CSV file fails to import once MVC Application deployed to Server

Question

Im sitting with possibly a very obvious issue that I can not find a solution to. I am Importing data from a CSV file to my SQL DB - This works perfect in my Development environment, but wont work once deployed to our Dedicated server(This is temporary for testing, which will be moved to a web server that I only have ftp access to, so cant install anything on either).

Here is my code :

public ActionResult ImportExcel(PipelineDetails model, HttpPostedFileBase FileUpload, int ProjectID)
    {
        string Result = "";
        string UploadfileSaved_Path;
        ProjectManager PM = new ProjectManager();
        PipelineData PD = new PipelineData();

        try
        {
            if (!FileUpload.FileName.EndsWith("csv"))
            {
                Result = "File type not allowed. Please import file using CSV format(Comma Delimited).";
                return RedirectToAction("Index", "Pipeline", new { id = ProjectID, result = Result });
            }

            string[] lines = System.IO.File.ReadAllLines(FileUpload.FileName);
            bool isHeader = true;
            int i = 0;

            foreach (string line in lines)
            {

                string[] col = line.Split(new char[] { ',' });

                if (i >= 1)
                {
                    isHeader = false;
                }
                else
                {
                    if (col[0] != "Accumulated_Length" || col[1] != "Elevation" || col[2] != "Pipe_Outside_Diameter" ||
                                    col[3] != "Wall_Thickness")
                    {
                        Result = "Import files Headers are incorrect. Please correct before retrying.";
                        return RedirectToAction("Index", "Pipeline", new { id = ProjectID, result = Result });
                    }
                }

                if (col[0] == null || col[1] == null || col[2] == null || col[3] == null)
                {
                    Result = "Some values are missing in the Import File. Please check the data.";
                    return RedirectToAction("Index", "Pipeline", new { id = ProjectID, result = Result });
                }

                if (!isHeader)
                {
                    if (i == 1)
                    {

                        PM.DeleteALLPipeLine_forProject(ProjectID);
                    }

                    using (RexusTradingEntities RTE = new RexusTradingEntities())
                    {
                        PD.Accumulated_Length = Convert.ToDecimal(col[0]);
                        PD.Elevation = Convert.ToDecimal(col[1]);
                        PD.Pipe_Outside_Diameter = Convert.ToDecimal(col[2]);
                        PD.Wall_Thickness = Convert.ToDecimal(col[3]);

                        if (col[4] != "" && col[4] != null)
                        {
                            PD.Control_Point_Description = col[4];
                        }

                        if (col[5] != "" && col[5] != null)
                        {
                            PD.Control_Point_Size = Convert.ToDecimal(col[5]);
                        }

                        PD.fkiProjectID = ProjectID;
                        PD.CreateDateTimeStamp = DateTime.Now;

                        RTE.PipelineDatas.Add(PD);
                        RTE.SaveChanges();
                    }
                }

                i++;
            }
        }
        catch (Exception ex)
        {
            //Result = "There is a problem with the Import File. Please check the file format or data.";
            Result = ex.Message + " : " + FileUpload.FileName;
            return RedirectToAction("Index", "Pipeline", new { id = ProjectID, result = Result });
        }

        //Adding the Node Numbers in sequencial order
        PM.UpdatePipelineNodeNumbers(ProjectID, model);

        Result = "Import Success";

        return RedirectToAction("Index", "Pipeline", new { id = ProjectID, result = Result });
    }

And the error I am getting is : 'Could not find file 'C:\Windows\SysWOW64\inetsrv\RexusImportTemplate.csv'

Now as obvious as this may seem(File not found), I am using a dialog where I select the file on my pc(and other will do on their pcs), so I dont require to save the file(unless I have to, if ill even have permissions).

I Tried using FileUpload.SaveAs(FileUpload.FileName) but then I got an error that this saveas only allows to be saved in the root. Then I tried FileUpload.SaveAs("~/" + FileUpload.FileName) and this said I dont have access to the folder...

I thought that the file will be read from the path specified, rather than a path on the server where the Web Application was deployed... ?

I have been struggling on this for a while now - are there any work arounds that anyone is aware of ?

Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

When you run

System.IO.File.ReadAllLines(FileUpload.FileName)

You're telling .net to read a file from the filesystem with the same filename as the file uploaded, not the file the user uploaded.

If you want to save the file locally, try to map the path to the location you want to save it to (possibly App_Data) before using SaveAs method:

public ActionResult Index(HttpPostedFileBase file) {

  if (file.ContentLength > 0) {
    var fileName = Path.GetFileName(file.FileName);
    var path = Path.Combine(Server.MapPath("~/App_Data/uploads"), fileName);
    file.SaveAs(path);
    //read your file's contents here
  }

  return RedirectToAction("Index");
}

Taken from http://haacked.com/archive/2010/07/16/uploading-files-with-aspnetmvc.aspx/

Answer 2

Two things:

• Make sure you do check if the file exists by using FileUpload.HasFile() (MSDN Link)
• Use Server.MapPath(filename) (MSDN Link) to ensure you are mapping to the current application's directory when saving/reading.

Answer 3

I think you need to map the path on the server. Server.MapPath(PathWhereFilesWillBeSaved) to be able to save files in your project directory on a server. MSDN - Server.MapPath