Uploading Multiple Files with Progress Bar via Ajax and PHP

Updated on ... 07th August 2023

Enabling File Uploads in Web Apps: A Critical Component for Dynamic Functionality. Although PHP allows for file uploads, it frequently requires page refreshes. Using jQuery and Ajax, on the other hand, can create a seamless experience, allowing for user-friendly file/image uploads without reloads.

The following example explains how to implement an AJAX-powered progress bar that shows the percentage of real-time upload progress. The steps involved in this feature are as follows:

Create an HTML form with a file upload form
Create CSS for styling
Create jQuery Ajax to render a progress bar during the upload process.
Create a PHP file to handle the file upload to the server.

Tree directory structure script With PHP

Create an HTML form with a file upload form.

First, create index.php and paste the below HTML

                                                
                                                
                                                <div class="ath_container tile-container ">
    <div id="uploadStatus"></div>
    <h2 style="margin-bottom:10px">AJAX File Upload with Progress Bar using JavaScript</h2>
    <input type="file" id="fileUpload" multiple /> <!-- Add 'multiple' attribute for multiple file selection -->
    <br>
    <br>
    <button onclick="uploadFiles()">Upload</button> <!-- Change function name -->
    <div>
        <table id="progressBarsContainer">
            <!-- Table rows will be dynamically added here -->
        </table>
    </div> <!-- Container for progress bars -->
    <br>
</div>

Create CSS for styling:

Now create style.css and call it in index.php in the header section

                                                
                                                
                                                * {
    margin: 0px;
    padding: 0px;
    box-sizing: border-box;
}



body {
    font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Segoe UI,
        Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;
    margin: 0 auto;
    -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;
    box-sizing: border-box;
    color: #2f2f2f;
    line-height: 1.5;
}

.ath_container {
    width: 740px;
    margin: 20px auto;
    padding: 0px 20px 0px 20px;
}

.ath_container {
    width: 820px;
    border: #d7d7d7 1px solid;
    border-radius: 5px;
    padding: 10px 20px 10px 20px;
    box-shadow: 0 0 5px rgba(0, 0, 0, .3);
    /* border-radius: 5px; */
}

#uploadStatus {
    color: #00e200;
}

.ath_container a {
    text-decoration: none;
    color: #2f20d1;
}

.ath_container a:hover {
    text-decoration: underline;
}

.ath_container img {
    height: auto;
    max-width: 100%;
    vertical-align: middle;
}


.ath_container .label {
    color: #565656;
    margin-bottom: 2px;
}



.ath_container .message {
    padding: 6px 20px;
    font-size: 1em;
    color: rgb(40, 40, 40);
    box-sizing: border-box;
    margin: 0px;
    border-radius: 3px;
    width: 100%;
    overflow: auto;
}

.ath_container .error {
    padding: 6px 20px;
    border-radius: 3px;
    background-color: #ffe7e7;
    border: 1px solid #e46b66;
    color: #dc0d24;
}

.ath_container .success {
    background-color: #48e0a4;
    border: #40cc94 1px solid;
    border-radius: 3px;
    color: #105b3d;
}

.ath_container .validation-message {
    color: #e20900;
}

.ath_container .font-bold {
    font-weight: bold;
}

.ath_container .display-none {
    display: none;
}

.ath_container .inline-block {
    display: inline-block;
}

.ath_container .float-right {
    float: right;
}

.ath_container .float-left {
    float: left;
}

.ath_container .text-center {
    text-align: center;
}

.ath_container .text-left {
    text-align: left;
}

.ath_container .text-right {
    text-align: right;
}

.ath_container .full-width {
    width: 100%;
}

.ath_container .cursor-pointer {
    cursor: pointer;
}

.ath_container .mr-20 {
    margin-right: 20px;
}

.ath_container .m-20 {
    margin: 20px;
}



.ath_container table {
    border-collapse: collapse;
    border-spacing: 0;
    width: 100%;
    border: 1px solid #ddd;
    margin-top: 20px;
}


.ath_container table th,
.ath_container table td {
    text-align: left;
    padding: 5px;
    border: 1px solid #ededed;
    width: 50%;
}

tr:nth-child(even) {
    background-color: #f2f2f2
}

.ath_container .progress {
    margin: 20px 0 0 0;
    width: 300px;
    border: 1px solid #ddd;
    padding: 5px;
    border-radius: 5px;
}

.ath_container .progress-bar {
    width: 0%;
    height: 24px;
    background-color: #4CAF50;
    margin-top: 15px;
    border-radius: 12px;
    text-align: center;
    color: #fff;
}

@media all and (max-width: 780px) {
    .ath_container {
        width: auto;
    }
}


.ath_container input,
.ath_container textarea,
.ath_container select {
    box-sizing: border-box;
    width: 200px;
    height: initial;
    padding: 8px 5px;
    border: 1px solid #9a9a9a;
    border-radius: 4px;
}

.ath_container input[type="checkbox"] {
    width: auto;
    vertical-align: text-bottom;
}

.ath_container textarea {
    width: 300px;
}

.ath_container select {
    display: initial;
    height: 30px;
    padding: 2px 5px;
}

.ath_container button,
.ath_container input[type=submit],
.ath_container input[type=button] {
    padding: 8px 30px;
    font-size: 1em;
    cursor: pointer;
    border-radius: 25px;
    color: #ffffff;
    background-color: #6213d3;
    border-color: #9554f1 #9172bd #4907a9;
}

.ath_container input[type=submit]:hover {
    background-color: #f7c027;
}

::placeholder {
    color: #bdbfc4;
}

.ath_container label {
    display: block;
    color: #565656;
}

@media all and (max-width: 400px) {
    .ath_container {
        padding: 0px 20px;
    }

    .ath_container {
        width: auto;
    }

    .ath_container input,
    .ath_container textarea,
    .ath_container select {
        width: 100%;
    }
}

Create jQuery Ajax:

Now create jQuery to render a progress bar during the upload process and create ajax function to upload the file.

                                                
                                                
                                                function uploadFiles() {
    var fileInput = document.getElementById('fileUpload');
    var files = fileInput.files;

    for (var i = 0; i < files.length; i++) {
        var allowedExtensions = ['.jpg', '.jpeg', '.png', '.pdf', '.svg', '.zip', '.docx', '.xlsx'];
        var fileExtension = files[i].name.substring(files[i].name.lastIndexOf('.')).toLowerCase();

        if (allowedExtensions.includes(fileExtension)) {
            uploadFile(files[i]);
        } else {
            alert('Invalid file type: ' + fileExtension);
        }
    }
}

function uploadFile(file) {
    var formData = new FormData();
    formData.append('file', file);

    var progressBarContainer = document.createElement('div'); // Container for progress bar and file name
    progressBarContainer.className = 'progress-container';

    var fileName = document.createElement('div'); // Display file name
    fileName.className = 'file-name';
    fileName.textContent = file.name;
    //progressBarContainer.appendChild(fileName);

    var progressBar = document.createElement('div'); // Create a new progress bar element
    progressBar.className = 'progress-bar';
    progressBar.id = 'progressBar_' + file.name;

    progressBarContainer.appendChild(progressBar);

    var progressBarsContainer = document.getElementById('progressBarsContainer');

    var newRow = document.createElement('tr'); // Create a new table row
    var newCell = document.createElement('td'); // Create a new table cell
    var newCell2 = document.createElement('td'); // Create a new table cell
    newCell.appendChild(fileName);
    newCell2.appendChild(progressBarContainer);
    newRow.appendChild(newCell);
    newRow.appendChild(newCell2);
    progressBarsContainer.appendChild(newRow);

    var xhr = new XMLHttpRequest();

    xhr.upload.addEventListener('progress', function(event) {
        if (event.lengthComputable) {
            var percent = Math.round((event.loaded / event.total) * 100);
            progressBar.style.width = percent + '%';
            progressBar.innerHTML = percent + '%';
        }
    });

    xhr.addEventListener('load', function(event) {
        var uploadStatus = document.getElementById('uploadStatus');
        uploadStatus.innerHTML = event.target.responseText;
     // Reset the input field of type "file"
    document.getElementById('fileUpload').value = '';
    });

    xhr.open('POST', 'upload.php', true);
    xhr.send(formData);
}

Finally our index.php will be:

                                                
                                                
                                                <!DOCTYPE html>
<html>

<head>
    <title>multiple File Upload with Progress Bar using jQuery AJAX</title>
    <style>

    </style>
    <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="style.css" />
</head>

<body>
    <div class="ath_container tile-container ">
        <div id="uploadStatus"></div>
        <h2 style="margin-bottom:10px">AJAX File Upload with Progress Bar using JavaScript</h2>
        <input type="file" id="fileUpload" multiple placeholder="choose file or browse" /> <!-- Add 'multiple' attribute for multiple file selection -->
        <br>
        <br>
        <button onclick="uploadFiles()">Upload</button> <!-- Change function name -->
        <div>
            <table id="progressBarsContainer">
                <!-- Table rows will be dynamically added here -->
            </table>
        </div> <!-- Container for progress bars -->
        <br>
    </div>
    <script>
        function uploadFiles() {
            var fileInput = document.getElementById('fileUpload');
            var files = fileInput.files;

            for (var i = 0; i < files.length; i++) {
                var allowedExtensions = ['.jpg', '.jpeg', '.png', '.pdf', '.svg', '.zip', '.docx', '.xlsx'];
                var fileExtension = files[i].name.substring(files[i].name.lastIndexOf('.')).toLowerCase();

                if (allowedExtensions.includes(fileExtension)) {
                    uploadFile(files[i]);
                } else {
                    alert('Invalid file type: ' + fileExtension);
                }
            }
        }

        function uploadFile(file) {
            var formData = new FormData();
            formData.append('file', file);

            var progressBarContainer = document.createElement('div'); // Container for progress bar and file name
            progressBarContainer.className = 'progress-container';

            var fileName = document.createElement('div'); // Display file name
            fileName.className = 'file-name';
            fileName.textContent = file.name;
            //progressBarContainer.appendChild(fileName);

            var progressBar = document.createElement('div'); // Create a new progress bar element
            progressBar.className = 'progress-bar';
            progressBar.id = 'progressBar_' + file.name;

            progressBarContainer.appendChild(progressBar);

            var progressBarsContainer = document.getElementById('progressBarsContainer');

            var newRow = document.createElement('tr'); // Create a new table row
            var newCell = document.createElement('td'); // Create a new table cell
            var newCell2 = document.createElement('td'); // Create a new table cell
            newCell.appendChild(fileName);
            newCell2.appendChild(progressBarContainer);
            newRow.appendChild(newCell);
            newRow.appendChild(newCell2);
            progressBarsContainer.appendChild(newRow);

            var xhr = new XMLHttpRequest();

            xhr.upload.addEventListener('progress', function(event) {
                if (event.lengthComputable) {
                    var percent = Math.round((event.loaded / event.total) * 100);
                    progressBar.style.width = percent + '%';
                    progressBar.innerHTML = percent + '%';
                }
            });

            xhr.addEventListener('load', function(event) {
                var uploadStatus = document.getElementById('uploadStatus');
                uploadStatus.innerHTML = event.target.responseText;
                // Reset the input field of type "file"
                document.getElementById('fileUpload').value = '';

            });

            xhr.open('POST', 'upload.php', true);
            xhr.send(formData);
        }
    </script>
</body>

</html>

Create a PHP file to handle the file upload to the server.

                                                
                                                
                                                <?php

if ($_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD'] === 'POST' && isset($_FILES['file'])) {
    $file = $_FILES['file'];

    // file will be uploaded to the following folder
    // you should give sufficient file permissions
    $uploadDir = 'uploads/';

    // unique file name generated
    $fileName = uniqid() . '_' . $file['name'];

    // moving the uploaded file from temp location to our target location
    if (move_uploaded_file($file['tmp_name'], $uploadDir . $fileName)) {
        echo 'File uploaded successfully.';
    } else {
        echo 'Failed to upload file.';
    }
}