You cannot set it to a client side disk file system path, due to security reasons.

Imagine:

<form name="foo" method="post" enctype="multipart/form-data">
    <input type="file" value="c:/passwords.txt">
</form>
<script>document.foo.submit();</script>

You don t want the websites you visit to be able to do this, do you? =)

You can only set it to a publicly accessible web resource as seen in this answer, but this is clearly not the same as a client side disk file system path and it s therefore useless in that context.

You can t.

The only way to set the value of a file input is by the user to select a file.

This is done for security reasons. Otherwise you would be able to create a JavaScript that automatically uploads a specific file from the client s computer.

Not an answer to your question (which others have answered), but if you want to have some edit functionality of an uploaded file field, what you probably want to do is:

• show the current value of this field by just printing the filename or URL, a clickable link to download it, or if it s an image: just show it, possibly as thumbnail
• the <input> tag to upload a new file
• a checkbox that, when checked, deletes the currently uploaded file. note that there s no way to upload an empty file, so you need something like this to clear out the field s value

I have write full example for load URL to input file, and preview you can check here 1 https://vulieumang.github.io/vuhocjs/file2input-input2file/

in short you can use this function

function loadURLToInputFiled(url){
  getImgURL(url, (imgBlob)=>{
    // Load img blob to input
    // WIP: UTF8 character error
    let fileName =  hasFilename.jpg 
    let file = new File([imgBlob], fileName,{type:"image/jpeg", lastModified:new Date().getTime()},  utf-8 );
    let container = new DataTransfer(); 
    container.items.add(file);
    document.querySelector( #file_input ).files = container.files;
    
  })
}
// xmlHTTP return blob respond
function getImgURL(url, callback){
  var xhr = new XMLHttpRequest();
  xhr.onload = function() {
      callback(xhr.response);
  };
  xhr.open( GET , url);
  xhr.responseType =  blob ;
  xhr.send();
}

You can t. And it s a security measure. Imagine if someone writes JS that sets file input value to some sensitive data file?

As everyone else here has stated: You cannot upload just any file automatically with JavaScript.

HOWEVER! If you have access to the information you want to send in your code (i.e., not C:passwords.txt), then you can upload it as a blob-type, and then treat it as a file.

What the server will end up seeing will be indistinguishable from someone actually setting the value of <input type="file" />. The trick, ultimately, is to begin a new XMLHttpRequest() with the server...

function uploadFile (data) {
        // define data and connections
    var blob = new Blob([JSON.stringify(data)]);
    var url = URL.createObjectURL(blob);
    var xhr = new XMLHttpRequest();
    xhr.open( POST ,  myForm.php , true);
    
        // define new form
    var formData = new FormData();
    formData.append( someUploadIdentifier , blob,  someFileName.json );
        
        // action after uploading happens
    xhr.onload = function(e) {
        console.log("File uploading completed!");
    };
    
        // do the uploading
    console.log("File uploading started!");
    xhr.send(formData);
}

    // This data/text below is local to the JS script, so we are allowed to send it!
uploadFile({ hello! : how are you? });

So, what could you possibly use this for? I use it for uploading HTML5 canvas elements as jpg s. This saves the user the trouble of having to open a file input element, only to select the local, cached image that they just resized, modified, etc.. But it should work for any file type.

the subject is very old but I think someone can need this answer!

<input type="file" />
    
    <script>
        // Get a reference to our file input
        const fileInput = document.querySelector( input[type="file"] );
    
        // Create a new File object
        const myFile = new File([ Hello World! ],  myFile.txt , {
            type:  text/plain ,
            lastModified: new Date(),
        });
    
        // Now let s create a DataTransfer to get a FileList
        const dataTransfer = new DataTransfer();
        dataTransfer.items.add(myFile);
        fileInput.files = dataTransfer.files;
    </script>

You need to create a DataTransfer and set the .files property of the input.

const dataTransfer = new DataTransfer();
dataTransfer.items.add(myFile);//your file(s) reference(s)
document.getElementById( input_field ).files = dataTransfer.files;