Hello there,

I got to say, I'm very impressed by the amount of features that are available in IP.Downloads. I just purchased it recently and I am very pleased with what I see and all the capabilities that I have. However, there are 2 things that I find are crucially missing.

1) Ability to upload files from (http:// or ftp://) URL's
I think it would be great if you could add a feature to upload files from other URLs (http:// or ftp://) onto the server.

For example:

You paste the URL "http://www.google.com/file.zip" and it will automatically upload "file.zip" into the Downloads directory on my server (i.e. mydomain.com). I think this feature would be very useful for a lot of people, including myself who upload a lot of files downloaded from different places.

2) Ability to upload RAR files
Most files nowadays are RARed instead of ZIPed and I think it would be another great addition to this wonderful app. I find myself having to unRAR a lot of files I want to upload and I have to zip them instead.

EDIT: I see you just have to find the right MIME type to upload RAR files. Can anyone please paste the official code for it? Thanks.

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These are the only 2 requests I have. My dream is to see them in the next release. Only you, the great developers, can make it happen!

Thank you for your time.

1) That's an interesting idea. I like the sounds of it (and it is doable) however I'm wondering how many people would actually use it?

2) application/x-rar-compressed

I like that idea

Wow, I didn't expect to read a response from a developer!

1) A lot of people use the idea everyday. In fact, places like Imageshack.us (the top free image hosting website on the Internet) has incorporated the idea into their system for years, which allows you to upload from "URL". They even made the feature and concept even easier to use by making a FireFox add-on that allows you to right click on any image you see on the Internet and Imageshack automatically uploads the file onto one of its servers. I have used it for the last 2 years straight and it has saved me a lot of time, as opposed to downloading the file on my hard drive first, then using my own upload speed (also slow) to send the file to my server.

Now imagine incorporating that same idea into IP.Downloads! With the FireFox add-on, you could right click on any zip/image/rar/etc. file or link you see on a website and upload it straight to IP.Downloads. However, that might be too complicated for now, which I can fully understand.

But the simple feature of having a field in the "Add File" page to paste a URL for a file from another website to upload into your web directory and own server would be great. I actually got the idea from an older download system I use to use. If you're skeptical about the use of this suggested feature, perhaps you can make it a small mod or addition for now on the Invision Resources site if it's not too difficult to make?

2) Thank you very much. I was thinking, why isn't the RAR file format natively supported by Invision Board / Attachments / IP.Downloads? There isn't any security vulnerabilities with using it, right?

Thanks again for hearing me out. I really appreciate it.

I use RAR exclusivly at home. I prefer the applications speed over WinZip and have never had an issue with security in it. I am not sure though if its widely known or popular outside of the "techies circle".

Yes, I know using RAR files (ex: WinRAR) on your computer has no security vulnerabilities. I think the "techies" that use Windows use WinRAR more than WinZIP. I personally prefer it as well, as it compresses (most of the time) files more than zipping too.

However, I was mainly questioning the reason as to why the RAR mime type is not standard with Invision Board. I was simply wondering if the basis is based on a security vulnerability/issue with Invision Board and RAR files or not?

I think it may have been more of decision to not add all possible mime type in by default. There are way to many mime types out there and not everyone needs them all. I just add it myself manually on the one site that I actually use RAR files on.

There are no specific security vulnerabilities with any specific mime-type really. It's just a matter of there being 1000's of mime-types, and everyone has a need for different ones. We added the most basic, with a way for users to add any others they need.

I'm glad to read that, since I was a little concerned.

So overall, do you think you can incorporate my first idea (Ability to upload files from http:// or ftp:// URL's) into the next version of IP.Downloads? Would it be a difficult addition? If it's really easy, is it possible that you can show us the code (or maybe as a mod) to incorporate it ourselves?

I hope I'm not asking too much.

Thanks again for reading.

Hmm... I was hoping to see a response again from Bfarber about my request for "ability to upload files from http:// or ftp:// URL's" idea, as mentioned in the previous posts above. Again, it would greatly save people a lot of time and bandwith, especially with people who have ISPs that throttle their bandwith monthly (since the files would be uploaded by our server). Please do let me know if you're interested in adding this in the next release.

If not, is it possible you can make this a mod for us? Or perhaps I should request someone to make the mod? I am willing to pay up to $20 USD for this IP.Downloads mod, as it would help all my staff greatly.

Please let me know.

Thank you so much.

I can't say yet what will or will not be in the next release.