How to Limiting Download?

Dev Articles Community Forums Sponsor:

January 22nd, 2004, 04:15 PM

Mary

Registered User

Join Date: Mar 2003

Posts: 59

Time spent in forums: 1 h 5 m 17 sec
Reputation Power: 0

How to Limiting Download?

I really need your helps! I am currently working on a download section. This is how it goes: Every new registered member will have 2 downloads, images for instance. How can design the code that I can limit them from the 3 download? Thank you very much!

January 22nd, 2004, 04:56 PM

MadCowDzz

I'm Internet Famous

Dev Articles Frequenter (2500 - 2999 posts)

Join Date: Jan 2003

Location: Toronto, Canada

Posts: 2,890

Time spent in forums: 1 Week 16 h 14 m 9 sec
Reputation Power: 8

You could keep track of the number of downloads using a counter field in your database... (i assume you're using a database for user information?)

The download page can then, in turn, link not to downloads but to a temp page which updates the database then relocates to the downloaded file.

Perhaps my vision of a possible solution could get the ol' motors spinning?

January 22nd, 2004, 06:24 PM

Mary

Registered User

Join Date: Mar 2003

Posts: 59

Time spent in forums: 1 h 5 m 17 sec
Reputation Power: 0

Thanks for your promptly respond!

I can keep track of download times permission, but how can prevent people who already downloaded, and out of permissions, and they memozise the path and then come back to download again.

Is it possible that you can show me the structure, based on that I can set out to design the codes.

Thanks again!

January 22nd, 2004, 07:46 PM

aboyousif

Junior Member

Join Date: Jan 2004

Location: Tanta, Egypt

Posts: 21

Time spent in forums: 29 m 23 sec
Reputation Power: 0

there is alot of solutions to do that ..

1- every download require to open a page and the user must set this open to download the file ... when he close it .. the download will be canceled ...

2- when the user download files update database to know that he download only 2 files and in the files he sent to the site a confirmation code that mean he completed the download .. unless this .. he cann't do more than 2 downloads .

3- use a specific download programe made by visual basic as example to only control the downloads from your site ..

i think it is the possible soultions .. or the php experts here has another solution made by php ... ( in this case ... i will love php more & more & more & more ....

)

January 22nd, 2004, 09:31 PM

Mike_r

ExoCrew

Join Date: Dec 2003

Posts: 68

Time spent in forums: < 1 sec
Reputation Power: 6

You can write a php script to use content-disposition headers and it will prompt users to download instead of telling the path.

__________________
ExoHelpDesk
ExoCrew Free Services

January 22nd, 2004, 10:57 PM

MadCowDzz

I'm Internet Famous

Join Date: Jan 2003

Location: Toronto, Canada

Posts: 2,890

Time spent in forums: 1 Week 16 h 14 m 9 sec
Reputation Power: 8

Mike_r, can you explain content-disposition a bit? That's a term I haven't come across before...

Mary, some simple pseudo code I would use may follow:

For the download page (a page of links to files)... have all links like this: temp_page?id=2

Then the temp_page would be as follows:

Code:

User_Result = SELECT My_Downloads FROM user WHERE id=(something)

If User_downloads < 3 THEN
    File_Result = SELECT filename FROM downloadable_files WHERE id=get(id)
    UPDATE table SET user_downloads= My_Downloads+1
    Header("Location: filename")
Else
    Print "Sorry, you've downloaded too many files"
End If

Keep in mind this is rough work straight from the top of my head...

Also, my suggestion isn't 100% secure... but I do believe sending the ID number instead of filename is a little more secure... One minor flaw might be that this requires you keep a table of downloadable files... but perhaps this was already in your project...

hopefully it'll get you moving towards your goal a bit =)

January 23rd, 2004, 10:46 AM

Mary

Registered User

Join Date: Mar 2003

Posts: 59

Time spent in forums: 1 h 5 m 17 sec
Reputation Power: 0

Thank you very much for all of your suggestion. Greatly appreciative! I will start of doing it by MadCowDuzz example, but it is going to take a little while. If I come across some problems, I will ask your guys later. Thanks all!

January 23rd, 2004, 08:33 PM

aboyousif

Junior Member

Join Date: Jan 2004

Location: Tanta, Egypt

Posts: 21

Time spent in forums: 29 m 23 sec
Reputation Power: 0

MadCowDzz .. sorry but your code only limit the files to 2 (forever) .. it means that the user will only download 2 files from the site ..

i think Mary need to limit the number of download images to be 2 at most .. but if one of them finished the user can download the third .. etc ..

in a simple way .. she need to only make 2 downloads from the site together (no more) to limit (and control ) the trafic from the site ..

may be i wrong

January 23rd, 2004, 08:57 PM

Mike_r

ExoCrew

Join Date: Dec 2003

Posts: 68

Time spent in forums: < 1 sec
Reputation Power: 6

Here is an example for outputting a zip file ( for madcowdzz )

PHP Code:


		
			
 $fp = fopen ( $file, 'r' );

$FILE = fread ( $fp, filesize ( $file ));

fclose( $fp );



header("Content-type: application/octet-stream");  

header("Content-disposition: attachment; filename={$file}");



echo $FILE;

Also you will have to use ob_start() and ob_end_flush() ...

#10

January 24th, 2004, 07:41 AM

MadCowDzz

I'm Internet Famous

Join Date: Jan 2003

Location: Toronto, Canada

Posts: 2,890

Time spent in forums: 1 Week 16 h 14 m 9 sec
Reputation Power: 8

Mike_r, thank you very much...
i' plan on looking into this further... its an interesting feature I didn't realize PHP could do

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search
Display Modes	Rate This Thread
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode	Rate This Thread: