Local File Access

Ok, being a web develper i know that this isnt generally acceptable, and rightly so for many reasons.

But at the moment i am toying with an idea and i basically i want to have a page where when loaded by a client, it (by either asking and getting permission, because the client will WANT to give permission) look for a specific directory on the users computer and read a file within, no writing, no modifying, just read a file.

Ive read recently that HTML5 gives local file storage/access but from what i have read this allocates you space on the HD to store and read files you have put there, so not access to the client directories.

Like i said, i can fully see the reason for not, but the client will want to give permission, so even if there is a promt that is fine.

Even if it required the user to download "somthing" to allow access or to be the middle man, what is that something, generally?

Thanks
Andy

I think this will be about as close as you can get; because of browser security.

http://www.html5rocks.com/en/tutorials/file/dndfiles/

From standard JavaScript there is no way to even prompt for that sort of access.

However, the "something" they have to download could be a standard browser plugin (Flash/Java/Silverlight/ActiveX) or it could be a custom browser plugin. Plugins can run with higher permissions than in-page JavaScript, and therefore have the capability to do the sort of thing you're asking about.