Upload Multiple Images and Store in Database using PHP and MySQL.

File upload is an essential part in any web application, so we are demonstrating a multiple file uploader in PHP and MySQL. In Our example code, we will implement the following functionalities to demonstrate the multiple images upload in PHP. Here we will not be using any framework, but just pure PHP for file upload.

• An HTML form to select multiple images
• Uploading images to the server using PHP.
• Storing the file names in the database and physical file in a folder using PHP and MySQL .

Database Table

In order to save the filenames in the database we need to create the database table first. Run the following statements in the MySql wizard to create the table.

CREATE TABLE `upload_images` (
  `id` int(11) NOT NULL,
  `image` varchar(255) NOT NULL
) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8;
ALTER TABLE `upload_images`
  ADD PRIMARY KEY (`id`);

Database Configuration And Connection

We don’t write the database config and connection in the main file directly, but we will use a separate config file to store the credentials and establish the database connection. Finally,  we will call this function inside the form and upload function.

<?php
$dbhost = "localhost";
$dbuser = "root";
$dbpass = "";
$dbname = "tutorials";

try {
    $conn = new PDO("mysql:host=$dbhost;dbname=$dbname", $dbuser, $dbpass);
    // set the PDO error mode to exception
    $conn->setAttribute(PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE, PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION);    
}
catch(PDOException $e)
{
    echo "Connection failed: " . $e->getMessage();
}

File Upload Form

Our input form will have a file field and a form with enctype="multipart/form-data".

<div class="col-lg-7">
	<form action="" method="post" enctype="multipart/form-data">
		<label>Select Image(s):</label>
		<input type="file" name="files[]" multiple >
		<br>
		<input type="submit" name="submit" value="Upload">
	</form>
</div>

Uploading Files Using PHP

First of all we are not using a separate file for HTML form & upload action  in PHP, but will use the same file with a POST check. If the REQUEST_METHOD is post, it means the form is fired. This file handles the multiple image upload functionality.

Key Points

• First we include the database connection file in the first line.
• Check whether form is posted
• Checking the file types to see if it’s allowed types
• If the validation passed, use move_uploaded_file to upload the file to folder.
• Finally, saves the file name to database to access it later.

<?php
require_once  "dbconnect.inc.php";

$errors = array();
$success = array();
if(strtolower($_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD']) == 'post') {

    $uploadDir = 'uploads/';
    $allowTypes = array('jpg','png','jpeg','gif');

    if(!empty(array_filter($_FILES['files']['name']))){
        foreach($_FILES['files']['name'] as $key=>$val){
            $filename = basename($_FILES['files']['name'][$key]);
            $targetFile = $uploadDir.$filename;
            if(move_uploaded_file($_FILES["files"]["tmp_name"][$key], $targetFile)){
                $success[] = "Uploaded $filename";
                $insertQrySplit[] = "('$filename')";
            }
            else {
                $errors[] = "Something went wrong- File - $filename";
            }
        }

        //Inserting to database
        if(!empty($insertQrySplit)) {
            $query = implode(",",$insertQrySplit);
            $sql = "INSERT INTO upload_images (image) VALUES $query";
            $stmt= $conn->prepare($sql);
            $stmt->execute();
        }
    }
    else {
        $errors[] = "No File Selected";
    }

}
?>

Conclusion

In this example, we have shown easiest way to upload multiple images using PHP and MySql. You may use this code as a starting point of your application.

You can find full code here