PHP Modifying Header Problem: Warning: Cannot modify header information

[luvshack]

I've read many threads about this issue and it basically comes down to some sort of output being displayed before i use my

setcookie()

BUT my page looks exactly like this:
<?php
ob_start();
$theID = 1;
setcookie("USERID",$theID,time()+60*15, "/", "", 0);
?>

AND i still get the warning statment. I have NO blank lines etc...

Any thoughts?

[danyprundus]

What's the error message you get? The netire message please

[luvshack]

Well on my simple page that i included above I no longer get the error. Would there be a reason why one time i would and the next i do not? Maybe I had to start the web server again???

Anyway I still do have a problem but harder to show because I use INCLUDE(s) like so:

MainPage.php looks like this:
<?php
include($_SERVER["DOCUMENT_ROOT"] . '/models/list_model.inc.php');
?>
<script>
top.MAIN.rows="0,*";
</script>

</body>
</html>

Then In my list model I do this:
<?php
include($SERVER["DOCUMENT_ROOT"] . '/include/application/core.inc.php');
include($SERVER["DOCUMENT_ROOT"] . '/include/javascript/basic_list_script.inc.php');
?>

NEXT i have in core.inc.php
<?php
include($SERVER["DOCUMENT_ROOT"] . '/include/application/auth.inc.php');
include($SERVER["DOCUMENT_ROOT"] . '/include/application/database.inc.php');
include($SERVER["DOCUMENT_ROOT"] . '/include/styles/peak_style.css');
include($SERVER["DOCUMENT_ROOT"] . '/include/application/display_rs.inc.php');
include($_SERVER["DOCUMENT_ROOT"] . '/include/application/roles.inc.php');
?>

AND finally in AUTH.INC.PHP
if( $COOKIE['USERID'] )
{
$theID = $COOKIE['USERID'];
setcookie("USERID",$theID,time()+60*15, "/", "", 0);

And i get this error:

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at C:\Program Files\Apache Group\Apache2\htdocs\Peak\pages\admin\roles\role_search_list.php:1) in C:\Program Files\Apache Group\Apache2\htdocs\Peak\include\application\auth.inc.php on line 5

[laserlight]

setcookie() (and header() for that matter) must be called before any output is written to the page.
You will have to restructure your script such that the html is written only after the last setcookie().
This output includes blank lines (i.e. newline character sequences) that could be present at the top of the script.

If all else fails, there is output buffering, though I'd avoid it.

[luvshack]

Thanks, but just a quick question on includes since I am new to PHP. Doesn't the include run before any other code in my page (as long as its on the top like my examples)? Because in looking at the code if you simply substitute the code for each include i do NOT have any output being displayed before the setcookie.

[Weedpacket]

No, the code in the included file is run when (and only when) the include statement is reached. Keep laserlight's comment in mind that even a blank line counts as output (after all, there's at least a newline character in there).

Your error message tells you which line of which file contained output.

[luvshack]

Thanks a lot, I just can't seem to find it. The error line that it mentions is the SETCOOKIE line. Even when I simplify my pages (to do nothing but set cookie), I still get the header message.

Something like this still gives me error:

<? //This is MAIN.PHP
include(page1.php);

?>

<? //this is page1.php
include(page2.php);

?>

<? //this is page3
if($_COOKIE[userid])
setcookie(userid...)
else

?>

[Weedpacket]

Originally posted by luvshack
The error line that it mentions is the SETCOOKIE line.

Errr... it mentions two lines....

[luvshack]

I know but the 1st line it mentions is the VERY 1st line in my original doc which is
<?

so don't know why its mentioning that???

Who knows? If you set a cookie that is already set (which is how i thought you deleted cookies) you shouldn't get any error should you? I'm still working on it

If i put a @ in front of the setcookie i don't get error but i don't think that is setting it correcty either.

Thanks for the input/help

[Weedpacket]

Originally posted by luvshack
I know but the 1st line it mentions is the VERY 1st line in my original doc which is
<?

so don't know why its mentioning that???

Sure it's

<?

and not

 <?

or

    <?

?

Do you have use_short_tags turned off in php.ini? If you do, then <? isn't recognised as the start of PHP code any more.

Who knows? If you set a cookie that is already set (which is how i thought you deleted cookies) you shouldn't get any error should you?

No, because you're still sending cookie headers to the browser - after all, it's the browser that's setting, storing, and deleting the cookies.

Using '@' (aka. the "bury your head in the sand" operator) just suppresses the error message; it doesn't fix anything.

[Moonglobe]

hmmm..... check and see if you're using UTF-8 encoding. if you are, your editor is probably widing the BOM (byte-order mark) from you, but it's really there, before the <?. you can probably turn this off in your editor, and if not get a new editor or save and iso-8859-1/"ansi" (wierd but true- my editor calls it ansi)

[HalfaBee]

You could always check the html source to see what is being output.
It might give you a hint as to what is happening.

[luvshack]

Thanks everyone....I got it. It may have been " Moonglobe's" answer when I turned of UTF-8 support in my editor (Editplus)