Automate HTML File Upload Control - Tutorial (1)

If you ever tried to programatically change the value of a HTML File Upload Control you probably noticed that <input type="file" /> element is read-only! This happens for good security reasons: web pages scripts should not be able to upload random files without user consent. Unfortunatelly the control is read-only for browser extensions and add-ons too (BHO, toolbars, side bars, etc).

For IE6 and IE7 the upload control may be automated by setting the focus to "Internet Explorer_Server" window and generating Win32 keyboard events. For IE8, the upload control is read-only, the user can only set a value by pressing "Browse" button and choosing a file.

With Twebst Automation Studio, automating HTML File Upload Control can't be easier. Here's a short VBScript sample of doing it:

Option Explicit
Dim core
Dim browser
Set core = CreateObject("Twebst.Core")
Set browser = core.StartBrowser("http://www.2shared.com/")

Call browser.FindElement("input file", "id=upField").InputText("C:\somepath\photo1.jpg")

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