Reads a binary file (such as an executable or image file) on the server, into a binary object parameter that you can use in the page. To send it through a web protocol (such as HTTP or SMTP) or store it in a database, first convert it to Base64 using the ToBase64 function.
<cffile action = "readBinary" file = "full pathname
" variable = "variable name
">
Attribute |
Req/Opt |
Default |
Description |
---|---|---|---|
action |
Required |
|
Type of file manipulation that the tag performs. |
file |
Required |
|
Pathname of a binary fine to read. If not an absolute path (starting with a drive letter and a colon, or a forward or backward slash), it is relative to the ColdFusion temporary directory, which is returned by the GetTempDirectory function. |
variable |
Required |
|
Name of variable to contain contents of binary file. |
You convert the binary file to Base64 to transfer it to another site.
ColdFusion supports reading an image file as a binary and passing the result to a cfimage, for example:
<!--- Convert a JPG image to a binary object. ---> <cffile action="readBinary" file="maxwell05.jpg" variable="binaryObject"> <!--- Create a cfimage from the binary object variable. ---> <cfset myImage=ImageNew(binaryObject)>
The following example reads the binary file somewhere.jpg, writes it to a different folder as somewhereB.jpg, and then displays the new file:
<cffile action = "readBinary" file = "C:\inetpub\wwwroot\cfdocs\getting_started\photos\somewhere.jpg" variable = "aBinaryObj"> <!--- Output binary object to JPEG format for viewing. ---> <cffile action="write" file = "c:\files\updates\somewhereB.jpg" output = "#toBinary(aBinaryObj)#"> <!--- HTML to view image. ---> <img src="C:\files\updates\somewhereB.jpg">