PHP/CSS Styleswitcher

daydream

Okay so here's the thing. I have this site where people cn post there poems, stories, lyrics, ect.

The site is coded to where there is a php code that tells css to change. The php tells it to change when it is either night or day. Now, I want to code it so the user can switch these two styles in a dropdown menu..

For example, I have three styles.
Each of the styles has its own folder and two .css stylesheets.

Something like this.
(/styles/theme1/night.css)
(/styles/theme1/day.css)

Now when the user changes the style I want the user to change it to.
(/styles/theme2/night.css)
(/styles/theme2/day.css)

How would I go about in coding this?

My current script is:

<?php     $hour = date('H');   if($hour > 6 && $hour < 20)   {      print '<LINK REL="STYLESHEET" TYPE="text/css" HREF="style/folder/day.css">';   }   else   {      print '<LINK REL="STYLESHEET" TYPE="text/css" HREF="style/folder/night.css">';   }     ?>

Maybe someway to change the folder name to whatever the dropdown tells it to change, and have some sort of javascript cookie code, which javascript and I never get along.

Thanks,
.daydream.

etully

When the user chooses their favorite style, write it to a cookie or to the session variable. Then, on every page, you can know which style they want. So when you check for night / day to determine which style should appear... you should also check the cookie or session variable to see if they have a preference. So you change your code to something like this:

<?php
session_start();
$hour = date('H');

if(($hour > 6 && $hour < 20) || $_SESSION['style_pref']=="day") { print '<LINK REL="STYLESHEET" TYPE="text/css" HREF="style/folder/day.css">'; }
else { print '<LINK REL="STYLESHEET" TYPE="text/css" HREF="style/folder/night.css">'; }

?>

daydream

So making an alternative stysheet will work if there are more then one styles being involved at once?

daydream

Maybe you have midunderstood the problem.. I want to keep night.css and day.css just want to make it more advance so I can make other versions of my stle.. Like a savannh stylesheet which features night/day stylesheets automatically.

etully

I see. The general point is still the same: You need to write their preference to a cookie or session variable to make a note of which style they prefer. Let's say that they can choose from "savannh", "art_deco", or "wild_cherry". There are night and day versions of each one. If they haven't chosen a favorite style, then it's going to default to savannh.

First you put these files on your web site directory:
style/savannh/day.css
style/savannh/night.css
style/art_deco/day.css
style/art_deco/night.css
style/wild_cherry/day.css
style/wild_cherry/night.css

Then you'd write the code like this:

<?php
session_start();

if ($SESSION['style_pref']=="wild_cherry") { $style = "wild_cherry"; }
elseif ($SESSION['style_pref']=="art_deco") { $style = "art_deco"; }
else { $style = "savannh"; }

$hour = date('H');
if($hour > 6 && $hour < 20) { print '<LINK REL="STYLESHEET" TYPE="text/css" HREF="style/$style/day.css">'; }
else { print '<LINK REL="STYLESHEET" TYPE="text/css" HREF="style/$style/night.css">'; }
?>

daydream

would a basic styleswitcher.js work with this?

etully

Yes.

daydream

Okay.. I've been trying my best to learn this on my own and I've gave it my all.
I understand how this script works but I don't get how I need to set up the cookies and drop-down menu.

Could you please help me write the cookes because I have no success of doing this.
Also the drop down to please.

etully

On one page you write:

<form action="some_other_page.php" method=post>
Choose a theme: <select name=theme_choice>
<option value="savannh">Savannh
<option value="art_deco">Art Deco
<option value="Wild Cherry">Wild Cherry">
</select><input type=submit value="I prefer this style"></form>

Then on another page, you set the cookie like this:

<? if ($theme_choice) { set_cookie("style_pref",$theme_choice); } ?>

daydream

I now get this:
Warning: session_start(): Cannot send session cookie - headers already sent by (output started at /home/jtnmusic/public_html/v2/styletest/index.php:5) in /home/jtnmusic/public_html/v2/styletest/index.php on line 9

Warning: session_start(): Cannot send session cache limiter - headers already sent (output started at /home/jtnmusic/public_html/v2/styletest/index.php:5) in /home/jtnmusic/public_html/v2/styletest/index.php on line 9

And the menu just sends me to the cookie page and does nothing.

etully

You are very close. The problem is that whether you are using the setcookie command or the session_start command, you need to put them near the top of your PHP script before any HTML and before any print or echo statements (and before any include statements that include files that have print or echo statements). In other words, the very first two characters of your text file MUST be <? so that you are in PHP immediately and then set your cookies or session as soon as possible.

For example, this won't work:

<html>
<? session_start();

because once the "<html>" tag is outputted, the headers for the page are created and it's too late to alter the headers. (Cookies are set in the header. And sessions are done with cookies.)

It is common to have a script do tons of commands before setting the session or cookies... AS LONG AS none of those commands print anything. For example, the following will work:

<? include("connect_database.php");
if ($x==6) { $y=27; }
mail("me@domain.com","Page was accessed again"," ","From:me@domain.com\n\nblah blah blah");
$query="select * from users";
$result=mysql_query($query,$dbh);
set_cookie("foo","bar");
?>
Welcome to my page. The cookies were set before this text was printed.

daydream

Great there is no longer an error.. It just doesnt work.

A test site I made for the style switcher.
http://www.jtnmusic.com/styletest/

etully

Do a view source on your page and look at the HTML that calls the style sheet. It says:

So unless you LITERALLY have a subdirectory called $style (that is, the directory name actually starts with a dollar sign), then it's not going to find the stylesheet.

Whenever you are going to print out the contents of a variable, you need to be in PHP mode, so your tag should read:

I didn't mention that earlier because I guess there are certain things you have to take for granted as a programmer. The value of $style isn't going to show up in HTML. You have to be in PHP and PRINT the value.

daydream

Wow, thanks you really have taught me alot.

Too bad it's still not workng mate.

daydream

Nevermind mate this works '.$style.' now to try to get the switcher to work.