How to upload a file using jQuery.ajax and FormData

Question

When I use XMLHttpRequest, a file is correctly uploaded using FormData. However, when I switch to jQuery.ajax, my code breaks.

This is the working original code:

function uploadFile(blobFile, fileName) {
    var fd = new FormData();
    fd.append("fileToUpload", blobFile);
    var xhr = new XMLHttpRequest();
    xhr.open("POST", "upload.php", true);
    xhr.send(fd);
}

Here is my unsuccessful jQuery.ajax attempt:

function uploadFile(blobFile, fileName) {
    var fd = new FormData();
    fd.append("fileToUpload", blobFile);
    var xm = $.ajax({
        url: "upload.php",
        type: "POST",
        data: fd,
    });
}

What am I doing wrong? How can I get the file to be uploaded correctly, using AJAX?

Solution

You have to add processData:false,contentType:false to your method, so that jQuery does not alter the headers or data (which breaks your current code).

function uploadFile(blobFile, fileName) {
    var fd = new FormData();
    fd.append("fileToUpload", blobFile);

    $.ajax({
       url: "upload.php",
       type: "POST",
       data: fd,
       processData: false,
       contentType: false,
       success: function(response) {
           // .. do something
       },
       error: function(jqXHR, textStatus, errorMessage) {
           console.log(errorMessage); // Optional
       }
    });
}