foreach on Request.Files

Question

I'm attempting upload multiple files in ASP.NET MVC and I have this simple foreach loop in my controller

foreach (HttpPostedFileBase f in Request.Files)
{
    if (f.ContentLength > 0)
        FileUpload(f);
}

The previous code generates this error:

Unable to cast object of type 'System.String' to type 'System.Web.HttpPostedFile'. 

What I don't understand is why Request.Files[1] returns an HttpPostedFileBase but when it's iterated over, it returns strings (presumably the file names).

Note: I know this can be solved with a for loop. Also, I tried using HttpPostedFile, with the same error.

Answer 1

The enumerator on the HttpFileCollection returns the keys (names) of the files, not the HttpPostedFileBase objects. Once you get the key, use the Item ([]) property with the key (filename) to get the HttpPostedFileBase object.

foreach (string fileName in Request.Files)
{
    HttpPostedFileBase file = Request.Files[fileName];

    ...
}