How to make Asynchronous(AJAX) File Upload using iframe?

Question

I'm trying to make ajax file upload . I read that it is not possible to do that without using iframe .
I wrote :

<iframe id="uploadTrg" name="uploadTrg" height="0" width="0" frameborder="0" scrolling="yes"></iframe>
<form id="myForm" action="file-component" method="post" enctype="multipart/form-data"  target="uploadTrg">
File: <input type="file" name="file">
<input type="submit" value="Submit" id="submitBtn"/>
</form>

and using jquery form plugin :

$('#myForm').ajaxForm({
    dataType:  'json',
    success:   function(data){
        alert(data.toSource());
    }
});

The Result :

the file is uploaded successfully and I can see the uploaded file , but a dialog box appears :

since I send back a json result to display the file name + size etc ..

My Question : How can I use the iFrame to be able to make " ajax file upload".

Note:

1. I don't prefer to use special plugin to upload file , if there is more appropriate/easier solutions.
2. I use jsp/servlets as a server-side language .. but I think it does not make sense which language I use .

Thanks

Answer 1

I will answer my question , I think I found the solution. These are the steps that I followed to achieve the goal :

1. Make the attribute "target" of the form point to " iframe " .
2. Use a normal HTML request ( not Asynchronous/Ajax request ) to submit the form.
3. Because the target frame is iframe , the whole page will not be refreshed - just the iframe.
4. Once iframe onload event happens (capture that event using Javascript) then do what you want, e.g. You can send back a request to list recent uploaded file info.

The final code looks like this:

    <!-- Attach a file -->

    <iframe id="uploadTrg" name="uploadTrg" height="0" width="0" frameborder="0" scrolling="yes"></iframe>

    <form id="myForm" action="http://example.com/file-upload-service" method="post" enctype="multipart/form-data"  target="uploadTrg">

        File: <input type="file" name="file">
        <input type="submit" value="Submit" id="submitBtn"/>

    </form>

    <div id="ajaxResultTest"></div>

javascript :

$("iframe").load(function(){
    // ok , now you know that the file is uploaded , you can do what you want , for example tell the user that the file is uploaded 
    alert("The file is uploaded");

    // or you can has your own technique to display the uploaded file name + id ? 
    $.post('http://example.com/file-upload-service?do=getLastFile',null,function(attachment){

       // add the last uploaded file , so the user can see the uploaded files
       $("#ajaxResultTest").append("<h4>" + attachment.name + ":" + attachment.id "</h4>");

    },'json');
});

Answer 2

This example taken from BugKiller. complete working example which allows you to upload a logo and see it immediately in the html page, following which the upload value gets cleared:

html:

<form id="uploadForm" method="post" enctype="multipart/form-data"  target="uploadTrg">
  <div id="fileUploadWrapper"><input type="file" name="file" id="fileUpload"></div>
  <input type="submit" value="Upload" id="submitBtn"/>
</form>
<iframe id="uploadTrg" name="uploadTrg" height="0" width="0" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="display:none"></iframe>
<img id="imgLogo" style="border-width:0px;" />

javascript:

$(document).ready(function () {
  var companynumber = '12345'; //get this from the database
  var logoUploadUrl = 'UploadHandler.aspx?logoupload=true&companynumber=' + companynumber ;
  $("#uploadForm").attr("action", logoUploadUrl);

  $("#uploadTrg").load(function () {
    //upload complete

    //only way to reset contents of file upload control is to recreate it
    $("#fileUploadWrapper").html('<input type="file" name="file" id="fileUpload">');

    //reload the logo url, add ticks on the end so browser reloads it
    var ticks = ((new Date().getTime() * 10000) + 621355968000000000);
    var logoUrl = 'images/clients/' + companynumber + '/client.gif?' + ticks;
    $("#imgLogo").attr('src', logoUrl);
  });
});

upload handler code behind (C#):

namespace MyWebApp {
    public partial class UploadHandler : System.Web.UI.Page {

        protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e) {
          if (Request.Params["logoupload"] != null) {
            string companynumber = Request.Params["companynumber"];
            string savePath = Server.MapPath("\\images") + "\\clients\\" + companynumber + "\\client.gif";
            if (File.Exists(savePath))
                File.Delete(savePath);
            //save the file to the server 
            Request.Files[0].SaveAs(savePath);

            Response.Write("OK");
            Response.Flush();
            Response.End();
          }
       }
}