def file_is_remote(file_location):
 file_loc_lc = file_location.lower()
 for prefix in ['http://', 'https://', 'ftp://']:
  if file_loc_lc.startswith(prefix):
   return True
 return False

def file_is_remote ( file_location ) : file_loc_lc = file_location . lower ( ) for prefix in [ 'http://' , 'https://' , 'ftp://' ] : if file_loc_lc . startswith ( prefix ) : return True return False
returns true if the file is remote and referenced via a protocol we support .