[Solved] File attachment

[Hagar Delest]

Possibly not the right forum, but it applies here in particular in my case: How large a file can you attach? Is it sent, or linked? That is, must one keep one's computer running for others to access, or is it stored distantly? Since this sort of thing can be open to abuse of all kinds, it needs careful consideration.

David.

[DrewJensen]

Hello David,

First - I went ahead and moved your question to the "Site Feedback" forum as it is the more appropriate location.

Now as for the content of the question.

The question certainly came up when the board was being put developed and the decision was that support for this was important to support.

When you attach a file it is transfered to the server here and stored here.

The file may be no bigger then 128K i size.

We allow:

Image formats: Gif, Png, Jpeg, Tiff
Office Documents: All OpenOffice.org and MSO
Archive files: zip, bz, ace, etc.

In the case of images these can then be displayed directly in posts. Certain document types may also be uploaded, primarily office documents and this allows folks to say - Here is the file with the problem that I am asking for help with.

We DO NOT allow:

Flash files
Windows Media files
Real Media files
Quick Time files
Any other file type not on the allowed list of file types.

Security is a question then - this is something that the users must take into consideration when downloading the file.

Drew

[Bhikkhu Pesala]

There is also a limit on the file size in pixels. If an inline attachment is more than a certain width it is resized. This caused problems with my Tutorial images, so I changed them to offsite image links. These are not resized so they are not blurred.

[Dave]

Bhikkhu,

Windows, Mozilla browser: Right Mouse/View Image will also give the full image view.

David

[Dave]

The file may be no bigger then 128K i size.

Thank you.

David.

[Bhikkhu Pesala]

Windows, Mozilla browser: Right Mouse/View Image will also give the full image view.

Right-Click, Open in IrfanView is more useful for me.

[Phil]

Hi all,

the upload of attachments to private messages does not seem to work at all.
I get an error message, e.g. The extension png is not allowed. This also applies to .zip, .txt. I did not manage to get a single file uploaded. All files have a size of < 100 KB.
Am I doing anything wrong?

BR, phil

[Bhikkhu Pesala]

Confirmed. I don't think you did anything wrong. Attachments are apparently not enabled for PMs. Do we want to send attachments via PM?

[huw]

Do we want to send attachments via PM?

Quite possibly, where confidential files are concerned.

[DrewJensen]

Well, the board is configured to allow attachments to PMs - If it were not then the attachment option would not be displayed. However I just tried doing it also and could not get a single file to work- everything is reported as being disallowed?

I'll do a little digging and see what I can find - maybe just a setting is wrong somewhere or maybe it is a bug in the code - I'll let you all know what I find, later today.

[acknak]

Just use PM to set up an email exchange, or use a free web upload.

I suppose it would be useful (and easier) to be able to use PM only and avoid the email, but the forum would have to take responsibility for storing the attachments, which could lead to problems. Perhaps a limited attachment size would still be useful, and larger attachments could still be done by email or free web upload.

[DrewJensen]

Actually the way phpBB is written the PM attachement setting has a per-user overall limit to the storage space used for these PM attachements - currently set to the default of 128K, the same limit as any single attachment. When a PM that has an attachment is deleted the attachment is deleted also.

So, if I PM someone and attach a 128K file I can not attach any other file to any other PM until that first person deletes the PM.

Edit: OK after a little quick checking it appears the reason this is not working is a configuration issue regarding permissions. Before I go playing around with group permissions however I believe I'll do a little tinkering with my local test installation first, lest I Open a door too wide or shut it completely

[Phil]

Just use PM to set up an email exchange, or use a free web upload.

Sure, stuff like http://www.mediafire.com is great.
But, if I use PM, I would maybe not want to use a service which makes documents publicly available.
For example, if I want to help someone with a problem, and he would not want to disclose his sample document publicly, then attachments to PM could be very useful.
Of course I could exchange e-mail addresses. However, I would maybe not like to share my e-mail address with someone I barely know.
Also, I can access PM at work and from home, whereas e-mail would be confined to one of the two.

but the forum would have to take responsibility for storing the attachments, which could lead to problems.

I'm not quite sure if this is really such a big problem. And I don't see the difference to attachments in postings - they are allowed too.

So, if I PM someone and attach a 128K file I can not attach any other file to any other PM until that first person deletes the PM.

I think this is a bit awkward. I would appreciate a quota of e.g. 5 MBytes per user. A maximum attachment size of e.g. 512 kBytes would be great, as it would allow to exchange most of the sample documents (the main reason I think we need attachments for PM - see my comment above).

Anyway, thanks a lot for your comments and your help!

Best regards,
phil

[acknak]

I would maybe not want to use a service which makes documents publicly available.

Such documents are not "publicly available". They are available only to whomever you give the coded URL. That's not perfect, but it's probably more private than an unencrypted email attachment.

Drew:
Do all attachments count against my total? I seem to have much more than 128K worth of attachments already.

It seems troubling indeed if I could attach a file to a PM, which is late transferred from my "outbox" to another person's "inbox" and yet the attachment still counts against my allotment, since I would no longer have control over it. Maybe I misunderstand how it works.

[DrewJensen]

Drew:
Do all attachments count against my total? I seem to have much more than 128K worth of attachments already.

No

Here are the available settings for attachments, current setting and possible maximums:

1. Total space allowed for attachment storage - Board level, currently set at 50 MB ( MAX - unlimited ) - current amount used 4.77 MB ( this includes ~270K of orphaned attachments, not associated with any posting ID, waiting deletion )
2. Number of attachments allowed in any single post - Currently 3 - Max 999
3. Number of attachments allowed in any single PM - Currently 1 - Max 999
4. Largest attachment allowed - Currently 128 K - Max unlimited
5. Storage space, by user, for attachments to PMs - Currently 128 k - Max unlimited

It seems troubling indeed if I could attach a file to a PM, which is late transferred from my "outbox" to another person's "inbox" and yet the attachment still counts against my allotment, since I would no longer have control over it. Maybe I misunderstand how it works.

Well - it is possible that I mistook how it works also - this part of the users manual isn't fully written yet...LOL...where have I seen that before.

Anyway - getting PM attachments working on my local installation was straight forward. The problem was purely with how I setup permissions on the board - all permissions are currently driven by the forums, where a group is given permissions on each forum/sub-form level. The individual user groups have no permissions enabled directly. For the PM attachments I simply needed to enable that permission, to attach a file, against the group 'registered users' directly. Makes sense since there is no forum involved here.

[Phil]

Drew, thanks for your investigations and for posting the details!

May I take the liberty of suggesting some values for the settings?

1. I would choose this as large as possible. If course it depends on the available web space.
2. 3 is OK
3. Would also set this to 3
4. 512 K
5. 5 M

Well - it is possible that I mistook how it works also - this part of the users manual isn't fully written yet...LOL...where have I seen that before.

Might it be that rather the total space in all folders of the individual users are counted? That would make sense.

[r4zoli]

I don't want to submit a new topic.

All OOo type file supported on forum, but one not allowed the extension file with .oxt.
Some reason behind(macros can consist viruses) or we missed something?
One user tried to upload it and failed: viewtopic.php?f=47&t=12794
I checked and not allowed to upload it.

[StephTech]

Drew, thanks for your investigations and for posting the details!

May I take the liberty of suggesting some values for the settings?

1. I would choose this as large as possible. If course it depends on the available web space.
2. 3 is OK
3. Would also set this to 3 (number of attachments to single PM)
4. 512 K
5. 5 M

Please?! I made two icons for someone else's script, and I wanted the author's approval before I posted them publicly. Instead of being able to show them inline, I had to zip them (a whopping 12k file) to meet the 1 attachment per PM. And the recipient now has to make an effort to look at them, which he may or may not do.

I realize this is an old thread, but I am a new member, so this is a current issue for me.

thank you

[Hagar Delest]

Icons are not that heavy, especially if the zip file is only 12kB.
What's the problem with putting them online here? Do you get a message from the board (it is usually red but hardly visible at top of page). Some extensions are forbidden. Make sure you've save in something rather common like PNG.

[StephTech]

This is public, the PM is private -

I made two icons for someone else's script, and I wanted the author's approval before I posted them publicly.

I did not have a technical problem attaching a single zip to the PM. I was trying to point out a strategic problem of the single file limitation for PMs. Namely, that having to download and unzip is disruptive to a communication that could be easily accomplished with 2 or 3 attachments placed inline.

[Hagar Delest]

Yes I know but it works the same on PM: you're well below the 128kB limit. Even the unzipped files should be below that limit.
What is the file extension? .ico? Have you tried to put online .png in your PM?

[acknak]

For any "business" I need to do outside of a forum discussion, I generally use PM only to exchange real-life email addresses. I think it's more appropriate to carry on non-forum business by email rather than PM.

If you do that, then you can manage the attachments any way you like.