[Resolved] Running a script after window closed

kerodeon

I need to write a script, that when a user closes the window, it will execute a different php script, that queries the database to change a field.

I know you can you use the javascript onunload function, but that runs even if you refresh a page. I need the script only to run when the page is closed.

As you may have guessed, the script im working on is a logout script, does anyone have any ideas?

dave420

Due to the nature of HTML and HTTP, you can't reliably know when someone closes a webpage. The best bet is to make logins time out after 10 minutes, and the count-down gets reset to 10 minutes after each request to a page, so an person actively browsing the webpage will stay logged in indefinitely, but when they stop browsing, they're logged out 10 minutes later.

make sense?

kerodeon

Yah, good idea, i was thinking of using something like that if all else failed.

but...

notice in some things with login forms, for example, forum software such as phpbb, and probably this vbulliten as well, though ive only tested it on phpbb, it logs you out when u exit the page. Try it and see, obviously with the remember me checkbox unticked of course: http://www.phpbb.com/phpBB/

So they must use SOMETIN which i could use, even though i looked through their source code, got lost and found nothing, though i know they used sessions.

Is this just possible with sessions, or can u do it with anything

dave420

Those methods rely on the client to close the connection. That's not the best method for doing this, as you have no control over it. Self-expiring sessions/cookies is the way forward, as that's entirely in your domain (pun intended :-P)