Rails paperclip URL upload problem & How to make it DRY - ruby-on-rails

Question

I am trying to create URL upload with paperclip.
I have followed this guide: http://trevorturk.com/2008/12/11/easy-upload-via-url-with-paperclip/
The problem is that nothing gets uploaded when I use the image_url fields. I know my code isnt very dry therefor it would be nice if someone had, some tips to rewrite the code.
I have 2 attached images and therefor 2 image URLs.
My konkurrancers table:
photo_file_name varchar(255)
photo_content_type varchar(255)
photo_file_size int(11)
photo_updated_at datetime
photo2_file_name varchar(255)
photo2_content_type varchar(255)
photo2_file_size int(11)
photo2_updated_at datetime
image_remote_url varchar(255)
image_remote_url_2 varchar(255)
My konkurrancer model:
class Konkurrancer < ActiveRecord::Base
has_attached_file :photo,
:url => "/public/images/billeder/photo/:id/:basename.:extension",
:path => ":rails_root/public/images/billeder/photo/:id/:basename.:extension"
has_attached_file :photo2,
:url => "/public/images/billeder/photo2/:id/:basename.:extension",
:path => ":rails_root/public/images/billeder/photo2/:id/:basename.:extension"
before_validation :download_remote_image, :if => :image_url_provided?
before_validation :download_remote_image_2, :if => :image_url_2_provided?
validates_presence_of :image_remote_url, :if => :image_url_provided?, :message => 'is invalid or inaccessible'
validates_presence_of :image_remote_url_2, :if => :image_url_2_provided?, :message => 'is invalid or inaccessible'
private
def image_url_provided?
!self.image_url.blank?
end
def image_url_2_provided?
!self.image_url_2.blank?
end
def download_remote_image
self.photo = do_download_remote_image
self.image_remote_url = image_url
end
def download_remote_image_2
self.photo2 = do_download_remote_image_2
self.image_remote_url_2 = image_url_2
end
def do_download_remote_image
io = open(URI.parse(image_url))
def io.original_filename; base_uri.path.split('/').last; end
io.original_filename.blank? ? nil : io
rescue # catch url errors with validations instead of exceptions (Errno::ENOENT, OpenURI::HTTPError, etc...)
end
def do_download_remote_image_2
io = open(URI.parse(image_url_2))
def io.original_filename; base_uri.path.split('/').last; end
io.original_filename.blank? ? nil : io
rescue # catch url errors with validations instead of exceptions (Errno::ENOENT, OpenURI::HTTPError, etc...)
end
end
My controller create action:
def create
#konkurrancer = Konkurrancer.new(params[:konkurrancer])
respond_to do |format|
if #konkurrancer.save
format.html { redirect_to(:admin_konkurrancers, :notice => 'Konkurrancer was successfully created.') }
format.xml { render :xml => :admin_konkurrancers, :status => :created, :location => #konkurrancer }
else
format.html { render :action => "new" }
format.xml { render :xml => #konkurrancer.errors, :status => :unprocessable_entity }
end
end
end
My form:
<%= simple_form_for [:admin, #konkurrancer], :html => { :multipart => true } do |f| %>
<%= f.label :upload_125x125 %>
<%= f.file_field :photo, :label => '125x125', :style => 'width:250;' %>
<%= f.input :image_url_2, :label => 'URL 125x125', :style => 'width:250;' %>
<%= f.label :upload_460x60 %>
<%= f.file_field :photo2, :label => '460x58', :style => 'width:250;' %>
<%= f.button :submit, :value => 'Create konkurrence' %>
<% end %>

Answer 1

In the latest version of paperclip (pull request has been merged but i'm not sure about the release) paperclip > 3.1.3 (maybe 3.2 is upcoming; maybe 3.1.4) this is become even easier.
self.photo = URI.parse("http://something.com/blah/image.png")
The above should take care of download/tempfile stuff/filename and filecontent type.
Enjoy! :)

Answer 2

To fix the problem of an repetitive model, you'll want to instead create a separate class for your photos that stores a foreign key to the konkurrence:
class Photo < ActiveRecord::Base
has_attached_file ...
belongs_to :konkurrence
...
end
class Konkurrence < ActiveRecord::Base
has_many :photos, :dependent => :destroy
accepts_nested_attributes_for :photos, :allow_destroy => true
...
end
Also, I think you're trying to download a remote image from a URL and then save this into Paperclip. Using open-uri (as I believe you already are), you can do this like so:
# open a tempfile using the last 14 chars of the filename
t = Tempfile.new(image_url.parameterize.slice(-14, 14))
t.write(open(image_url).read)
t.flush
t # return the File. You can then set the paperclip attribute to this File, eg, self.photo = t
This will save your URL as a temporary file which you can then pass on to Paperclip for regular processing.