I need to download...

[Glenn Owens]

OK I need some help and/or opinions.

I'm running an ASP.Net 1.1 app on a Windows 2000 Web Server.

I want to allow a User to browse through a collection of documents,
images, etc that are stored in a SQL Server 2000 database. During the
browse the user will select any/all documents (db records) via
checkboxes. These selected image records are to be downloaded to the
user's remote client (or some other remote folder) and saved to disk -
the user specifies the destination folder via a BrowseForFolder dialog
box.

I would like the files to be created, and downloaded, separately (one
after another without the need for further user intervention) once the
user click the download button. All of the files will be saved to the
same user-specified folder. I don't want the user to have to go
through any login dialogs, open/save as dialogs, etc.

To date I have all of the ASP browse functionality working and the
user is able to specify the download destination folder when the
download button is clicked.

My question is: is it possible to meet the above download requirements
and how do I get it to work? My few test attempts have failed and I
assume that it's due to some security config??? (or maybe this idea
just can't be done).

Any help would be greatly appreciated! I've been looking out on the
net for days with no success.

TIA
Glenn

 

[Joerg Jooss]

OK I need some help and/or opinions.

I'm running an ASP.Net 1.1 app on a Windows 2000 Web Server.

I want to allow a User to browse through a collection of documents,
images, etc that are stored in a SQL Server 2000 database. During the
browse the user will select any/all documents (db records) via
checkboxes. These selected image records are to be downloaded to the
user's remote client (or some other remote folder) and saved to disk -
the user specifies the destination folder via a BrowseForFolder dialog
box.

I would like the files to be created, and downloaded, separately (one
after another without the need for further user intervention) once the
user click the download button. All of the files will be saved to the
same user-specified folder. I don't want the user to have to go
through any login dialogs, open/save as dialogs, etc.

To date I have all of the ASP browse functionality working and the
user is able to specify the download destination folder when the
download button is clicked.

My question is: is it possible to meet the above download requirements
and how do I get it to work? My few test attempts have failed and I
assume that it's due to some security config??? (or maybe this idea
just can't be done).

Any help would be greatly appreciated! I've been looking out on the
net for days with no success.

The problematic requirement IMHO is

I would like the files to be created, and downloaded, separately (one
after another without the need for further user intervention) once the
user click the download button.

That's impossible to do in HTTP's request/response model without a
specialized client that tracks all downloaded files and issues a new request
after a successful download. You could deliver a ZIP package containing all
files though.

Also note that open/save dialogs are browser and configuration specific.

Cheers,

 

[MohammadSH]

i agree, i just can't see it happening without a client app

 

[Dan Kahler]

Not to beat a dead horse, but that requirement "..I don't want the user to
have to go
through any login dialogs, open/save as dialogs, etc." should be a
deal-breaker.

Basically, you're saying that you want to be able to download arbitrary
files to a client
machine. (I realize in *your* scenario that's not the intent, but from an
application
perspective, that's the scenario.) Luckily for all of us, no commercial
browsers would
allow that without at least minimal user interaction. If you package the
files together
(ZIP'ed or similar), you can eliminate all but one Open/Save As dialog, but
you won't
be able to remove them entirely.

Dan Kahler