Hey all,

I'm trying to use file_exists() in order to recognize if an image exists according to the path given in a DB entry... and if not, it displays a default graphic.. but even with the image in the right place, it fails:

PHP Code:


$photo_directory    = "http://www.fasports.com/az/phx/images/champions/";
$default_photo        = "http://www.fasports.com/az/phx/images/champions/player_silhouette.jpg";

<? while($sat_wv_row = mysql_fetch_array($saturdays_wv)){ ?>

    <td>

        <?php
        
            $photo_url    = $photo_directory.$sat_wv_row['photourl'];
        
            if(file_exists($photo_url)) { } else { $photo_url = $default_photo; }
        
        ?>
    
        <center>
        <a href="<? echo $photo_url; ?>" class="blue" title="View <? echo ($sat_wv_row['team']); ?>'s Team Photo" target="_blank">
        <img src="<? echo $photo_url; ?>" width="125"></a><br/>
        <b><? echo ($sat_wv_row['division']); ?></b><br/>
        <? echo ($sat_wv_row['team']); ?>
        </center>
        
    </td>
    
<? } ?>

One example of a DB entry being spit out would have the $photo_url of:
"2010/winter/saturday_ev_competitive.jpg"

So if you combined the $photo_directory and $photo_url, you'd wind up with:
http://www.fasports.com/az/phx/image...ompetitive.jpg

If you try the link, you'll see the image does indeed exist.

Any ideas where I'm going wrong with my usage of file_exists()?

Thanks for the help!

file_exists looks for files on the local file system and will not work with a URL. If the files are on the local file system then you should modify your script to use file paths rather than urls.

If not you'll either need to use curl or manually make an http request for the file and check the status of the request. In both cases performance is going to depend on the response time of the remote server.

Got it -- made the change and it works great now... thanks for the help!

thanks for info...