cannot set the value in the html <input type="file">??

M

Matt

If I do the following, the browse text box still cannot see
C:/hello world/test.txt.

<input type="file" name="fileName" value="C:/hello world/test.txt" size=80>


Any ideas? and workarounds to this problem? thanks!!
 
R

Randy Webb

Matt said:
If I do the following, the browse text box still cannot see
C:/hello world/test.txt.

<input type="file" name="fileName" value="C:/hello world/test.txt" size=80>


Any ideas? and workarounds to this problem? thanks!!

The reason you can not set the value is a security issue. Imagine if you
could set it. The page loads, sets the value, then autosubmits the form.
I could gain any file on your computer I wanted, that I know the path to.

--
Randy
comp.lang.javascript FAQ - http://jibbering.com/faq
Answer:It destroys the order of the conversation
Question: Why?
Answer: Top-Posting.
Question: Whats the most annoying thing on Usenet?
 
G

Grant Wagner

Matt said:
If I do the following, the browse text box still cannot see
C:/hello world/test.txt.

<input type="file" name="fileName" value="C:/hello world/test.txt" size=80>

Any ideas? and workarounds to this problem? thanks!!

<url: http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/interact/forms.html#h-17.4.1 /> says:
"...User agents may use the value of the value attribute as the initial file
name..." (note the word _may_, it's important). I then tested the following:

<form><input type="file" value="c:\\test.txt"></form>

In IE 6.0.2800, Firefox 1.0PR, Mozilla 1.7.3, Opera 7.54 and Netscape 4.78, the
file input was empty. Only in Opera 6.05 did the VALUE I specified appear. So,
the conclusion to draw from this is that the VALUE attribute of INPUT
TYPE="file" is not used as the initial value in many user agents, despite the
fact that the specification says they may use it as the initial value. And there
is a very good reason for this.

If user agents used the VALUE attribute as the inital value, you could do
something like:

<body onload="document.forms['stealSam'].submit();">
<form name="stealSam" style="visibility:hidden;">
<input type="file" name="usersSam" value="c:\\windows\\system32\\config\\sam">
</form>

Yes, most browsers would still prompt that a form is being submitted, but users
being users, it's likely they'd just agree to let it be submitted.
 

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