It must be considered to achieve this that the server side must be abble to send feedback on the upload state.
For example php on it's own can't achieve this without rarely installed extensions.

When using a Flash based version this is doable. There is also the possibility to add a CGI backend, to allow more flexibility. However, this needs some additional configuration.

Hey Giles,

I set the status back to "in planning" and demo link to "n/a". Links in the header should always point to resources in the UI repos.

jQuery.uploader looks really good and feature complete. Were you intending to add your plugin to UI?

This plugin looks nice.
Is it possible to develop this plugin in a way that doesn't depend on Flash? Or at least only using Flash if it's available? Also a solution that does not need to be configured to align with the backend would be ideal as well.
The first priority should be to make a native file input customizable in appearance and behavior. This portion shouldn't require Flash or any backend configuration.

I've seen some nice plugins that manipulate an input type=file element with some additional elements to at least make a single file uploader configurable with CSS and JS.
Here's one I've used that worked quite well (you apply the plugin to an element which could replace a file input, it doesn't use Flash, and submits using a generated iFrame):
http://valums.com/wp-content/uploads/ajax-upload/demo-jquery.htm

it works by actually using a hidden file input positioned over the clickable button, so you actually click the native input button while using it.

Obviously, this plugin isn't as full-featured as the example posted above, but it's a nice solution for configuring a native file input element, and then we could provide options for things that might require Flash, such as reporting upload progress back to a UI progressbar widget, uploading multiple files, and more.

Thoughts?

@Ca-Phun ung:
yes i have been thinking about this for over 2 years (that is, i have suggested it many times but due to the fact that everybody is very busy, it just never came off it). I started today to convert my jquery.uploader to jQuery.ui.fileuploader (as in: rewriting to confirm with jQuery UI). As per Scots request (and the fact that i have seen it on other plugins which are MIT licensed) at first i am just "converting" my plugin, meaning it requires flash and basically works just like the plugin above but then using UI standards. Then we can think about other formats (both front-end as backend).

The main problem here is that this plugin can't be used "out of the box" you have to do some event handling and backend programming in order for it to work, but that should all be self explanatory when you take a look at the demo's. I've decided to use SWFobject (also MIT licensed) for Flash detection since you can build that into the plugin, but better is to not reinvent the wheel. I'll keep you guys updated.

Guys i added the first demo (and complete source) to the labs, please tell me what you think of this.

Hi,

I am an author of AJAX Upload plugin http://valums.com/ajax-upload/ ,
and I would like to help developing a jQuery UI widget.

As I see, Gilles is already in process of creating a flash based widget,
and I would like to know what do you have right now.

I was thinking that it would be great if Flash was only required if developers
would like to see the progress-bar, but for others (that have trouble with Flash upload
because of the server settings), and for users without Flash,
and for newer browsers (which support XHR progress event and File API)
files uploads would be done with JavaScript.

Here is a list what's currently possible with the pure JavaScript.

In all browsers
Multiple file uploads using upload button styled with CSS
(http://valums.com/wp-content/uploads/ajax-upload/demo-jquery.htm)

Safari 4, Opera and upcoming Firefox 3.6 support selecting multiple files using file selection dialog
<input type=”file” multiple> Safari, Firefox
<input type=”file” min="0" max="73"> Opera

With Safari 4 and Firefox 3.5 it is possible to show upload progress using XHR onprogress event,
but in my opinion it's too costly to implement it right now.

What do you think?

Our business is looking for this exact kind of widget. We haven't found anything that works really well for multiple files with a progress bar. My boss and I are wondering if you know when this widget might launch - if you have a deadline time frame?