This article describes an All-In-One framework sample that is available for download. This code sample demonstrates how to upload and download files from a remote or local server in ASP.NET. You can download the sample packages from the following download icons. Both C# and Visual Basic .NET language versions of the sample package are available.
This code sample demonstrates how to upload and download files from a server that is not in the scope of the user’s request domain. Functionality is provided for transferring files with both the HTTP and FTP protocols. Also, this code sample uses Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs) to identify the locations of files on a server. The key classes used in this code sample are the WebClient class and the WebRequest class.
Difficulty level
Download information
To download this code sample, click one of the following links:
Technical overview
It is fairly easy to upload and download files from a remote server in ASP.NET. The .NET Framework class library provides some lightweight request objects. The WebClient class is a high-level class that makes server interactions easier. WebRequest objects are used by the WebClient class to make requests. The HttpWebRequest and FtpWebRequest classes are protocol-specific implementations of the abstract WebRequest class. HttpWebRequest implements the GET and POST methods of the HTTP protocol to upload and download files. FtpWebRequest implements the STOR and RETR methods of the FTP protocol to upload and download files.
This code sample uses the UploadData and DownloadData methods of the WebClient class to transfer data to and from a remote server URI. The UploadData method is used with the HTTP protocol’s PUT method and the “application/x-www-form-urlencoded” Internet media type. The DownloadData method is used with a FileStream object to store the incoming data stream and write the byte array to a local file.
Sample overview
In this sample code, you will find the RemoteFileForm.aspx file that explains how to use the following two new classes:
- RemoteUpload
- RemoteDownload
The RemoteUpload class
The RemoteUpload class has two child classes. These classes are HttpRemoteUpload and FtpRemoteUpload. Both classes use the RemoteUpload constructor. The RemoteUpload class requires a byte array of the file data and a server URI. You can also specify the name to use for the uploaded file. The FtpRemoteUpload class uses FtpWebRequest directly (instead of using the higher-level WebClient class) to handle the specific requirements of the FTP protocol.
See the following class definitions for more information about the RemoteUpload class:
public class HttpRemoteUpload : RemoteUpload
{
public HttpRemoteUpload(byte[] fileData, string fileNamePath, string urlString)
: base(fileData, fileNamePath, urlString)
{
}
public override bool UploadFile()
{
byte[] postData;
try
{
postData = this.FileData;
using (WebClient client = new WebClient())
{
client.Credentials = CredentialCache.DefaultCredentials;
client.Headers.Add("Content-Type", "application/x-www-form-urlencoded");
client.UploadData(this.UrlString, "PUT", postData);
}
return true;
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
throw new Exception("Failed to upload", ex.InnerException);
}
}
}
public class FtpRemoteUpload : RemoteUpload
{
public FtpRemoteUpload(byte[] fileData, string fileNamePath, string urlString)
: base(fileData, fileNamePath, urlString)
{
}
public override bool UploadFile()
{
FtpWebRequest reqFTP;
reqFTP = (FtpWebRequest)FtpWebRequest.Create(this.UrlString);
reqFTP.KeepAlive = true;
reqFTP.Method = WebRequestMethods.Ftp.UploadFile;
reqFTP.UseBinary = true;
reqFTP.ContentLength = this.FileData.Length;
int buffLength = 2048;
byte[] buff = new byte[buffLength];
MemoryStream ms = new MemoryStream(this.FileData);
try
{
int contenctLength;
using (Stream strm = reqFTP.GetRequestStream())
{
contenctLength = ms.Read(buff, 0, buffLength);
while (contenctLength > 0)
{
strm.Write(buff, 0, contenctLength);
contenctLength = ms.Read(buff, 0, buffLength);
}
}
return true;
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
throw new Exception("Failed to upload", ex.InnerException);
}
}
}
In the RemoteFileForm.cs file, when you click the Upload button, an instance of the RemoteUpload object is created. Pass the server URI and a local physical file path as parameters to create the object.
Note If you do not specify a file name to use to store the file on the server, the system will automatically generate a file name according to the current date and time on the server. The date and time is accurate to the millisecond. After the UploadData method finishes, the result is shown on the current page.
The RemoteDownload class
The RemoteDownload class also has two child classes. These classes are HttpRemoteDownload and FtpRemoteDownload. The RemoteDownload class requires a URI resource and a local physical directory. The RemoteDownload class checks to make sure that the URI resource exists before the download is started. The class retrieves the stream that contains the response data from the server, and then writes this byte array to a FileStream. The FtpRemoteDownload class uses FtpWebRequest directly (instead of using the higher-level WebClient class) to handle the specific requirements of the FTP protocol.
See the following class definitions for more information about the RemoteDownload class:
public class HttpRemoteDownload : RemoteDownload
{
public HttpRemoteDownload(string urlString, string descFilePath)
: base(urlString, descFilePath)
{
}
public override bool DownloadFile()
{
string fileName = System.IO.Path.GetFileName(this.UrlString);
string descFilePathAndName =
System.IO.Path.Combine(this.DescFilePath, fileName);
try
{
WebRequest myre = WebRequest.Create(this.UrlString);
}
catch
{
return false;
}
try
{
byte[] fileData;
using (WebClient client = new WebClient())
{
fileData = client.DownloadData(this.UrlString);
}
using (FileStream fs =
new FileStream(descFilePathAndName, FileMode.OpenOrCreate))
{
fs.Write(fileData, 0, fileData.Length);
}
return true;
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
throw new Exception("download field", ex.InnerException);
}
}
}
public class FtpRemoteDownload : RemoteDownload
{
public FtpRemoteDownload(string urlString, string descFilePath)
: base(urlString, descFilePath)
{
}
public override bool DownloadFile()
{
FtpWebRequest reqFTP;
string fileName = System.IO.Path.GetFileName(this.UrlString);
string descFilePathAndName =
System.IO.Path.Combine(this.DescFilePath, fileName);
try
{
reqFTP = (FtpWebRequest)FtpWebRequest.Create(this.UrlString);
reqFTP.Method = WebRequestMethods.Ftp.DownloadFile;
reqFTP.UseBinary = true;
using (FileStream outputStream = new FileStream(descFilePathAndName, FileMode.OpenOrCreate))
using (FtpWebResponse response = (FtpWebResponse)reqFTP.GetResponse())
using (Stream ftpStream = response.GetResponseStream())
{
int bufferSize = 2048;
int readCount;
byte[] buffer = new byte[bufferSize];
readCount = ftpStream.Read(buffer, 0, bufferSize);
while (readCount > 0)
{
outputStream.Write(buffer, 0, readCount);
readCount = ftpStream.Read(buffer, 0, bufferSize);
}
}
return true;
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
throw new Exception("upload failed", ex.InnerException);
}
}
}
Note For more information about how to create and deploy the sample application, see the Readme.txt file that is included in the download package.
Languages
This code sample is available in the following programming languages:
| Language | Project Name |
|---|---|
| Visual C# | CSRemoteUploadAndDownload |
| Visual Basic.NET | VRemoteUploadAndDownload |
Technology Category
- ASP.NET 2.0
- ASP.NET 3.5
- ASP.NET 4.0
References
For more information about the WebClient class, visit the following Microsoft Developer (MSDN) website:
General information about the WebClient class
For more information about the UploadData method, visit the following MSDN website:
General information about the UploadData method
For more information about the DonwloadData method, visit the following MSDN website:
General information about the DonwloadData method
For more information about the FtpWebRequest method, visit the following MSDN website:
General information about the FtpWebRequest method
For more information about how to upload Files with FTP, visit the following MSDN website: