# Cannot access filename when using node-red-contrib-ftp-server

**URL:** <https://discourse.nodered.org/t/cannot-access-filename-when-using-node-red-contrib-ftp-server/51240>\
**Category:** General\
**Created:** [19 September 2021 16:02 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/cannot-access-filename-when-using-node-red-contrib-ftp-server/51240 "2021-09-19T16:02:03Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![pcborges](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pcborges](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/pcborges)\
**Post date:** [19 September 2021 16:02 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/cannot-access-filename-when-using-node-red-contrib-ftp-server/51240/1 "2021-09-19T16:02:03Z")

</div>

Hi, I am trying to use the FTP server node but are facing a problem.  
My flow is as below:

 ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/uploads/nodered/original/3X/4/e/4e40d1936c152dd8688dcec642c88b7f7afae6c6.png)

As can be seem the filename is topic of the message.  
But whatever I do to extract the filename and remove the "/" results either on some error or undefined.  
If I insert a function node before the debug node I can do:  
var imgname = msg.topic;  
It works as below:

 ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/uploads/nodered/original/3X/7/7/7770fe0e1ad7f4bd6f3419fdbc985d39f0443618.png)

But if I try to remove the "/" from the filename (using replace or substring) nothing happens, no error, no print but I have to restart node-red for the FTP node to work again.

What Am I doing wrong?  
Thanks

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![E1cid](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/e1cid/32/77971_2.png) [@E1cid](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/E1cid)\
**Post date:** [19 September 2021 16:25 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/cannot-access-filename-when-using-node-red-contrib-ftp-server/51240/2 "2021-09-19T16:25:57Z")

</div>

You have not shown what you have tried, so don't know if this has been tried

```auto
msg.imgname = msg.topic.substr(1);
return msg;

```

```auto
[{"id":"15c42ff2.e05b68","type":"inject","z":"a3b92cc4.e3cb","name":"","props":[{"p":"topic","vt":"str"},{"p":"payload"}],"repeat":"","crontab":"","once":false,"onceDelay":0.1,"topic":"/23456 (1).jpg","payload":"[1,2,3,4,5,6,7]","payloadType":"bin","x":220,"y":100,"wires":[["1c362b66.bdde3d"]]},{"id":"1c362b66.bdde3d","type":"function","z":"a3b92cc4.e3cb","name":"","func":"msg.imgname = msg.topic.substr(1);\nreturn msg;","outputs":1,"noerr":0,"initialize":"","finalize":"","x":360,"y":120,"wires":[["fc7a6130.f3f4e","87e02340.b97f7"]]},{"id":"fc7a6130.f3f4e","type":"debug","z":"a3b92cc4.e3cb","name":"","active":true,"tosidebar":true,"console":false,"tostatus":false,"complete":"true","targetType":"full","statusVal":"","statusType":"auto","x":510,"y":100,"wires":[]}]

```

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![pcborges](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pcborges](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/pcborges)\
**Post date:** [19 September 2021 16:57 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/cannot-access-filename-when-using-node-red-contrib-ftp-server/51240/3 "2021-09-19T16:57:11Z")

</div>

```auto
msg.newimgname = msg.imgname.substring(1);
return msg;

```

Testing your suggestion...

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![E1cid](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/e1cid/32/77971_2.png) [@E1cid](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/E1cid)\
**Post date:** [19 September 2021 17:01 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/cannot-access-filename-when-using-node-red-contrib-ftp-server/51240/4 "2021-09-19T17:01:48Z")

</div>

While your at it can we see the debug output of the ftp node?

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![pcborges](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pcborges](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/pcborges)\
**Post date:** [19 September 2021 17:10 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/cannot-access-filename-when-using-node-red-contrib-ftp-server/51240/5 "2021-09-19T17:10:32Z")

</div>

The FTP node returns the image in payload and filename as topic.  
It is working now with your sugestion.

I was first making imgname = msg.payload and then  
msg.imgname.substring(1);  
Somehow imgname was visible at the debug window but when addressed with msg.imgname it somehow, would return undefined.

But when I used msg.imgname = msg.topic.substr(1); as you sugested above it works OK.  
Now I can debug msg.imgname and it returns the expected value.

Many thanks.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/uploads/nodered/original/1X/d073cd938eafa2e558d7c2cd59003b3ef4963033.png) [@system](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/system)\
**Post date:** [3 October 2021 17:10 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/cannot-access-filename-when-using-node-red-contrib-ftp-server/51240/6 "2021-10-03T17:10:41Z")

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