How to link to files using a relative path?

Question

My site is in sites/sandbox folder. When I upload to live server, this will change to sites/mysite

In file system settings, the public file system path is set to sites/sandbox/files. When site goes live, I plan to change this to sites/mysite/files

File module is enabled and I am uploading PDF files. When entering content, how can I link to an uploaded file using a relative path that won't break when the site goes live?

Or perhaps the site directory name ('sandbox') should never be changed?

Answer 1

The Pathologic module will fix all of that for you automatically when you move it over

Pathologic is an input filter which can correct paths in links and images in your Drupal content in situations which would otherwise cause them to “break;” for example, if the URL of the site changes, or the content was moved to a different server. Pathologic can also solve the problem of missing images and broken links in your site’s RSS feeds. See more example use cases on the documentation page.

Answer 2

Did you try file_create_url() ?

$file_uri = file_create_url(file_build_uri('images/example.jpeg'));

The above snippet will give the file URL. Besides, I recommend transliteration module for the sites that deals with file uploads.

Answer 3

Use base_path() (function) OR $base_path (global var) that will result /sites/mysites OR /sites/sandbox for your sites. Always use it in themes and every where. This will give you ease to sync both sites with any edit.

Links can be produced

l('Link Title', base_path() . "/files/filename.ext");

OR

global $base_path;
l('Link Title', $base_path . "/files/filename.ext");

Answer 4

The LinkIt module is a pretty comprehensive solution for inserting links into fields and wysiwygs in really any format you choose. I'm using File Entity and Media and using the LinkIt WYSIWYG integration allows me to insert links to files however I'd like, including direct links to the file for the desired "open in browser" behavior. It's also got a great autocomplete search function for finding nodes or files. I wish I had found it sooner.