create images from URLs

Anon

Hi,

My wish is to create image directly on my server with php. Those images should be "screenshots" of Url. This means I'd like to have those images automatically made under php on my server.

Is it possible and where can I found an extension in order to do it?

any Idea, suggestion, comments

nico

Anon

PHP ( with the help of the GD Library ) can create and manipulate images either from existing images or from scratch.
You can call a URL ( a php script ) which dynamically generates the image.

More information at http://www.zend.com/manual/ref.image.php

JBL

Anon

ok thanks,

but my wish is to create images of an url, screenshots of what a specific url contains (html and images)

Is it possible ?

Anon

Unfortunately, i don't think it'll be possible to do that directly... I know what you want to do, because i wanted to do the same. I had to drop the idea...

Basically, what you want to do requires that you create a whole browser that'll parse the html page and render them as an image in eg a buffer, then you'll want to resize the buffered image so that it fits in your page... Except if you have real talent (and patience) of coding a whole browser that will support any possible html element, load gif, jpeg and png images, and render them as would do netscape or internet explorer, then you won't be able to do that. The easiest would be to code an entire program in another language (i'd choose C++ myself) that'll output an image file, and call that program from you php page given the url as argument.

So to answer briefly, YES it is possible, but it's not exactly as easy as 'echo("Hello world!");'

Anon

Thanks a lot,

I was expecting such an answer.
Php can't do it directly.

Actually i'm doing it this way. I retrieve the url on a PC and then run a macro wich opens a browser, calls the website, makes a screenshot of it, open photoshop, paste the image in it and then save it under a particular name....
Not so easy and so secure !

Do you know if a such programm doing all this (or a part of it) exists in c++ or something else.

The goal is to provide images for
http://www.MaybeHere.com

Anon

I'm sorry to say no... Myself, i do it all manually (and that way, i also check for what screen resolution the website fits best, and optimize image file size).

My server is linux-based, and thus, it doesn't handle Internet Explorer. And as some websites are netscape or ie-optimized, i have to check manually which fits best.

Sofar, i just have to add such images every week, or even every two weeks at most, so it's not a big deal. If i ever have to do it more often, i'll code a proggie that'll do all that (including the image generation) on Windows 32 platform. But meanwhile, i'll stick with this way.