The State of Drag-n-Drop File Upload in Drupal
This post briefly evaluates the available modules for Drag-n-Drop File Upload & Management in Drupal. Quick summary: It is a sad and sorry thing, with most of the long term solutions in an infant state, and the mature solutions declining or in need of a massive overhaul to stay relevant in Drupal 7.
File Relations Server
This is a full-featured system built on top of a stack of modules that range from widespread use to near-development states. It is currently only run on a peak of 18 Drupal sites, half of which I expect are Development environments. This is not a “safe” bet for production use.
Drag n’ Drop Uploads
The Drag’n’Drop Uploads module adds the ability to drag an image from your local filesystem, drop it onto a node body textarea and have the file automatically uploaded and referenced in your node. This is minimal functionality as drag-n-drop goes, and it is not very cross-browser compatible.
DBFM
Seems to do a lot that you would expect, but is only available for Drupal 5. The maintainers intend to skip to Drupal 7, but with that kind of track record, will they be around for Drupal 8?
Web File Manager
This seems like the best bet, with going on 3,000 Drupal sites running it. Unfortunately, the primary maintainer has announced he is no longer looking after the module, which may mean it won’t survive to Drupal 7. It also is not compatible with the method of file handling common in Drupal 6 and core in Drupal 7, which means those 5000 users across Drupal 5 and 6 will have to work out an upgrade path.
2 comments
Drag'n'Drop Uploads module
Hi grayside,
Firstly I wanted to thank you for recognizing my module (Drag’n’Drop Uploads), the more eyes on the module the better.
What you say is true, that it is only a minimalistic module with limited browser support. It doesn’t manage the files, as that can be done via the actual upload widget (Upload module, FileField module or ImageField module) and extended with FileField Paths, as the wheel doesn’t need to be re-invented.
What it does do that no other modules here do is allow for Drag (from your filesystem) and Drop (to your browser) uploads, natively in Firefox 3.6, Chrome 3+ and Safari 4+, and with Google Gears support for some older browsers. It even includes support for the WYSIWYG module, giving instant visualization of the newly uploaded files.
Maybe I’m being overly defensive, but I just don’t want people to discount my module when it does some amazing things and can only get better, and it isn’t even yet one month old.
Cheers,
Stuart Clark.
Up and Coming
The post is a bit of a one-man wiki (at least for the next month or two), and I will be updating it soon. One of the things I’ve wanted to reflect is that while most of the modules I looked at focus on upload AND file management, DnD Upload is just the one piece of the puzzle.
It’s a very nice piece, make no mistake! Thanks for clarifying.
While the various file managing modules are useful, the Drag-n-Drop is still tied to a single node (when last I checked). The node-neutral (IMCE-style) upload is the “other half” that I am also evaluating here.