Getting HTTP_REFERER

[Anon]

I want to find out from what site my visitors have arrived at my own site.
But they will always start at index.html in which I can't put any PHP code.
And if I put any link in my index.html to a PHP script, the HTTP_REFERER will contain the index.html document at my own site (and not the previous URL).
So how can I find out from what URL visitors arrive at my site?

[cordex]

Well, if your only option is to use PHP, you're going to have to get them to arrive at an index.php or default.php (which can either replace index.html or forward to it).
Remember, HTTP_REFERER is not constantly available. As was discussed about a week ago, many people turn theirs off so as to not reveal any more of their privacy then they have to.

[toma42]

Not true. Couldn't you use Javascript to append the referrer to each url that goes out from index.html?

That's what I'd do anyway....

[cordex]

Possibly Tom. But I'm getting better at covering myself. Read the first line of my post again:

if your only option is to use PHP,

Some sites don't like to use Javascript.

As for what I'd do, as I said before, I'd use index.php or some derivation - cleaner and easier (you don't have to append the referrer to each link) - but that's just me.

[Anon]

Thanks, Ben and Tom.
I think - reading your reactions - that I won't try to use PHP only.
So Tom, can you please tell me more about your JavaScript solution?

Thanks.

[toma42]

Use the document.referrer property and append that to the GET for each URL on the index page, for instance, change every link to use an onClick and pass a url to go to such as

<script>
function goto(url) {
url += "?referrer=" + escape(document.referrer);

window.location = url;
}
</script>
<a href="" onClick="Javascript: goto('/page2.php');">Go to page 2</a>

I'm not positive about the window.location but I think you'll get the gist of it from this.

Good luck

[toma42]

Humm ... well, it seems you can execute javascript on this forum so my function has MY referrer values in it!

function goto(url) {
url += "?referrer=" + esca pe(document. referrer

Hopefully that's closer to what I want to say