I have developed a module to solve the problem of uploading images to a weblog entry using a stand-alone entry form, as discussed in this thread.
The Stand-Alone Image Editor module allows you and your site users to upload and view multiple images in an existing weblog entry, to delete individual images, and to limit the number of images that can be uploaded.
I would be interested in using this module but would really like to know more about the way in which it works.
From what I am reading from the module instructions page it appears as though this works in the same way as the control panel version but just with the hiding of other images etc.
I take it then that the images are uploaded first before the entry is submitted? On your page it says that you can delete the image from the entry but not from the server? I would personally need an option to allow the image to actually be deleted as I would want to use this for people to submit brand new content to a site. If they accidentally uploaded the wrong image then they would see this from the thumbnail but I would want it so that when they realise and press the delete button then it would actually get deleted from the server giving them the option then to re-upload the correct image and also the server then doesn’t get full of files that aren’t needed.
Could this possibly be added in as an option to the module?
Also is there any way using the module to say that if a file hasn’t been chosen then the form can’t be submitted? If using this module I would need it so that every single entry to the system would have an image(s) and so would not wish for the form to be submitted without a file having been chosen.
Sorry for all the questions. I don’t want to take away from what looks to me to be an exceptionally useful module but am just wondering if this is at all possible.
Thanks for your time.
The module as it stands by the way looks very impressive. Some very very nice work coming from your stable!
thanks mark. well actually there are a few differences between what the module does and the control panel version.
first of all i should clarify though - images are uploaded to an existing entry, so through a stand-alone edit form, rather than when submitting a new entry through a stand-alone entry form.
UPDATE: images can now also be uploaded from a stand-alone entry form (see below)
the names of the uploaded images are all stored in a field that you can specify. this cannot be done with the control panel version, and this is one of the reasons that the control panel upload functionality is not suitable for stand-alone entry forms - you are limited to one image per field.
i had planned on implementing file deletion and will do this soon, extra soon for you.
Oops, sorry Ben. I didn’t realise that this was for a stand-alone-edit form as your first post mentioned about a stand-alone-entry form.
I wouldn’t really need an edit form just the entry form personally as this would be for other people to upload entries to a weblog and then I would administer them. I just really needed a nice easy way to get the images in there in the first place.
Not sure if you could get this working with an entry form or not but sorry I thought that this was what the module was for. I apologise for the misunderstanding of your post.
no problem. what i actually do is have a stand-alone entry form, and once that is submitted the user is brought to the upload image page, and then when they have finished they move on to wherever they should be next.
That would probably do it although I would prefer it if the image could be uploaded first and then they enter the rest of the entry text otherwise it might get a little confusing for them.
Yes I had seen that some time back and have just tried it out again today but just couldn’t get it to work unfortunately. I have posted in that forum thread about that though.
I wish you all the best with your module. I’m sure that it should do very well. It looks like a great piece of programming to me.
If you can add in the file deletion also then I will definitely be purchasing this.
What I really need is the following :
1 - User goes to SAEF page.
2 - They enter the information for the entry.
3 - Click on ‘Browse’ button to find the image they need. (This would of course be multiple images if set)
4 - Image(s) is / are uploaded and they see a thumbnail view of it on same SAEF page.
5 - They have the option to delete the image from here (must also delete from server) in case they made a mistake and selected the wrong image. Don’t want to have orphaned images on the server that don’t relate to any entry as server space is money!!
6 - Once the image has been selected and uploaded and all the SAEF fields have been filled in then the form can be submitted.
If you can add in the file deletion then I am more than interested in purchasing this.
Also I don’t know if you know of any way that a SAEF form can be not allowed to submit unless an image has been selected and uploaded but that would be awesome if possible in some way as you know how users can be sometimes in forgetting to attach an image to the entry. All the entries that I am thinking of would be set to a ‘Closed’ status anyway but I would rather they didn’t go through all the work of uploading entries with parts missing from them.
I suppose that is the way but I currently use the Live Validation javascript and like not to have to send people back from the standard EE error template that it throws up if people haven’t filled the form in correctly. Using Live Validation I am able to do just that and if fields have been left out or not filled in in the correct format then I am able to not even let the submit button work which is great. I unfortunately haven’t been able to figure out how to get the script to work with a file upload field so I suppose this would be the only other way around it until I can figure out how to do that.
If you can add in the file deletion bit then I am sold!!!
Now, that does upload the pic…to my default file upload destination. I would prefer that this go to my second file upload destination, which is a subdirectory: “pets”.
So, the field IS getting populated (with just the name of the file, which I assume is correct), and the file is getting uploaded - but I didn’t see from reading your page where I can set the destination directory as a parameter or something? Did I miss that?
Ha, yeah, I got that, Mark. I’m assuming the field type I need to hold my file info is just a text field. But let’s say I want the upload to go to {filedir_2}. How do I set that here (using this as an ENTRY form)? It doesn’t look like I have a choice - the file is going right to my main upload directory.
Also, I guess the field, when filled, would look like {filedir_1}pic.jpg. But in my testing so far, ONLY the pic name gets inserted, (i.e. “pic.jpg”).
