PHP HTTP Error Page

This repository contains a "generic" HTTP error page. It's written in PHP/HTML and can be used for most any error page.

Features

• A single file for all 40X HTTP errors
  • A JSON file contains the error codes and messages
• Two options for the page background:
  • A background image, randomly selected from a "pool" of images.
  • A moving gradient of four random colors.
• All files (except .htaccess) are kept in a single folder
• Easy to copy to a website and use. You will only need to edit the .htaccess file
• An option to redirect automatically to a different page

Optional Page Backgrounds:

Random Image and Random Color Gradient Background

Installation

Two installation locations are possible. The first is a "local" location on an PC or NAS hosted HTTP server, and the second is on a "live" server.

Local

For testing on a PC this will require the installation and setup of XAMPP or MAMP. I prefer XAMPP.

Sometimes using a local web server can be frustrating because of the path where the document root is located. It would possible mean that you would have to place your repo folder(s) in a specific location. For example - c:\xampp\htdocs.

But that problem is easily fixed. Like Linux, Windows has the ability to create folder junctions (i.e "symbolic links" in Linux). So that means that your repositories (or other projects) can be located anywhere on the PC where your local web server is running. Just make a junction in your document root to access it via HTTP.

NOTE: Typically there are no SSL certificates in that type of installation, which is OK because this project does not require SSL.

Testing

At the top of /errpages/httperror.php you find this -

// uncomment for testing
define('_DEBUG', false);

Change false to true and "debug" will be active. You can then load the page from the server and a 404 error will be simulated.

Additional Testing

The /testhttperror.php file can be used for testing error codes. First set _DEBUG to false in /errpages/httperror.php, and then open /testhttperror.php in your edtior -

<?php
// this script is for testing ./errpages/httperror.php, just 
// change the code below
$testcode = 401;
// this just proves we can overwrite $_SERVER
$_SERVER['HTTPS'] = 'on';
$_SERVER['SERVER_PORT'] = 443;
// get the code to httperror.php...
putenv("REDIRECT_STATUS={$testcode}");
// test!
require_once './errpages/httperror.php';
?>

Just change $testcode to the error code you want to test. Then point your browser to testhttperror.php.

Folder Junctions

You might be familiar with a Linux hard link. The Window's equivalent is a junction. And they are particularly useful when keeping project folders organized in separate and possibly unrelated locations but you want to serve them with XAMPP(or MAMP) during development.

Some alternatives to this method are -

• Change XAMPP's document root path to the project's path, works for only one project at a time.
• Copy the project files into the document root after one or more edits.

Neither of those methods are easy to work with. But junctions are a lot easier and since they look like folders you can have as many (within the limits of Windows) you need.

Example

Let's say you're working on two separate projects and want to test them locally using XAMPP. And they're found in the following paths -

Project A - C:\Users\a-user\Documents\Projects\some-project

Project B - D:\projects\web\customer-X\new-site

The following steps will create two project junctions :

1. Open a command-line window and go to C:\xampp\htdocs
2. Run the following commands - a) mklink /j c:\xampp\htdocs\projecta C:\Users\a-user\Documents\Projects\some-project b) mklink /j c:\xampp\htdocs\projectb D:\projects\web\customer-X\new-site

mklink - command to create the junction /j - tells mklink to create a folder junction. c:\xampp\htdocs\projectb - a nonexistent folder, this is the junction D:\projects\web\customer-X\new-site - this is the target of the junction

3. Then in your browser go to -

   http://localhost/projecta/index.html --OR-- http://localhost/projectb/index.html

NOTE: The "junctions" are permanent until deleted from the c:\xampp\htdocs folder. You must use the rmdir(Windows) to remove the junction and leave the files behind.

Required Editing

The repository .htaccess file may require some editing. This would depend on whether or not you're using the local web server and where you placed the repository files(with or without junctions).

# IMPORTANT!!! : Must remove or comment out below when 
# deploying on a live site! Or change this to match your
# local testing set up.
ErrorDocument 400 /tests/httperror/errpages/httperror.php
ErrorDocument 401 /tests/httperror/errpages/httperror.php
ErrorDocument 403 /tests/httperror/errpages/httperror.php
ErrorDocument 404 /tests/httperror/errpages/httperror.php
ErrorDocument 405 /tests/httperror/errpages/httperror.php

This part /tests/httperror will need editing depending on how you set up the local server.

Optional Editing

The file /errpages/httperror.json contains the known HTTP error status codes and associated messages:

{
     "400": ["", "400 - Bad Request","The syntax of the URL submitted by your browser could not be understood. Please verify the address and try again."]
    ,"401": ["", "401 - Unauthorized", "This section requires a password or is otherwise protected. If you feel you have reached this page in error, please return to the login page and try again, or contact the webmaster if you continue to have problems."]
    ,"403": ["", "403 - Forbidden", "This section requires a password or is otherwise protected. If you feel you have reached this page in error, please return to the login page and try again, or contact the webmaster if you continue to have problems."]
    ,"404": ["", "404 - Not Found", "The requested resource could not be found on this server. Please verify the address and try again."]
    ,"405": ["", "405 - Method Not Allowed", "The request method is known by the server but has been disabled and cannot be used."]
}

Edit as necessary. Status codes can be added, removed, or edited.

It Lives!

Most internet web servers have a common location for website files. It's typically located at /home/$USER/public_html. Where $USER is the user that owns the public_html folder. Depending on your server's particular configuration that folder may be named differently or in a different location.

1. Copy the /errpages folder and its contents to /home/$USER/public_html (or its equivalent). You now have /home/$USER/public_html/errpages.
2. Open the .htaccess file in the repository.
3. Copy this section out of it -

# PHP error page, edit as needed for a "live" site
###ErrorDocument 400 /errpages/httperror.php
###ErrorDocument 401 /errpages/httperror.php
###ErrorDocument 403 /errpages/httperror.php
###ErrorDocument 404 /errpages/httperror.php
###ErrorDocument 405 /errpages/httperror.php

4. Open your server's .htaccess file. It will be located in the public_html folder. It is possible that your server does not have an .htaccess. If that happens create a new one.

5. Paste the lines from step 3 into your server's htaccess file. It should go near the top of the file, but it's not necessary to make it the first thing. Then edit what you pasted to look like this (comment ### removed) -

# PHP error page, edit as needed for a "live" site
ErrorDocument 400 /errpages/httperror.php
ErrorDocument 401 /errpages/httperror.php
ErrorDocument 403 /errpages/httperror.php
ErrorDocument 404 /errpages/httperror.php
ErrorDocument 405 /errpages/httperror.php

To see the error page working open your browser and go to - http://your_server/not_here

You should see a "400" error page.

Changing Backgrounds

Near the top of the httperror.php file:

// can't have both!!
define('_IMG_POOL', false);
define('_GRADIENT', true);

Set _IMG_POOL or _GRADIENT to true to select that background type.

Development Notes

• Development Environment:
  • Host OS: Windows
  • Local HTTP Server: XAMPP
    • PHP 5.6

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