CodeIgniter - Multiple file uploads using dynamic field generation - codeigniter

Question

Im using a jquery script to add new file upload fields to my form dynamically, as a result, all my file fields look like so
<input class="file-input-area" name="mpfile[]" type="file" size="32" value="" />
So in other words, if i click the 'add more file upload' link 5 times, i get 5 file upload fields that look exactly as the one above.
Iam quite new to codeigniter and have done some research which tells me that if uploading multiple files, i should use the [] after the field name ... i hope this is right.
My problem now is figuring the process to upload the files, and store their names to a database table.
I have tried normal PHP uploading but it doesnt seem to be working, im not sure what to put in my view, controller and model.
If someone can give me an example of how they would go about it, it would help me so much.
Cheers,

Answer 1

Use jQuery uploadify. The files are uploaded asynchronously, see some demos here.
Here's an implementation:
jQuery('#images').uploadify({
'uploader' : '/uploadify/uploadify.swf',
'script' : '/uploadify/uploadify.php',
'cancelImg' : '/uploadify/cancel.png',
'folder' : '/data/images',
'auto' : true,
'fileExt' : '*.jpg;*.gif;*.png;*.jpeg;*.tif',
'fileDesc' : 'Web Image Files (.JPG, .GIF, .PNG, .JPEG, .TIF)',
'queueID' : 'images-queue',
'onCancel' : function(event,ID,fileObj,data) {
jQuery.ajax({
type: "POST",
url: "uploadify/delete_image.php",
data: "filepath=/data/images/" + jQuery("#"+ID).val(),
success: function(){
jQuery("#"+ID).remove();
queueSize = data.fileCount;
jQuery('#status-message').text('Photo uploaded!');
}
});
},
'onSelect' :function (event, ID) {
if (queueSize < maxQueueSize)
queueSize++;
else{
alert("Max number of files is " + maxQueueSize);
jQuery('#images').uploadifyCancel(ID);
return false;
}
},
'onSelectOnce' : function(event,data) {
jQuery('#status-message').text('File is currently uploaded...');
},
'onComplete': function (evt, queueID, fileObj, response, data) {
jQuery('#status-message').text('H φωτογραφία φορτώθηκε!');
jQuery("#field_photos").append("<input id="+ queueID +" type='hidden' name='pics[]' value='" + response + "' />"); //adds hidden form field
},
'onAllComplete' : function(event,data) {
},
'onClearQueue' : function (a, b) {
queueSize = 0;
},
'multi' : true,
'simUploadLimit' : 3,
'removeCompleted': false,
'sizeLimit' : 1048576,
'queueSizeLimit' : 1
});
With this line:
jQuery("#field_photos").append("<input id="+ queueID +" type='hidden' name='pics[]' value='" + response + "' />"); //adds hidden form field
we store the filenames in the hidden array field "pics". When your form is submitted, you read these names using $this->input->post('pics') and store them into your database.