File Upload Widget 

The File Upload Widget

• One of the little used TYPEs for the <INPUT> tag is the FILE type. 
• This input widget automatically creates a text field and a "Browse" button that the user can click in order to select a file to upload from their local hard drive. 
• It then associates the file contents with the NAME defined in the <INPUT> tag. 
• Below is a basic example. Click on the browse button and see how easy it is to use. 




• The previous input elements were created with the following code: 

        <FORM ACTION = "">
        <INPUT  TYPE = "FILE"
                NAME = "upload_file"
                >
</FORM>

• The input tag also takes an ACCEPT attribute that defines which media types are acceptable for upload. Of course, by default, any type of file can be uploaded. 
• File handling over HTTP is a little more complex then simple form data and requires an ENCTYPE of multipart/form-data. However, we will discuss handling file uploads tomorrow. For now, you should just familiarize yourself with the input widget. 

Additional Resources:

• HTML Forms for Web Site Interaction 
• HTML Forms: INPUT Tag 

Extra Widgets
Table of Contents
Hidden Widgets