An object of this type is returned by the files
property of the HTML <input>
element; this lets you access the list of files selected with the <input type="file">
element. It's also used for a list of files dropped into web content when using the drag and drop API; see the DataTransfer
object for details on this usage.
Note: Prior to Gecko 1.9.2, the input element only supported a single file being selected at a time, meaning that the FileList would contain only one file. Starting with Gecko 1.9.2, if the input element's multiple attribute is true, the FileList may contain multiple files.
Using the file list
All <input>
element nodes have a files
attribute of type FileList
on them which allows access to the items in this list. For example, if the HTML includes the following file input:
<input id="fileItem" type="file">
The following line of code fetches the first file in the node's file list as a File
object:
var file = document.getElementById('fileItem').files[0];
Method overview
File item(index); |
Properties
Attribute | Type | Description |
length |
integer |
A read-only value indicating the number of files in the list. |
Methods
item()
Returns a File
object representing the file at the specified index in the file list.
File item( index );
Parameters
index
- The zero-based index of the file to retrieve from the list.
Return value
The File
representing the requested file.
Example
This example iterates over all the files selected by the user using an input
element:
// fileInput is an HTML input element: <input type="file" id="myfileinput" multiple> var fileInput = document.getElementById("myfileinput"); // files is a FileList object (similar to NodeList) var files = fileInput.files; var file; // loop through files for (var i = 0; i < files.length; i++) { // get item file = files.item(i); //or file = files[i]; alert(file.name); }
Here is a complete example.
<!DOCTYPE HTML> <html> <head> </head> <body> <!--multiple is set to allow multiple files to be selected--> <input id="myfiles" multiple type="file"> </body> <script> var pullfiles=function(){ // love the query selector var fileInput = document.querySelector("#myfiles"); var files = fileInput.files; // cache files.length var fl = files.length; var i = 0; while ( i < fl) { // localize file var in the loop var file = files[i]; alert(file.name); i++; } } // set the input element onchange to call pullfiles document.querySelector("#myfiles").onchange=pullfiles; //a.t </script> </html>
Specifications
Specification | Status | Comment |
---|---|---|
File API The definition of 'FileList' in that specification. |
Working Draft | |
HTML Living Standard The definition of 'selected files' in that specification. |
Living Standard |
Browser compatibility
Desktop | Mobile | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
FileList | Chrome Full support 1 | Edge Full support 12 | Firefox Full support 3 | IE Full support 10 | Opera Full support 11.1 | Safari Full support 4 | WebView Android Full support 1 | Chrome Android Full support 18 | Firefox Android Full support 4 | Opera Android Full support 11.1 | Safari iOS Full support 3.2 | Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0 |
item | Chrome Full support Yes | Edge Full support 12 | Firefox Full support Yes | IE ? | Opera Full support Yes | Safari Full support Yes | WebView Android Full support Yes | Chrome Android Full support Yes | Firefox Android Full support Yes | Opera Android Full support Yes | Safari iOS Full support Yes | Samsung Internet Android Full support Yes |
length | Chrome Full support Yes | Edge Full support 12 | Firefox Full support Yes | IE ? | Opera Full support Yes | Safari Full support Yes | WebView Android Full support Yes | Chrome Android Full support Yes | Firefox Android Full support Yes | Opera Android Full support Yes | Safari iOS Full support Yes | Samsung Internet Android Full support Yes |
Legend
- Full support
- Full support
- Compatibility unknown
- Compatibility unknown