uploads from external source not working in firefox

Hi,
My uploads on my site don't work from an external source(camera) in firefox or safari. The same picture uploads if it is being uploaded from the hard drive in firefox and safari, but not from a camera.
I know the pics are saved in an exif format then converted to JPEG at some point when they are opened on a computer.... i think this might be it but camera uploads work in IE so im not sure.
If that is it how do i add the EXIF format to the script?

A way that you could test to see if the format is the problem would be to edit your upload server behavior and take off the web images only restriction. When you test it again if it is the file format that is the problem you should be able to upload the images directly. Being that you can do it in Explorer it seems to me that it is not the script that is preventing the image from being uploaded but your browser or the OS. This quick test should shed some more light on it though.

ok i tried what you suggested and i was able to upload an image direct in firefox. i like the options for quality that come with the web only option so i guess i just need to edit the script to accept EXIF. i saw a spot at the top but im sure i have to do more than just :image/exif" => true.
can you provide me with some instructions to do this?

Adding in an exception for the web images is not as simple as just adding in a reference. There is logic in the code that deals with the image type, just adding in the one you would like to also include will not allow it to work correctly.

If you can upload the images directly from the camera with the same page in IE then it indicates that the image type is not what is being restricted. When you took off the web images restrictions does the page function the same in IE as it does in FireFox?

In order to be able to use the images with DFP successfully you may need to copy them to your hard drive and rename them properly if the names are a problem.

it functions almost the same in FF as in IE except FF resizes the pic down to 640 x 480 and ie doesnt with the web images only option off.
from the little research I have done I think that it is a file extension issue and IE must have capability to read EXIF as JPG, and FF and safari dont.
EXIF is really a JPG, just in compressed format. its what canon uses to save pics on their camera as, as soon as it is loaded onto a computer or even viewed on a computer, it automatically becomes a JPG.
I definately want the web images only checked as it has good coversion and resize and quality options. not to mention, i cant expect people to put the images on the computer then upload them, some poeple have slow computers not to mention memory cards are even slower. I want direct upload from camera to web with no issues cross browser.
I was reading on another thread about file extensions and tell me if this sounds ok....
What if i go through and all the places it says gif replace it with EXIF. it should work should it not?

update..... tried replacing gif with exif everywhere in helperphp.php, paying attention to case and what not.... no luck on uploading directly from camera in FF or safari.
EXIF is a MAJOR image storage format for digital cameras ive found out and the fact that this script doesnt ideally work with them is a big issue for me.

im sure exif can be added to the script for web images only option, i just dont know how... anyone know any scripts that convert the exif into jpeg client-side...

or maybe someone that feels confident at adding exif to the script??? i can provide compensation...

I have done some looking around for info on the EXIF format and all the info I see says it is a type of jpg image. Is the image saved with the jpg file extension in the camera? If you do not have file extensions showing you should make sure to do this first then check to see if the .jpg extension is set for the images in the camera. You might also be able to right click on the image to bring up the properties to see if the information is in there.

From what I have read this format is used by digital cameras to encode extra information in the image file, but it should still be a jpg image. It is possible that the browsers are treating the image differently based on the extra EXIF info.

Also, just to clarify if you have the web images only option turned on and use IE it will allow the image to be updoaded correctly rite? If this is the case then it indicates that it is not something in the script that is treating the image differently but rather the browser itself since the server side code runs exactly the same regardless of the browser. Please post back with some more details about this so we can investigate the issue further, if needed I will open a ticket for you on this so we can do more in depth analysis.

yes, with the web images only option checked the pictures do upload correctly in IE, they even are styled correctly, resized etc. correctly. Not in FF or safari, i get an error code that the file is not an image.

sorry if i wasnt too clear, i think it is the browsers as well, and yes you are right about the exif. I have tried viewing the pictures to see the EXIF format and i can never actually see that format, i just know its what the cameras use to 'encode' as i saw it in the manual and online.

Anytime i even view the contents of the camera on my computer they come up as JPG. even if i right click and view properties, it says JPG. its almost like windows interperates it as a JPG as well (must be a microsoft thing huh??)

I hope there is some way we can get this to work, as this is a major format used and 2 major browsers interperet them as "foreign"

thanks for your research in this issue Eric, it is appreciated.

Here is my understanding of what is going on.

Uploading to FireFox or Safari directly from the camera does not seem to work and gives errors about the image format.

Doing the same thing in IE however works ok.

This alone tells me that the problem is not likely in the code for the upload since the code is not affected by the browser and runs the same regardless of what browser is used.

The EXIF format is not a file extension itself, but rather a way of packaging a jpeg so that it can contain more info about the image. The file format used for this type of image is jpg.

Since you can move the image files from the camera to the machine and get them to upload correctly this tells me that the most likely problem is retrieving the files directly from that location for these browsers. I'm not sure why it would not be able to do this but it probably has to do with how the browser moves the file temporarily or something like that.

If the problem is not the script that is doing the upload it is not an issue that we would be able to fix by updating the script. I know this is not the answer you are looking for but I think your best bet would be to just move the images from the camera to your hard drive before attempting to upload them.

Yes the script is just doing its job... it can only do what its told.

With that in mind, maybe a exception or something like that could be added to the script since 2 of the the major browsers treat it this way... What i was wondering is that what if an extra file "translation" of EXIF was added to the accepted web images? that way when the browsers dont translate JPG from a camera correctly as JPG, they would still be accepted.

The whole reason they are not accepted is b/c the browsers do not see them as JPG's, even though they are. Adding this "exception" would fix this issue and working with browsers different 'quirks' is all part of web design. i dont know how many times ive made certain exceptions for styles b/c a browser acts a certain way... this is no different.

I know it can be done i just dont have the expertise... maybe something with an PHP if statement or exception for certain browsers. I'm not sure, im not a coder... thats why i bought DFP. You guys are the smart ones when it comes to that... what can you do? :)