Download Form

Add a checkbox to a template column in your datagridview for selecting the documents for downloading.

When you click the download button you will need to iterate over the datagridrows in order to retrieve the checked listboxes. If your gridview support paging you will need to save these in a session somewhere.

Then for downloading I suggest you download all files into one zip file and stream that to the client. Theres lots of open source zip libraries availalble. We're using SharpZiplib

http://www.icsharpcode.net/opensource/sharpziplib/


//create zip file
          using (MemoryStream ms = new MemoryStream())
          {
            #region Generate the archive and add it to the MemoryStream ms

            using (ZipOutputStream zos = new ZipOutputStream(ms))
            {
             
              foreach (string sAccount in SelectedExcelItems)
              {
                //create excel
                _report = cReport.GetClientStatement(sAccount, (DateTime)rdpDate.SelectedDate);

                using (Stream stm = _report.ExportToStream(ExportFormatType.Excel))
                {
                  int iLength = Convert.ToInt32(stm.Length);
                  byte[] bData = new byte[iLength];
                  stm.Read(bData, 0, iLength);

                  ZipEntry oZipEntry = new ZipEntry(sAccount + ".xls"); //filename
                  zos.PutNextEntry(oZipEntry);
                  zos.Write(bData, 0, iLength);
                  zos.CloseEntry();

                  stm.Close();
                }
              }

              // Finish is important to ensure trailing information for a Zip file is appended.  Without this
              // the created file would be invalid.
              zos.Finish();
            }

            #endregion

            // Send the file to the client
            Response.ContentType = "application/zip";
            Response.AppendHeader("Content-Disposition", "attachment; filename=ArchivedFiles.zip");
            Response.AppendHeader("Content-Description", "ArchivedFiles.zip");

            Response.Clear();
            Response.Buffer = true;
            Response.BinaryWrite(ms.ToArray());
            Response.Flush();
            Response.End();
          }



The SelectedExcelItems is just a property which contains a string collection of selected eg.ClientAccounts in my case. In my case I will download a statement for each client account.

The _report I have used is a Crystal Decisions ReportDocument which I stream into a byte array. Depending on how you save your document you only need to get this into a byte array.

Hope it helps

If you would let the user select the files and then you send it to him (after pressing a donwload button)


i would suggest to return a Zipfile.
this way, you loop through the selected files, adding it to a zip file in memory and then you can send it to the user.
there are a lot of zipping references to be used

esolve WOW!

i think this may be a little bit over my head but here is what i can grasp a little more clarification will go a long way with me as im fairly new.

Firstly, i will explain a little more of what im working with. i have a linux server hosted on godaddy with about 20 files one it of varying sizes and formats. i have placed restrictions/premissions via CHmod on the folder than contains these files on the server. i have then created a seperate .php that lists all these documents within a table. the table has one row for each document on the server and six columns. the columns from left to right include:
 1. checkboxes
 2.  Names of document
 3. document identifier
 4. description of document
 5. version of document
 6. upload date

to accomplish the checkbox functions i have placed the entire table within a form. i have not given the form a name or action its simply <form>

i have then gone down on the first column to give a checkbox with a unique name and id to each row/document
<input type="checkbox" name="checkbox-1" id="checkbox-1"/>

at the very bottom i have included two buttons.

Once for select all and the other for unselect <-- havent got those to work yet but i just thought of the idea this morning.

finally, i have put a third input as a submit with the name, value, id oF Download and closed the form

this is pretty much where i am at the moment. i like your idea about placing it into a zip file i think that is a great idea. however i am not sure how i would go about this.

any help will be greatly appreciated

thanks!!!