show .jpg files, very strange as if the common .jpeg was not ok...
Whatever you do, be sure to try with files having many different extensions.
Maybe it even depends on the OS ... I suppose accept is case insensitive, but maybe not in every browser.
Here is the MDN docs about accept:
accept If the value of the type attribute is file, then this attribute will indicate the types of files that the server accepts, otherwise it will be ignored. The value must be a comma-separated list of unique content type specifiers:
A file extension starting with the STOP character (U+002E). (e.g. .jpg, .png, .doc). A valid MIME type with no extensions. audio/* representing sound files. HTML5 video/* representing video files. HTML5 image/* representing image files. HTML5
Yes, it is extremely useful in browsers that support it, but the "limiting" is as a convenience to users (so they are not overwhelmed with irrelevant files) rather than as a way to prevent them from uploading things you don't want them uploading.
It is supported in
Here is a list of content types you can use with it, followed by the corresponding file extensions (though of course you can use any file extension):
application/envoy evy
application/fractals fif
application/futuresplash spl
application/hta hta
application/internet-property-stream acx
application/mac-binhex40 hqx
application/msword doc
application/msword dot
application/octet-stream *
application/octet-stream bin
application/octet-stream class
application/octet-stream dms
application/octet-stream exe
application/octet-stream lha
application/octet-stream lzh
application/oda oda
application/olescript axs
application/pdf pdf
application/pics-rules prf
application/pkcs10 p10
application/pkix-crl crl
application/postscript ai
application/postscript eps
application/postscript ps
application/rtf rtf
application/set-payment-initiation setpay
application/set-registration-initiation setreg
application/vnd.ms-excel xla
application/vnd.ms-excel xlc
application/vnd.ms-excel xlm
application/vnd.ms-excel xls
application/vnd.ms-excel xlt
application/vnd.ms-excel xlw
application/vnd.ms-outlook msg
application/vnd.ms-pkicertstore sst
application/vnd.ms-pkiseccat cat
application/vnd.ms-pkistl stl
application/vnd.ms-powerpoint pot
application/vnd.ms-powerpoint pps
application/vnd.ms-powerpoint ppt
application/vnd.ms-project mpp
application/vnd.ms-works wcm
application/vnd.ms-works wdb
application/vnd.ms-works wks
application/vnd.ms-works wps
application/winhlp hlp
application/x-bcpio bcpio
application/x-cdf cdf
application/x-compress z
application/x-compressed tgz
application/x-cpio cpio
application/x-csh csh
application/x-director dcr
application/x-director dir
application/x-director dxr
application/x-dvi dvi
application/x-gtar gtar
application/x-gzip gz
application/x-hdf hdf
application/x-internet-signup ins
application/x-internet-signup isp
application/x-iphone iii
application/x-javascript js
application/x-latex latex
application/x-msaccess mdb
application/x-mscardfile crd
application/x-msclip clp
application/x-msdownload dll
application/x-msmediaview m13
application/x-msmediaview m14
application/x-msmediaview mvb
application/x-msmetafile wmf
application/x-msmoney mny
application/x-mspublisher pub
application/x-msschedule scd
application/x-msterminal trm
application/x-mswrite wri
application/x-netcdf cdf
application/x-netcdf nc
application/x-perfmon pma
application/x-perfmon pmc
application/x-perfmon pml
application/x-perfmon pmr
application/x-perfmon pmw
application/x-pkcs12 p12
application/x-pkcs12 pfx
application/x-pkcs7-certificates p7b
application/x-pkcs7-certificates spc
application/x-pkcs7-certreqresp p7r
application/x-pkcs7-mime p7c
application/x-pkcs7-mime p7m
application/x-pkcs7-signature p7s
application/x-sh sh
application/x-shar shar
application/x-shockwave-flash swf
application/x-stuffit sit
application/x-sv4cpio sv4cpio
application/x-sv4crc sv4crc
application/x-tar tar
application/x-tcl tcl
application/x-tex tex
application/x-texinfo texi
application/x-texinfo texinfo
application/x-troff roff
application/x-troff t
application/x-troff tr
application/x-troff-man man
application/x-troff-me me
application/x-troff-ms ms
application/x-ustar ustar
application/x-wais-source src
application/x-x509-ca-cert cer
application/x-x509-ca-cert crt
application/x-x509-ca-cert der
application/ynd.ms-pkipko pko
application/zip zip
audio/basic au
audio/basic snd
audio/mid mid
audio/mid rmi
audio/mpeg mp3
audio/x-aiff aif
audio/x-aiff aifc
audio/x-aiff aiff
audio/x-mpegurl m3u
audio/x-pn-realaudio ra
audio/x-pn-realaudio ram
audio/x-wav wav
image/bmp bmp
image/cis-cod cod
image/gif gif
image/ief ief
image/jpeg jpe
image/jpeg jpeg
image/jpeg jpg
image/pipeg jfif
image/svg+xml svg
image/tiff tif
image/tiff tiff
image/x-cmu-raster ras
image/x-cmx cmx
image/x-icon ico
image/x-portable-anymap pnm
image/x-portable-bitmap pbm
image/x-portable-graymap pgm
image/x-portable-pixmap ppm
image/x-rgb rgb
image/x-xbitmap xbm
image/x-xpixmap xpm
image/x-xwindowdump xwd
message/rfc822 mht
message/rfc822 mhtml
message/rfc822 nws
text/css css
text/h323 323
text/html htm
text/html html
text/html stm
text/iuls uls
text/plain bas
text/plain c
text/plain h
text/plain txt
text/richtext rtx
text/scriptlet sct
text/tab-separated-values tsv
text/webviewhtml htt
text/x-component htc
text/x-setext etx
text/x-vcard vcf
video/mpeg mp2
video/mpeg mpa
video/mpeg mpe
video/mpeg mpeg
video/mpeg mpg
video/mpeg mpv2
video/quicktime mov
video/quicktime qt
video/x-la-asf lsf
video/x-la-asf lsx
video/x-ms-asf asf
video/x-ms-asf asr
video/x-ms-asf asx
video/x-msvideo avi
video/x-sgi-movie movie
x-world/x-vrml flr
x-world/x-vrml vrml
x-world/x-vrml wrl
x-world/x-vrml wrz
x-world/x-vrml xaf
x-world/x-vrml xof
Accept attribute was introduced in the RFC 1867, intending to enable file-type filtering based on MIME type for the file-select control. But as of 2008, most, if not all, browsers make no use of this attribute. Using client-side scripting, you can make a sort of extension based validation, for submit data of correct type (extension).
Other solutions for advanced file uploading require Flash movies like SWFUpload or Java Applets like JUpload.
In 2015 the only way I found to make it work for both Chrome and Firefox is to put all possible extensions you want to support, including variants (including the dot in front !):
accept=".jpeg, .jpg, .jpe, .jfif, .jif"
Problem with Firefox: Using the image/jpeg mime type Firefox will only show .jpg files, very strange as if the common .jpeg was not ok...
Whatever you do, be sure to try with files having many different extensions.
Maybe it even depends on the OS ... I suppose accept is case insensitive, but maybe not in every browser.
Here is the MDN docs about accept:
accept If the value of the type attribute is file, then this attribute will indicate the types of files that the server accepts, otherwise it will be ignored. The value must be a comma-separated list of unique content type specifiers:
A file extension starting with the STOP character (U+002E). (e.g. .jpg, .png, .doc). A valid MIME type with no extensions. audio/* representing sound files. HTML5 video/* representing video files. HTML5 image/* representing image files. HTML5
If the browser uses this attribute, it is only as an help for the user, so he won't upload a multi-megabyte file just to see it rejected by the server...
Same for the <input type="hidden" name="MAX_FILE_SIZE" value="100000"> tag: if the browser uses it, it won't send the file but an error resulting in UPLOAD_ERR_FORM_SIZE (2) error in PHP (not sure how it is handled in other languages).
Note these are helps for the user. Of course, the server must always check the type and size of the file on its end: it is easy to tamper with these values on the client side.
It's been a few years, and Chrome at least makes use of this attribute. This attribute is very useful from a usability standpoint as it will filter out the unnecessary files for the user, making their experience smoother. However, the user can still select "all files" from the type (or otherwise bypass the filter), thus you should always validate the file where it is actually used; If you're using it on the server, validate it there before using it. The user can always bypass any client-side scripting.
If the browser uses this attribute, it is only as an help for the user, so he won't upload a multi-megabyte file just to see it rejected by the server...
Same for the <input type="hidden" name="MAX_FILE_SIZE" value="100000"> tag: if the browser uses it, it won't send the file but an error resulting in UPLOAD_ERR_FORM_SIZE (2) error in PHP (not sure how it is handled in other languages).
Note these are helps for the user. Of course, the server must always check the type and size of the file on its end: it is easy to tamper with these values on the client side.
It's been a few years, and Chrome at least makes use of this attribute. This attribute is very useful from a usability standpoint as it will filter out the unnecessary files for the user, making their experience smoother. However, the user can still select "all files" from the type (or otherwise bypass the filter), thus you should always validate the file where it is actually used; If you're using it on the server, validate it there before using it. The user can always bypass any client-side scripting.
Yes, it is extremely useful in browsers that support it, but the "limiting" is as a convenience to users (so they are not overwhelmed with irrelevant files) rather than as a way to prevent them from uploading things you don't want them uploading.
It is supported in
Here is a list of content types you can use with it, followed by the corresponding file extensions (though of course you can use any file extension):
application/envoy evy
application/fractals fif
application/futuresplash spl
application/hta hta
application/internet-property-stream acx
application/mac-binhex40 hqx
application/msword doc
application/msword dot
application/octet-stream *
application/octet-stream bin
application/octet-stream class
application/octet-stream dms
application/octet-stream exe
application/octet-stream lha
application/octet-stream lzh
application/oda oda
application/olescript axs
application/pdf pdf
application/pics-rules prf
application/pkcs10 p10
application/pkix-crl crl
application/postscript ai
application/postscript eps
application/postscript ps
application/rtf rtf
application/set-payment-initiation setpay
application/set-registration-initiation setreg
application/vnd.ms-excel xla
application/vnd.ms-excel xlc
application/vnd.ms-excel xlm
application/vnd.ms-excel xls
application/vnd.ms-excel xlt
application/vnd.ms-excel xlw
application/vnd.ms-outlook msg
application/vnd.ms-pkicertstore sst
application/vnd.ms-pkiseccat cat
application/vnd.ms-pkistl stl
application/vnd.ms-powerpoint pot
application/vnd.ms-powerpoint pps
application/vnd.ms-powerpoint ppt
application/vnd.ms-project mpp
application/vnd.ms-works wcm
application/vnd.ms-works wdb
application/vnd.ms-works wks
application/vnd.ms-works wps
application/winhlp hlp
application/x-bcpio bcpio
application/x-cdf cdf
application/x-compress z
application/x-compressed tgz
application/x-cpio cpio
application/x-csh csh
application/x-director dcr
application/x-director dir
application/x-director dxr
application/x-dvi dvi
application/x-gtar gtar
application/x-gzip gz
application/x-hdf hdf
application/x-internet-signup ins
application/x-internet-signup isp
application/x-iphone iii
application/x-javascript js
application/x-latex latex
application/x-msaccess mdb
application/x-mscardfile crd
application/x-msclip clp
application/x-msdownload dll
application/x-msmediaview m13
application/x-msmediaview m14
application/x-msmediaview mvb
application/x-msmetafile wmf
application/x-msmoney mny
application/x-mspublisher pub
application/x-msschedule scd
application/x-msterminal trm
application/x-mswrite wri
application/x-netcdf cdf
application/x-netcdf nc
application/x-perfmon pma
application/x-perfmon pmc
application/x-perfmon pml
application/x-perfmon pmr
application/x-perfmon pmw
application/x-pkcs12 p12
application/x-pkcs12 pfx
application/x-pkcs7-certificates p7b
application/x-pkcs7-certificates spc
application/x-pkcs7-certreqresp p7r
application/x-pkcs7-mime p7c
application/x-pkcs7-mime p7m
application/x-pkcs7-signature p7s
application/x-sh sh
application/x-shar shar
application/x-shockwave-flash swf
application/x-stuffit sit
application/x-sv4cpio sv4cpio
application/x-sv4crc sv4crc
application/x-tar tar
application/x-tcl tcl
application/x-tex tex
application/x-texinfo texi
application/x-texinfo texinfo
application/x-troff roff
application/x-troff t
application/x-troff tr
application/x-troff-man man
application/x-troff-me me
application/x-troff-ms ms
application/x-ustar ustar
application/x-wais-source src
application/x-x509-ca-cert cer
application/x-x509-ca-cert crt
application/x-x509-ca-cert der
application/ynd.ms-pkipko pko
application/zip zip
audio/basic au
audio/basic snd
audio/mid mid
audio/mid rmi
audio/mpeg mp3
audio/x-aiff aif
audio/x-aiff aifc
audio/x-aiff aiff
audio/x-mpegurl m3u
audio/x-pn-realaudio ra
audio/x-pn-realaudio ram
audio/x-wav wav
image/bmp bmp
image/cis-cod cod
image/gif gif
image/ief ief
image/jpeg jpe
image/jpeg jpeg
image/jpeg jpg
image/pipeg jfif
image/svg+xml svg
image/tiff tif
image/tiff tiff
image/x-cmu-raster ras
image/x-cmx cmx
image/x-icon ico
image/x-portable-anymap pnm
image/x-portable-bitmap pbm
image/x-portable-graymap pgm
image/x-portable-pixmap ppm
image/x-rgb rgb
image/x-xbitmap xbm
image/x-xpixmap xpm
image/x-xwindowdump xwd
message/rfc822 mht
message/rfc822 mhtml
message/rfc822 nws
text/css css
text/h323 323
text/html htm
text/html html
text/html stm
text/iuls uls
text/plain bas
text/plain c
text/plain h
text/plain txt
text/richtext rtx
text/scriptlet sct
text/tab-separated-values tsv
text/webviewhtml htt
text/x-component htc
text/x-setext etx
text/x-vcard vcf
video/mpeg mp2
video/mpeg mpa
video/mpeg mpe
video/mpeg mpeg
video/mpeg mpg
video/mpeg mpv2
video/quicktime mov
video/quicktime qt
video/x-la-asf lsf
video/x-la-asf lsx
video/x-ms-asf asf
video/x-ms-asf asr
video/x-ms-asf asx
video/x-msvideo avi
video/x-sgi-movie movie
x-world/x-vrml flr
x-world/x-vrml vrml
x-world/x-vrml wrl
x-world/x-vrml wrz
x-world/x-vrml xaf
x-world/x-vrml xof
If the browser uses this attribute, it is only as an help for the user, so he won't upload a multi-megabyte file just to see it rejected by the server...
Same for the <input type="hidden" name="MAX_FILE_SIZE" value="100000"> tag: if the browser uses it, it won't send the file but an error resulting in UPLOAD_ERR_FORM_SIZE (2) error in PHP (not sure how it is handled in other languages).
Note these are helps for the user. Of course, the server must always check the type and size of the file on its end: it is easy to tamper with these values on the client side.
It is supported by Chrome. It's not supposed to be used for validation, but for type hinting the OS. If you have an accept="image/jpeg" attribute in a file upload the OS can only show files of the suggested type.
Source: Stackoverflow.com