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Displaying an image by reading the file and parsing byte code?

Hi, the way I wrote the question probably is a dead give away that I dont know what I'm talking about!

Background: security on the webserver is set up so that images in a particular folder cannot be browsed and displayed in a webbrowser unless they have a username and password on the folder, and this is the way it needs to stay.

What I need to do is this: display the image file by some other means. The webserver has access to the file by name. I believe you can read the image file and display it somehow. Can someone please help me with the code for this?

Thanks heaps,
Heather.

hmaloney

Asked: 2006-07-23

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1 Solution

LVL 3

gileze33Commented: 2006-07-23

You can find out the exact path of the server to the folder, I'll call it $path.

Then create a file such as images.php, then when you want say image.jpg, call images.php?img=image.jpg.

SOURCE OF images.php:

<?php

$img = $_GET['img'];
$path = "\path to images folder leaving in trailing slash\";

$instr = fopen($path.$img,"rb");
$bytes = fread($instr,filesize($path.$img));

header("Content-type: image/jpeg");
echo $bytes;

?>

Hope this helps :)

Gileze33.

LVL 13

Robin HickmottSoftware DeveloperCommented: 2006-07-23

or use imagejpeg()

http://uk2.php.net/imagejpeg

LVL 3

gileze33Commented: 2006-07-23

Yes but however, the imagejpeg() function needs GD to be installed.

Gileze33.

hmaloneyAuthor Commented: 2006-07-23

Thanks heaps gileze.

One thing I didn't mention is that I am displaying the image amongst lots of other text, so I don't think the headers line will work for me.

I've tried just printing out the bytes without that, however, and it wont work. Can you please help?

Thanks again.

LVL 3

gileze33Commented: 2006-07-24

Yes thats understandable.

You need to treat the images.php file as though it were an image - so simply use the HTML <img> tag to load in the image to a separate HTML page.

E.g.

<html>
<body>
Hi. Below is an image!
<br>
<img src="images.php?img=whatever.jpg" alt="wow - an image with a .php extension!">\
</body>
</html>

Sorry about the cheesy example :)

Gileze33.

hmaloneyAuthor Commented: 2006-07-24

Sorry, how does that work with the other code you gave me?

LVL 3

gileze33Commented: 2006-07-24

Ok.

Make images.php with the source at the top, replacing the absolute path with one to your images folder.

Next, create file.html, with the source I put above (making sure that you change the source for the image to be one that actually exists).

Hope this helps :)

Gileze33.