How to Upload Multiple Files in PHP

1. Use the multiple Tag, an Array in the name Tag of the input Attribute in the Form and the move_uploaded_file() Function to Upload Multiple File in PHP
2. Use the PDO to Upload the Multiple Files in the Database in PHP

We will introduce a method to upload multiple files in PHP by specifying the name attribute of the input tag as an array and using the multiple attribute. The value of the enctype attribute of the form tag is multipart/form-data. This method uses mysqli for the database connection.

We will also introduce another method to upload multiple files in PHP using the PDO. We will upload the files in a folder and then upload them to a database. This method is similar to the first method in terms of implementation.

Use the multiple Tag, an Array in the name Tag of the input Attribute in the Form and the move_uploaded_file() Function to Upload Multiple File in PHP

We can specify the name attribute of the input tag as an array to upload multiple files. The input tag uses the multiple keyword that lets us select the multiple file while uploading. We can write the encoding multipart/form-data for the enctype attribute to specify how the form-data should be encoded while submitting the form. We can use the mysqli to connect to the database. The move_uploaded_file() function moves the uploaded file from a temporary location of the server to the desired location. We can use the INSERT SQL statements to upload the selected file to the database.

For example, set a database connection with the mysqli object and assign the value to the $db variable. Create an HTML form with POST method and encoding type as multipart/form-data to upload the files. Specify the type attribute of the input tag as file and the name attribute as file[]. Do not forget to write the attribute multiple before closing the input tag. Write the input tag to submit the form.

Check whether the form has been submited with the isset() function. Use the count function to count the number of uploaded files. Take the $_FILES['file']['name'] as the parameter for the count function and assign it to a variable $countfiles. Use the for loop to loop over the uploaded file. Inside the loop, create a variable $filename and assign it as $_FILES['file']['name'][$i]. Create a folder named upload in the root directory. Use the move_upload_file() function to move the file. Use $_FILES['file']['tmp_name'][$i] as the first parameter which is the file with temporary name. Use 'upload/'.$filename as the second parameter which is the filename and the location to store the uploaded file.

Run a SQL INSERT query to insert the files into the database. Insert the variable $filename as both id and name into the fileup table in the database. Use the$db variable to call the query() function with the $sql variable as the parameter to execute the query.

Example Code:

# php 7.*
<?php
if(isset($_POST['submit'])){
    $countfiles = count($_FILES['file']['name']);
    for($i=0;$i<$countfiles;$i++){
        $filename = $_FILES['file']['name'][$i];
        $sql = "INSERT INTO fileup(id,name) VALUES ('$filename','$filename')";
        $db->query($sql);
        move_uploaded_file($_FILES['file']['tmp_name'][$i],'upload/'.$filename);
    }
}
?>
<form method='post' action='' enctype='multipart/form-data'>
<input type="file" name="file[]" id="file" multiple>
<input type='submit' name='submit' value='Upload'>
</form>
?>

Output:

SELECT * FROM `fileup`
id name 
1 cfc.jpg 
2 hills.jpg

Use the PDO to Upload the Multiple Files in the Database in PHP

We can use the PDO to upload multiple files in PHP. We can use the PDO object to create a connection to the database. We use the prepared statements to insert the file into the database. This method is only different from the first method in terms of the database connection. We can use the exact HTML form for this method too. We demonstrate this method by uploading two jpg files in the folder and the database.

For example, establish a PDO database connection using the new keyword and assign it to $conn variable. Check whether the form has been submitted with the isset() function. Count the files using the count function as above. Then, write a query on the $query variable to insert the id and name. Write the placeholders ? for the values in the query. Prepare the query using the prepare() function and assign the value in $statement variable. Move the each file to the uplaod folder using the move_uploaded_file() function. Execute the query using the execute() function. Supply an array with the $filename and $target_file as the parameters in the function.

In the example below, the user uploads two jpg files. Firstly, the file gets uploaded to the upload folder, and then it gets uploaded to the database. The database contains the table fileup, and it has the columns id and name. To learn more about the move_uploaded_files() function, please refer to the PHP Manual

Example Code:

#php 7.x
<?php
$conn = new PDO("mysql:host=$server;dbname=$dbname","$username","$password");
$conn->setAttribute(PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE,PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION);
if(isset($_POST['submit'])){
    $countfiles = count($_FILES['file']['name']);
    $query = "INSERT INTO fileup (id, name) VALUES(?,?)";
    $statement = $conn->prepare($query);
    for($i=0;$i<$countfiles;$i++){
        $filename = $_FILES['file']['name'][$i];
        $target_file = 'upload/'.$filename;
        move_uploaded_file($_FILES['file']['tmp_name'][$i],$target_file);
        $statement->execute(array($filename,$target_file));
        }
  }    
?>

Output:

SELECT * FROM `fileup`
id name 
1 upload/cfc.jpg 
2+ upload/count.jpg