limit selectable files by extensions

Question

How can someone limit the files that can be selected with the input type="file" element by extensions?

I already know the accept attribute, but in chrome it does limit the files by the last MIME Type defined (in this case "gif") and FF4 does not even limit anything.

<input type="file" accept="image/jpg, image/gif">

Am I doing anything wrong or is there another way?

Answer 1

Easy way of doing it would be:

<input type="file" accept=".gif,.jpg,.jpeg,.png,.doc,.docx">

Works with all browsers, except IE9. I haven't tested it in IE10+.

Answer 2

NOTE: This answer is from 2011. It was a really good answer back then, but as of 2015, native HTML properties are supported by most browsers, so there's (usually) no need to implement such custom logic in JS. See Edi's answer and the docs.

---

Before the file is uploaded, you can check the file's extension using Javascript, and prevent the form being submitted if it doesn't match. The name of the file to be uploaded is stored in the "value" field of the form element.

Here's a simple example that only allows files that end in ".gif" to be uploaded:

<script type="text/javascript">
    function checkFile() {
        var fileElement = document.getElementById("uploadFile");
        var fileExtension = "";
        if (fileElement.value.lastIndexOf(".") > 0) {
            fileExtension = fileElement.value.substring(fileElement.value.lastIndexOf(".") + 1, fileElement.value.length);
        }
        if (fileExtension.toLowerCase() == "gif") {
            return true;
        }
        else {
            alert("You must select a GIF file for upload");
            return false;
        }
    }
</script>

<form action="upload.aspx" enctype="multipart/form-data" onsubmit="return checkFile();">
    <input name="uploadFile" id="uploadFile" type="file" />

    <input type="submit" />
</form>

However, this method is not foolproof. Sean Haddy is correct that you always want to check on the server side, because users can defeat your Javascript checking by turning off javascript, or editing your code after it arrives in their browser. Definitely check server-side in addition to the client-side check. Also I recommend checking for size server-side too, so that users don't crash your server with a 2 GB file (there's no way that I know of to check file size on the client side without using Flash or a Java applet or something).

However, checking client side before hand using the method I've given here is still useful, because it can prevent mistakes and is a minor deterrent to non-serious mischief.

Answer 3

Honestly, the best way to limit files is on the server side. People can spoof file type on the client so taking in the full file name at server transfer time, parsing out the file type, and then returning a message is usually the best bet.

Answer 4

 function uploadFile() {
     var fileElement = document.getElementById("fileToUpload");
        var fileExtension = "";
        if (fileElement.value.lastIndexOf(".") > 0) {
            fileExtension = fileElement.value.substring(fileElement.value.lastIndexOf(".") + 1, fileElement.value.length);
        }
        if (fileExtension == "odx-d"||fileExtension == "odx"||fileExtension == "pdx"||fileExtension == "cmo"||fileExtension == "xml") {
         var fd = new FormData();
        fd.append("fileToUpload", document.getElementById('fileToUpload').files[0]);
        var xhr = new XMLHttpRequest();
        xhr.upload.addEventListener("progress", uploadProgress, false);
        xhr.addEventListener("load", uploadComplete, false);
        xhr.addEventListener("error", uploadFailed, false);
        xhr.addEventListener("abort", uploadCanceled, false);
        xhr.open("POST", "/post_uploadReq");
        xhr.send(fd);
        }
        else {
            alert("You must select a valid odx,pdx,xml or cmo file for upload");
            return false;
        }
       
      }

tried this , works very well