A critical vulnerability was discovered in React Server Components (Next.js). Our systems remain protected but we advise to update packages to newest version. Learn More

Ben Nitti
Apr 22, 2021
  2516
(3 votes)

Retrieving, storing file size information during upload

While presenting media content available for public download, it might be helpful to provide the file size, particularly for mobile users who may not want to save large files to their phone. 

This can be performed on any IContentMedia type by extending the content model and using an initialization module to retrieve and save the file size information. 

For this example, I'll create a custom media type for storing PDF, Word and Excel documents with a read only property to store the file size:

    [MediaDescriptor(ExtensionString = "pdf,docx,xlsx")]
    public class DocumentMediaType : MediaData, IHasFileSize
    {
        [Editable(false)]
        [Display(Order = 10, GroupName = SystemTabNames.Settings, Name = "File Size")]
        public virtual string FileSize { get; set; }
    }

I'm implementing an interface I called IHasFileSize:

    public interface IHasFileSize
    {
        string FileSize { get; set; }
    }

After that I can create the initialization module and attach to the save and create events to store the file size data:

    [InitializableModule]
    [ModuleDependency(typeof(ServiceContainerInitialization))]
    public class FileBasedEventsInitialization : IInitializableModule
    {
        // attach to both the CreatingContent and SavingContent events
        public void Initialize(InitializationEngine context)
        {
            IContentEvents eventRegistry = ServiceLocator.Current.GetInstance<IContentEvents>();

            eventRegistry.CreatingContent += SavingMedia;
            eventRegistry.SavingContent += SavingMedia;
        }

        private void SavingMedia(object sender, EPiServer.ContentEventArgs e)
        {

            if (!(e.Content is IContentMedia))
                return;

            IContentMedia media = e.Content as IContentMedia;

            string fileSize = GetFileSizeDisplay(media);

            if (media is IHasFileSize file)
            {
                file.FileSize = fileSize;
            }
        }

        private string GetFileSizeDisplay(IContentMedia media)
        {
            if (media?.BinaryData != null)
            {
                using (var stream = media.BinaryData.OpenRead())
                {
                    return FormatBytes(stream.Length);
                }
            }

            return string.Empty;
        }

        public void Uninitialize(InitializationEngine context)
        {
            IContentEvents eventRegistry = ServiceLocator.Current.GetInstance<IContentEvents>();

            eventRegistry.CreatingContent -= SavingMedia;
            eventRegistry.SavingContent -= SavingMedia;
        }

    }

This method is used for formatting the file size with the correct unit of measurement:

        private static string FormatBytes(long bytes)
        {
            string[] uom = { "B", "KB", "MB", "GB" };

            int i;

            double size = bytes;

            for (i = 0; i < uom.Length && bytes >= 1024; i++, bytes /= 1024)
            {
                size = bytes / 1024.0;
            }

            return $"{size:0.##} {uom[i]}";
        }

Thanks for reading, and enjoy displaying your new custom FileSize property!



Apr 22, 2021

Comments

Please login to comment.
Latest blogs
CMS Audiences - check all usage

Sometimes you want to check if an Audience from your CMS (former Visitor Group) has been used by which page(and which version of that page) Then yo...

Tuan Anh Hoang | Dec 12, 2025

Data Imports in Optimizely: Part 2 - Query data efficiently

One of the more time consuming parts of an import is looking up data to update. Naively, it is possible to use the PageCriteriaQueryService to quer...

Matt FitzGerald-Chamberlain | Dec 11, 2025 |

Beginner's Guide for Optimizely Backend Developers

Developing with Optimizely (formerly Episerver) requires more than just technical know‑how. It’s about respecting the editor’s perspective, ensurin...

MilosR | Dec 10, 2025

Optimizely PaaS Administrator Certification : Free for Everyone

Optimizely has recently launched a free PaaS Administrator Certification. https://academy.optimizely.com/student/activity/2958208-paas-cms-administ...

Madhu | Dec 9, 2025 |

Fixing TinyMCE Initialization Failures in Optimizely CMS: A Hidden Pipeline Issue with .NET SDK Versions

Over the past few weeks, several Optimizely CMS projects began experiencing a puzzling failure: XHtmlString fields stopped initializing TinyMCE in...

Francisco Quintanilla | Dec 9, 2025 |

Jhoose Security Modules v2.6.0 — Added support for Permissions Policy and .NET 10

Version 2.6.0 adds Permissions Policy header support, updates to .NET 10, improved policy management, configurable security settings, and enhanced...

Andrew Markham | Dec 6, 2025 |