Allow a file upload field type to be locked to a specific group or channel

I love EE but we have to be blunt (tough love, kids) it’s file system is both flat and a little lacking in specific control - It would be fabulous to have specific upload access for particular groups or channel through the file tag. Like Group 1 can only upload/download in /images/group1, Group 2, /images/group1, etc.

So basically, people from Group 1 can only upload/download to a specific directory using a particular Channel field set. Otherwise, we need to duplicate entire groups of Channel fields because we need to secure a single file path, and that seems wasteful.

Currently I use Subdir Upload, which extends this to the Channel. The developer is absent and the thing feels like it’s the weakest point in whole site. If you’re not familiar with it, it extends the native file paths and allows you to direct a channel to a specific directory. I use it by only giving a specific group access to that channel, and directory.

(Originally I said this had trouble in https, but if you use an absolute path for the main EE File Directory the subduers run out of, it works a treat. Just be sure to use http and not https in the path variable).

You set it up in the Fieldtype settings (there’s a rolling list for every channel) like this:

In setting up the Fieldtype, you select the specific channel this affects, allow upload and/or download access, thumbnail creation, file types to accept and whether to display directories. Then in the Custom Field Type, you choose it as a field type and then the same form can pass different directories to different channels.

This kind of functionality seems to make more sense moved to the Group or Channel preferences, allowing lock-down to an established directory (through file manager) but allowing specific access to a sub-directory. In the form, instead of choosing a file directory, you can choose Channel Preference or Group Preference, and then perhaps the File Directories page could see and link to those Channel or Group preferences.

This way you’d have the most flexibility and allow for specific sub-directory group access.