Question

I have a php program that needs a file that exists in a certain server.
I wanted to make the picking of that remote file as automated as possible.
I have this input tag:

<input name="infoFile" >

Now I’d like to have the following process as automatic as possible (except the submitting):

• Open the file picker.
• Fill the url into the picking space.

And then the user presses the open and the submit button.
I want to use no security exploits.

Why not making this is the server?
This is an alternate to use when:

• allow_url_fopen is set to false
• curl is disabled.

Answer 1

I can’t think of a good way to use the user’s machine to fetch the file. The Same Origin Policy will prevent any Ajax access to the remote file, and pre-filling the file input is impossible due to security.

I think the best you can do is provide the download link for the user to click on. Alternatively, get allow_url_fopen or curl enabled – if at all possible.

Also alternatively, a Flash program should be able to fetch the remote file, and upload straight away. I’m not aware of a ready-made script for that, so it would have to be custom built.