Allowing users to view all files in a directory? 4

[garymgordon]

I have a problem. I hope someone can help.

Here's the scenario with regard to what's happening and what I need help with:

I have a website hosted on an NT server through Verio.

I need to give certain users the rights to access a particular folder and to view all the contents in that folder (document files, images, etc.).

I wanted to give them a link to a URL that would dump them into the root of that folder, so they could then see a list of everything in that folder.

Is this possible, and what do I need to do in order to have them view the entire folder.

Currently I am getting:

"You are not authorized to view this page"

when I try and access the root of the directory, without entering in an index.html or default.html page.

Can I just give them a link to the URL ... without a file name .. and have them be able to access the contents of the folder???

How can I do this and keep it secure?

Thanks,
Gary
Gary M. Gordon, LLC
webmaster@garymgordon.com
Certified Web Developer ::
Application Programmer

http://www.garymgordon.com/

 

[KeyTech]

Im not the best on web development and that stuff,
but would it be possible to give them an FTP.hostname.com/folder/subfolder
address???? which would give them the directory tree of the site...? Jay~

"I'll moider da bum."
- Heavyweight boxer Tony Galento, when asked what he thought of William Shakespeare.

~KeyTech

 

[garymgordon]

KeyTech,

I didn't work. I think it is due to my hosting company.

So, being that this didn't work, let me know if you have any other ideas.

Thanks,
Gary
Gary M. Gordon, LLC
webmaster@garymgordon.com
Certified Web Developer ::
Application Programmer

http://www.garymgordon.com/

 

[Mubashir]

Yes it’s possible. It’s called Directory Browsing. But to achieve this you have to be on the server-side. It can’t be done through coding.

Assuming your site is being hosted on NT via IIS, you need to have administrative control over your site to enable Directory Browsing, your objective. Enabling Directory Browsing presents the users with a hypertext listing of available files and directories when a default document is not available. It’s one of the many features of IIS, but needs administrative control.

In directory browsing all the usual NTFS permissions of NT apply. For a local virtual directory, supply the full path to the folder “root\files\shareware”. For a remote virtual directory, supply the path in UNC form "\\computername\sharename". For a redirected URL, use a valid destination URL "

http://www.yoursite.com".

Depending upon the version of IIS, the administrative control for a particular site can be delegated to any other person. And that person can administer the site through internet by a tool called HTML Administrator, which is used with browser. But it all depends on the administrator of the IIS as to how much control he wants to share. Some others factors like site security, permissions, user access, come into consideration here. So directory browsing should be used with extreme caution. Even a minor oversight can become a sin when security of a web server is compromised.

If you have some experience with NT, you should be able to do it. It’s pretty straightforward. I suggest read some stuff on IIS before you start working. If you need more help, you are welcome.
Mubashir
muhammad.mubashir@sbp.org.pk


A mother doesn't spy. A mother pays attention.

 

[lorenm]

Mubashir is right. Just wanted to chuck in one more thing for you to consider/remember. Be aware of browser version and encryption level issues. People using older browsers (especially Netscape!!) may have problems gaining access to these files. They may be able to browse to them but not be allowed to download if using older version and/or lower encryption levels.

No specific details on this. Just something to be aware of and consider if your error messages persist.

-LJ

 

[pbxman]

check your IUSR_xxxx settings...