Header() and session_start probs.

[Anon]

I'm running PHP 4.0.6, and I have a problem using session_start() and the Header() functions at the same time.

The situation is that I have a script that creates an inline PDF document using Header statements. It doesn't have to be PDF, it can be anything created with "Header content-type" information.

The problem I have is that I need to validate the user executing the script before the Header() code is executed. If the user has been authenticated, then a session variable has already been set after they log in to the application.

So, here's the problem, when I do a session_start() at the top of the script (to make the session variable available), the Header() functions don't work then because (I think) the session_start() screws up the headers, resulting in a "headers already sent" type of condition.

I wonder if anybody has ran into this, and if a PHP upgrade will fix it, or a work around exists. Thanks. The code looks something like this:

<?
session_start();
if($HTTP_SESSION_VARS=['validated']) {
continue;
}
else {
echo "you're a fool for tryin";
}

Header("Content-type: application/pdf");
Header("Content-Disposition: inline; filename=\"test.pdf\"");

?>

?>

[mligor]

Hi David,

in your code is only problem echo "you're .... ", because you can print enyting before Header() function...

session_Start() and header() work fine on my computer.

Igor

[Anon]

Actually, there should be an "exit;" after the echo "you're", but thanks for the info. For some reason, on my machine, the script works fine except for when I have the single "session_start()" at the top of the script. I'll do some more checking.