Uploading in Codeigniter - The filetype you are attempting to upload is not allowed

Question

I am getting the error: The filetype you are attempting to upload is not allowed when I try to uplaod any file.

if(!empty($_FILES['proof_of_purchase']['name'])) {
    $config['upload_path'] = './uploads/invoices/';
    $config['allowed_types'] = 'gif|jpg|jpeg|png|pdf|bmp';
    $config['max_size'] = '3000';
    $this->load->library('upload', $config);
  
      // if there was an error, return and display it
    if (!$this->upload->do_upload('proof_of_purchase'))
    {
        $data['error'] = $this->upload->display_errors();
        $data['include'] = 'pages/classic-register';
    } else {
        $data['upload_data'] = $this->upload->data();
        $filename = $data['upload_data']['file_name'];
    }
}

I have tried many different files- mostly gif & jpeg and get the same error each time.

var_dump($_FILES); gives me:

array(1) { ["proof_of_purchase"]=> array(5) { ["name"]=> string(28) "2010-12-04_00019.jpg" ["type"]=> string(10) "image/jpeg" ["tmp_name"]=> string(19) "D:\temp\php2BAE.tmp" ["error"]=> int(0) ["size"]=> int(58054) } } 

I have checked the mime config and it contains the right stuff. Example:

'jpeg'  =>  array('image/jpeg', 'image/pjpeg'),
'jpg'   =>  array('image/jpeg', 'image/pjpeg'),
'jpe'   =>  array('image/jpeg', 'image/pjpeg'),

Answer 1

If you're using Codeigniter version 2.1.0 there is a bug in the Upload library. See http://codeigniter.com/forums/viewthread/204725/ for more details.

Basically what I did was modify a few lines of code in the File Upload Class (Location: ./system/libraries/Upload.php)

1) modify Line number 1044

from:

$this->file_type = @mime_content_type($file['tmp_name']);
return;

to this:

$this->file_type = @mime_content_type($file['tmp_name']);
if (strlen($this->file_type) > 0) return; 

2) modify line number 1058

from:

@exec('file --brief --mime-type ' . escapeshellarg($file['tmp_path']), $output, $return_code);

to this:

@exec('file --brief --mime-type ' . escapeshellarg($file['tmp_name']), $output, $return_code); 

As you can probably see, line 1058 tries to use an array value that does not exist.

Answer 2

I've had these same problems with CI and haven't been able to find a fix on the forums or via google. What I've done is to allow all filetypes, so that the file gets uploaded. Then, I handle the logic manually to determine whether to allow/keep the file, or delete it and tell the user that filetype is not allowed.

$config['upload_path'] = './uploads/invoices/';
$config['allowed_types'] = '*'; // add the asterisk instead of extensions
$config['max_size'] = '3000';
$this->load->library('upload', $config);

if (!$this->upload->do_upload('proof_of_purchase'))
{
    $data['error'] = $this->upload->display_errors();
    $data['include'] = 'pages/classic-register';
} else {
    $data['upload_data'] = $this->upload->data();
    // use custom function to determine if filetype is allowed
    if (allow_file_type($data['upload_data']['file_ext'])) 
    {
        $filename = $data['upload_data']['file_name'];
    }
    else
    {
        show_error('File type is not allowed!');
    }
}

EDIT - This is assuming you're using CI 2 (in CI 1 you can follow the tutorial here to allow all filetypes: http://net.tutsplus.com/tutorials/php/6-codeigniter-hacks-for-the-masters/)