Search and Replace html code on Server?

dave_jones_50

I'm a complete novice, so bear with me.

I have about a thousand .htm files on a server which need a simple change in the source code to update a link. The only practical way I can do this is on the server, so I'm trying PHP. The host says the server is enabled with PHP.

I found the code below on the internet and uploaded it as a file with the .php extension to my base directory, but it doesn't work. (Note that I've used the generic text in the example below fields, not the actual strings I'm searching and replacing). If it had worked, I expected it to search all the htm files in the directory in which it sits, and replace the desired string in each htm page source code, thereby updating all the links.

Here is the code I'm trying:

<?php
// this script will search all the files of a specific type in a specific directory and do a mass change
//
// enter the string you want to change - it cannot contain the # char or the script will fail
$searchString = "http://oldtext.com/";
// enter the new value for the string
$newValue = "http://newtext.com/";
// enter the path to the search directory, and the file type to search
$path = "directoryname/*.htm";
//
// do not change anything below this line
$searchString = "#" . $searchString . "#";
$globarray = glob($path);
if ($globarray) foreach ($globarray as $filename) {
$source = file_get_contents($filename);
$source = preg_replace($searchString,$newValue,$source);
file_put_contents($filename,$source);
$count++;
}
echo "Done - processed $count files";
?>

What am I doing wrong?

zzz

I think you'd have to download all your files that you wish to modify, make changes and re-upload.

bradgrafelman

Looks like a poorly written script, heh... this part especially made me laugh: "enter the string you want to change - it cannot contain the # char or the script will fail."

Anyway, if you expected it to search the "directory in which it sits", did you change the path to reflect this (i.e. simply ".htm") ? Also, note that .htm doesn't mean *.html, so if you have both, you might want to use something like:

glob('*.{htm,html}', GLOB_BRACE);

Note yet another caveat is that glob() is case-sensitive, meaning if you used the above code, the script would not search files with ".Html", ".HTML", ".htmL", etc. file extensions.

dave_jones_50

I have nearly 5000 files (web pages) that need the home button link changed, so it would be a tedious task to download them all and re-upload them. That's why I'm looking for a PHP solution.

The files I want to change are all .htm extension and all in lower case.

Whatever path I try, nothing works. Am I misunderstanding something here? I don't want to change file names; I want to change the source code inside HTML (htm) files to change a link, repeated in 5000 separate web pages.

Is there some other PHP code I could try?

bradgrafelman

Are all of the .htm files within the same directory? Did you put the PHP script within this same directory? If so, what did you change $path to be?

Also, what does the script say? Does it say that it processed 0 files, even though you're positive that the search string is correct? Also note that the search string, using that script as is, is case-sensitive.

Drakla

Write permissions on the directory might be an additional factor. I see no mention of server type.

dave_jones_50

I don't know the server type; I don't own it, just have FTP access. When I upload a PHP file, the FTP program says I have -rw-r-r-- access to it.

The htm files are in many different directories. I'm trying to get it to work in just one directory. I think the script is working: when I open it in my browser it says: done - processed 4 files. This is when I have it in a directory with 4 htm files. But nothing has changed in those files.

I'l sure the search string is correct: it's a URL link and the replace string is the new URL link. But nothing is changed by the script.

bradgrafelman

Is display_errors set to On? And error_reporting set to E_ALL ? Are there any PHP errors/warnings/etc. being generated?
Is there any chance you can attach one of the sample .htm files that is left unchanged, along with your $searchString and $newValue variable values.

dave_jones_50

I greatly appreciate all this help.

I'm such a novice I don't know anything about error reporting. I don't see it in the code I'm using above, which I copied, didn't write. Would appreciate any code addition to do this.

On the second point, I've set up a sample test htm file (which I uploaded to the server and tried with my script, to no avail). When I run the script in the same directory as the htm files I'm trying to change, it reports "Done - processed 5 files" where the fifth one is the new test htm file I uploaded.

I've attached that test htm file. I hope this helps.

Here once again, is the complete script I'm attempting to use:

<?php
// this script will search all the files of a specific type in a specific directory and do a mass change
//
// enter the string you want to change - it cannot contain the # char or the script will fail
$searchString = "http://test.one.com/";
// enter the new value for the string
$newValue = "http://test.two.com/";
// enter the path to the search directory, and the file type to search
$path = "*.htm";
//
// do not change anything below this line
$searchString = "#" . $searchString . "#";
$globarray = glob($path);
if ($globarray) foreach ($globarray as $filename) {
$source = file_get_contents($filename);
$source = preg_replace($searchString,$newValue,$source);
file_put_contents($filename,$source);
$count++;
}
echo "Done - processed $count files";
?>

bradgrafelman

dave_jones_50 wrote:
Would appreciate any code addition to do this.

If you want to force PHP to verbose in display errors (other than parse errors) via some simple PHP code, try adding this to the very top of the script:

ini_set('display_errors', 'on');
error_reporting(E_ALL);

dave_jones_50 wrote:
I've attached that test htm file.

Er, are you sure? Heh. I don't see any file attachment to your last post...

dave_jones_50

I'll try the attachments again. It won't let me upload it with an htm extension, so it's a text file.

dave_jones_50

Now I'm getting this error for each instance:

Warning: file_put_contents(Custom.htm) [function.file-put-contents]: failed to open stream: Permission denied in /disk2/vhosts2/my.url.com/public_html/test/gallery2/new_script.php on line 20

I changed the name of the URL, but nothing else,

bradgrafelman

Ah, just as I expected. There's a permissions problem; PHP needs write permissions on the files in the gallery2 folder (and any folder than you're trying to do this search-and-replace in, actually).

In an FTP client, this would probably translate to "-rw-rw-rw-" (CHMOD 666 {I swear I'm not making it up}, or possibly 766).

dave_jones_50

Does this mean the host server isn't giving me permission, or do I need to somehow tweak my FTP client?

Sorry about my ignorance about these things.

bradgrafelman

It means that you need to change the security permissions of the directory on the server that you want to allow PHP to make changes to. Most FTP clients have some built-in functionality to do this (be it going to the properties of the folder, a "CHMOD" feature, Permissions, etc.).

dave_jones_50

I use Filezilla.

It shows the following for each folder (directory): drwxr-xr-x
and the following for each htm file: -rw-r-r--

If I right click on a folder on the server and select "File attributes" I can see the folllowing, and apparently I can check the boxes to add write where it's blank:

Owner permissions: read write execute
Group permissions: read execute
Public permissions: read execute

Not sure which of these I am. I don't own the server, I just have FTP access to my folders and files.

Should I try to change something here?

bradgrafelman

You could first try changing the "Group permissions" and adding the Write attribute, but in all honesty some servers aren't configured that way, so if that fails then you'll probably have to open it wide up and give Write to the "Public" group too.

dave_jones_50

I seem to have gotten access by making this change, but am getting this error (which I also got before):

Notice: Undefined variable: count in /disk2/vhosts2/my.URL.com/public_html/new_script.php on line 22

NogDog

Pretty hard to debug without seeing the code, but the error message tells you most of what you need to know: you are referencing the variable $count on line 22 of new_script.php in a manner which implies the variable should already exist, but it has not (yet) been defined.

dave_jones_50

All htm files are in the same directory. All files and text are lower case. It doesn't provide a count of files processed. I'm still getting error codes on permission, even though the folders have been changed to "write" for group and public access.

Here is the error code I'm getting on permissions:

Warning: file_put_contents(page1.htm) [function.file-put-contents]: failed to open stream: Permission denied in /disk2/vhosts2/my.url.com/public_html/Abi/gallery2/new_script.php on line 19

Here is the code I'm using again:

<?php
ini_set('display_errors', 'on');
error_reporting(E_ALL);
// this script will search all the files of a specific type in a specific directory and do a mass change
//
// enter the string you want to change - it cannot contain the # char or the script will fail
$searchString = "mytexthere.com/";
// enter the new value for the string
$newValue = "newtexthere.com/";
// enter the path to the search directory, and the file type to search
$path = "Abi/*.htm";
//
// do not change anything below this line
$searchString = "#" . $searchString . "#";
$globarray = glob($path);
if ($globarray) foreach ($globarray as $filename) {
$source = file_get_contents($filename);
$source = preg_replace($searchString,$newValue,$source);
file_put_contents($filename,$source);
$count++;
}
echo "Done - processed $count files";
?>