I may have skipped it elsewhere on SO, but if there is a way to track it graphically? When I have a ≈300MB media file copied on a local server (note, not remotely), the entire browser tab is busy, showing the rotating favicon only, till the copying is done. Then only does the page show any info intended for display (file size, destination space available, etc.) before the operation. Any hints will be much appreciated.
Because PHP is server sided it responses when the script is done. And not in between. The browser tab is just waiting for a server response.
This means that its not possible with pure PHP.
So if You want to follow progress you need to make it async. I suggest to look into AJAX.