Help with navigation problem

[scout1idf]

I'm very new to PHP and to creating web sites. I've been searching various sites and through books looking for the answer to how to make my navigation system appear like this....

www.mysite.com/pages.php?f=7

How do you get this part -> ?f=7 <-Thanks in advance for your help..

[jeffman]

If that's really, really what you want, a combination of strrpos and substr will work.Or look here: $_SERVER['QUERY_STRING']If all you need is the value of f, then look here: $_GET['f']

[scout1idf]

If that's really, really what you want........

Can I assume by this part of your response, that it's not the preferable way to go? I ask because I see it on quite a few php sites.

[dsonesuk]

?f=7 is a value (7) passed relating to specific ref (f), they start with ? after that & ?f=7&g=8&h=9.they are provided mainly by form input boxexs, radio, checkboxes etc, but also be used in link<a href="gotothispage.php?f=7&g=8&h=9">pass f, g, h reference values to gotothispage.php</a>check outvalues passed using GET method

[jeffman]

I didn't know what your goal was, and you didn't indicate what your skill level is, so I gave you some options that you could choose from.The "really, really" business was because most applications do not need to access an entire query string. They only need the value of a name-value pair. That is what the $_GET array is for.I'm not sure what you mean by "I see it on quite a few php sites." What is it? Do you mean "gotothispage.php?f=7"? Of course you see that a lot. As I said, accessing that data is what the $_GET array is for. If you mean getting the entire query string, I doubt you see that on a LOT of sites. But sometimes there is a need for it, and that is what $_SERVER['QUERY_STRING'] is for.

[scout1idf]

mud

I didn't know what your goal was, and you didn't indicate what your skill level is, so I gave you some options that you could choose from.The "really, really" business was because most applications do not need to access an entire query string. They only need the value of a name-value pair. That is what the $_GET array is for.I'm not sure what you mean by "I see it on quite a few php sites." What is it? Do you mean "gotothispage.php?f=7"? Of course you see that a lot. As I said, accessing that data is what the $_GET array is for. If you mean getting the entire query string, I doubt you see that on a LOT of sites. But sometimes there is a need for it, and that is what $_SERVER['QUERY_STRING'] is for.

I'll use this page as an example..In the address bar it shows....http://w3schools.invisionzone.com/index.php?showtopic=31266On my site the address bar shows.....http:// www.myfirstsite.zxq.net/web%20page%20stuff/floating_file/floating_points_of_light_links.phporhttp:// www.myfirstsite.zxq.net/web%20page%20stuff/floating_file/floating_points_of_light_info.phporhttp://www.myfirstsite.zxq.net/web%20page%..._light_home.phpetc.....I guess what I am asking is, what method is being used to access different pages on this site? How do I make mine look more "professional" (for lack of a better term)?As for my skill level, on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the best. I would have to say I'm around negative 24 and trying to learn mostly on my own.Most of this stuff is about as clear as mud to me. High school was a very long time ago and I didn't take any courses above general math/pre algebra and the high tech computers of "my day" were the Atari 800 and Commodore 64. I probably shouldn't have waited so long (2009 & 42 yrs old) to try to learn this stuff......

[jeffman]

There is a technique called URL rewriting that probably handles the bulk of what you see on the net. I think you're not ready for that yet. :)The ?showtopic=31266 thing probably gives a script enough information to access a database. If you want to learn something like Wordpress, your URL's would look a lot like that. Steep learning curve, though.I do things like this with straight PHP. It works best when you are including the destination document within the source document. That way, the user never needs to see those big ugly addresses. You can also make a few things more efficient. It's a simple enough task for someone with a little PHP experience, but you need to know 8-10 little things, and 1-2 not so little things, and again, I don't know if you're up to it.How much do you want to learn all at once?

[scout1idf]

.....How much do you want to learn all at once?

At this stage, I think a little at a time so it can all (try to) sink in.I think for now I may rename some of my files/folders so they are smaller in the address bar and maybe they will "look" better.Thanks for your help. Maybe my skill level will reach "0" some day.....

[dink]

mudI'll use this page as an example..In the address bar it shows....http://w3schools.invisionzone.com/index.php?showtopic=31266On my site the address bar shows.....http:// www.myfirstsite.zxq.net/web%20page%20stuff/floating_file/floating_points_of_light_links.phporhttp:// www.myfirstsite.zxq.net/web%20page%20stuff/floating_file/floating_points_of_light_info.phporhttp://www.myfirstsite.zxq.net/web%20page%..._light_home.phpetc.....I guess what I am asking is, what method is being used to access different pages on this site? How do I make mine look more "professional" (for lack of a better term)?As for my skill level, on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the best. I would have to say I'm around negative 24 and trying to learn mostly on my own.Most of this stuff is about as clear as mud to me. High school was a very long time ago and I didn't take any courses above general math/pre algebra and the high tech computers of "my day" were the Atari 800 and Commodore 64. I probably shouldn't have waited so long (2009 & 42 yrs old) to try to learn this stuff......

I agree that it is difficult to learn but not impossible. I started out learning everything I could on the web, tutorials, viewing source code, ect. After I had learned everything I could from the web I took classes at a local community college. I graduated with highest honors at the age of 56. I can now program in C++, Java, VB, ASP, HTML, javascript, vbscript, and of course css. I am now learning php, osc, dnn, and joomla,,The most advanced technology when I was in high school were manual typewriters.. heheYou may have to work harder but if you really want it you will have it.Good Luck!dink

[dsonesuk]

http:// www.myfirstsite.zxq.net/web%20page%20stuff/floating_file/floating_points_of_light_links.phporhttp:// www.myfirstsite.zxq.net/web%20page%20stuff/floating_file/floating_points_of_light_info.php

if you talking about all '%20' within "web%20page%20stuff" thats because you have spaces within the directory name. There should no spaces in directory or file name. Any spaces will be converted to '%20', which is a code for a space, instead use "-", and make the name relative to your content.for example:content about holidaying Ghana, could have directory with filename "/africa/holiday-in-ghana.php"

[scout1idf]

I spent some time (days) renaming and reorganizing my site. For now, I have a shorter "signature" in the address bar.I'm still working on design aspects as well as content.

[dsonesuk]

advise using text name, instead of numbers 'info.php', 'guest-book.php' (all-lower-case-and-dashes-or-hyphens-between-spaces) more Search Engine Friendly, easy to identify what page relates to.