Can someone tell me, in a nutshell, what's required to switch from a "public" to "private" files directory path?
My site presently has zero uploaded files so there shouldn't be any legacy file URL issues.
I have created my new "files" directory above the web root. Under admin/settings I have updated the "files" directory path and switched from "public" to "private".
Despite these change the "files" directory path appears in the URL as "system/files" instead of my defined path. Searching through the code base the path "system/files" is found in system.module (line 61) and file.inc (line 39.) Why is this path hardcoded instead of dynamically define (such as from the system variables)?
Bottom line, what's required in making the system recognize my defined private path?
Comments
It's doing what it's
It's doing what it's supposed to do...! When you make your files directory path private Drupal 'becomes' a file server and so you can place your directory literally anywhere on your server (ie. in places you can't browse to) when someone goes to the url "system/files?whatever" Drupal will go off and fetch 'whatever' file from your files directory and pipe it through to the user. This (obviously) prevents a user from gaining access to your file by browsing to it unless they go through the proper way of accessing it.
Pobster
I'm sorted
Pobster, thanks for the clarification. I was thinking too liternal and finally realized that 'system/files' is referring to the path defined in system.module--not the physical path to the directory (duh.)