WebPlus X5: Preview .php pages

[linkassoc]

Hi,

I cannot preview .php pages in my FireFox or my IE browsers - I just see a page of code. But, a colleague, using exactly the same versions of these browsers has no problem previewing them.

Is there a setting somewhere that I am missing ?

Thanks in anticipation.

John.

[nfc212]

To preview .php pages in a browser you will need to install something like EasyPHP, WAMP or XAMP first.

Then you will need to publish the project to a folder in the www folder of the above and preview from there.

[linkassoc]

Thanks Nigel. I did see your earlier post about this, but my colleague hasn't got anything else installed and he certainly doesn't publish to a folder. Just uses the WP preview.

Thanks for you info - I may have to revert to this.

[nfc212]

Originally Posted by linkassoc Thanks Nigel. I did see your earlier post about this, but my colleague hasn't got anything else installed and he certainly doesn't publish to a folder. Just uses the WP preview. Thanks for you info - I may have to revert to this.

Then they are either incredibly lucky or haven't actually changed the page extension.

Pages with a .php extension will not preview in any browser, FF10, IE9, Chrome or Opera here. They will not preview in the built Preview Window either.

[djln10]

Originally Posted by nfc212 Then they are either incredibly lucky or haven't actually changed the page extension. Pages with a .php extension will not preview in any browser, FF10, IE9, Chrome or Opera here. They will not preview in the built Preview Window either.

Then I guess I'm incredibly lucky...

I obviously can't preview the PHP content itself but I don't have any problem previewing PHP pages using the WP preview OR the preview window. It shows how the rest of the page will look but without the PHP content. The pages in question do have the .php file extension.

I can preview these pages in all the latest versions of Firefox, Opera, Chrome and even IE!! Safari is the only one that will not show the page - just the code.

Example pics attached.

[Ali]

I think there is a bit of confusion here. There are two types of .php page possible in WP: the type that contains a php code snippet and has had its extension changed to accommodate this, but is still essentially a WP page with ordinary content, and the type that has been set up as an HTML page and had its extension changed to .php (this type contains just .php code between .php tags, and views in WP as a code page). The former type will preview fine, the latter will not without EasyPHP or similar installed on your machine. I have both types of page - I have always been able to preview the former, and that is the type that is being shown in the attachments above.

[djln10]

Originally Posted by Ali I think there is a bit of confusion here. There are two types of .php page possible in WP: the type that contains a php code snippet and has had its extension changed to accommodate this, but is still essentially a WP page with ordinary content, and the type that has been set up as an HTML page and had its extension changed to .php (this type contains just .php code between .php tags, and views in WP as a code page). The former type will preview fine, the latter will not without EasyPHP or similar installed on your machine. I have both types of page - I have always been able to preview the former, and that is the type that is being shown in the attachments above.

Absolutely correct. That's what the examples above show. From my understanding, for some reason, John the OP can't preview his pages in the same way and yet they are created in the same way in WP with just a small PHP include (same as in my examples) and with the extension changed to .php

[Ali]

Originally Posted by djln10 Absolutely correct. That's what the examples above show. From my understanding, for some reason, John the OP can't preview his pages in the same way and yet they are created in the same way in WP with just a small PHP include (same as in my examples) and with the extension changed to .php

He doesn't actually say which type they are, as far as I can see, which is why I sought to clarify the distinction. Nonetheless, there is clearly some anomaly if he has a friend who can see them and he can't.

[nfc212]

Originally Posted by djln10 Then I guess I'm incredibly lucky... I obviously can't preview the PHP content itself but I don't have any problem previewing PHP pages using the WP preview OR the preview window. It shows how the rest of the page will look but without the PHP content. The pages in question do have the .php file extension. I can preview these pages in all the latest versions of Firefox, Opera, Chrome and even IE!! Safari is the only one that will not show the page - just the code. Example pics attached.

I can;t get any type of page with a .php extension to preview here, in any browser. I have to publish to the www folder of EasyPHP.

No doubt it is something to do with the configuration of the OS and file associations.

It would be nice if one of the browser vendors included a PHP parser. If you are using includes then the page appearance may be different when the PHP code is actually active. Which could break the static layout.

It is much like using XML, only Firefox has a built in XML parser so XML code will not work in other browsers.

[linkassoc]

Thank you all for your comments. Ali, how does one ensure that the right kind of PHP is created so that it can be previewed (albeit without the PHP items) ? I insert a code fragment and change the page extension - is there another way ?

My site structure looks exactly the same as DJLN10's.

Like a number of others here, I have started to use the PulsePro CMS and Blog due to the failings of the SWR solutions and this requires .PHP pages. I can, therefore, only see the need growing to be able to preview pages quickly, so it is important that this problem gets resolved.

Isn't it time that someone from Serif stepped in and contributed to this ? Maybe explain why some can see it and some can't. Maybe X6 will have the answer ?

[Ali]

Originally Posted by linkassoc Thank you all for your comments. Ali, how does one ensure that the right kind of PHP is created so that it can be previewed (albeit without the PHP items) ? I insert a code fragment and change the page extension - is there another way ? My site structure looks exactly the same as DJLN10's.

No - that's what I do, too. Previewing in FF11.

Originally Posted by linkassoc Isn't it time that someone from Serif stepped in and contributed to this ? Maybe explain why some can see it and some can't. Maybe X6 will have the answer ?

Well, not really, since it is probably to do with a combination of OS and browser. I don't think that Serif can be held accountable for this anomaly, really.

[linkassoc]

Originally Posted by Ali Well, not really, since it is probably to do with a combination of OS and browser. I don't think that Serif can be held accountable for this anomaly, really.

Ali, I wasn't suggesting it was a fault in WP. I was meaning that they are the experts, they might know why we get these discrepancies between users and therefore, can provide us with a solution.

Your admirable defence of your beloved Serif was not needed.

[linkassoc]

Following on, I have never tried the Preview in Window (Internet Explorer)before, always instead, choosing one of the six browsers on Alt+1 to Alt+6.

And guess what - a PHP page does display correctly. So, why should this be ?

So, there is a way to view a PHP page without constantly changing it from PHP to HTML and back again. But it's not ideal. Anyone from Serif know the answer ?