How to open a .php file

Question

Possible Duplicate:
How to run php files on my computer
Is it possible to run .php files on my local computer?

Well, sorry if this is a "newbie" question but I have to do it:

How can I open a .php file? I've saved a test.php file and now I want to open it... Do I need to use Apache?

Right Click -> Open With -> Select Program / Service -> Notepad — Andreas Wong, Aug 17 '12 at 01:43
You need to run it on a server that has PHP installed. Yes, setting up Apache and installing PHP on your computer would work. — Chris Dargis, Aug 17 '12 at 01:43
What do you mean by 'open' do you want to view the source contents or do you want to execute the source contents? — Adrian Cornish, Aug 17 '12 at 01:43
You need a web server of some sort. There are lots of examples. [XAMPP is quite popular here](http://stackoverflow.com/search?q=%5Bphp%5D+setup+xampp&submit=search) — Michael Berkowski, Aug 17 '12 at 01:44
Yes, You need a webserver, try wamp (if windows) or xampp. YOu can then access this file through localhost in your browser. — ppsreejith, Aug 17 '12 at 01:45

reformed · Answer 1 · 2012-08-17T03:40:21.727

4

You need to have Apache running on your system. Once it's running, open up your browser and type in localhost/test.php in the address bar. This is assuming that test.php is in the correct location.

If you install WAMP, the correct location will be something like C:\wamp\www. In addition, once WAMP is installed you can just click on the WAMP tray icon and then click "www directory" which will open the correct location into which you will place test.php.

If you don't have Apache/PHP installed, you can download WAMP which installs those and MySQL all in one, automatically: WAMP Server

edited Aug 17 '12 at 03:40

answered Aug 17 '12 at 01:46

reformed

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what is a "correct" location? – Andreas Wong Aug 17 '12 at 01:47
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@SiGanteng 'correct' meaning that's what the file is named and that's the directory it is in. – Stephen Cioffi Aug 17 '12 at 01:48
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@4cpukid which is what exactly, in this context? I can put my `index.php` in `C:\\`, and that, by your definition is correct. I'm not trying to be an ass here, but looking at how OP describes his question, he probably needs a precise answer :) – Andreas Wong Aug 17 '12 at 01:51
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Well, directories like www (for Wamp installation on Windows), public_html, etc. would be the correct location. I said that in case he was trying to run them from his desktop or my documents. – reformed Aug 17 '12 at 01:53
I tried the localhost/test.php but it didn't work. Should I set a specific directory for php files in WAMP server? Thanks. – Daniel Montenegro Aug 17 '12 at 02:29
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@reformed looking at Daniel's comment, now you see what I mean by "being specific" ;) – Andreas Wong Aug 17 '12 at 02:36
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@DanielMontenegro the folder location can be opened by clicking on the WAMP Tray Icon -> www directory, it will pop up a folder where you can put your `test.php` script and do a localhost/test.php. Try. – Andreas Wong Aug 17 '12 at 02:37
Thanks everybody! Now I did it right! Well, you all had your own newbies days too, I guess ;) – Daniel Montenegro Aug 17 '12 at 03:04
By the way, can I add new folders to it? – Daniel Montenegro Aug 17 '12 at 03:07
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@SiGanteng Yes, right on, thanks for seeking clarification. – reformed Aug 17 '12 at 03:35
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@DanielMontenegro yes, you can add as many directories under the www directory as you want. – reformed Aug 17 '12 at 03:36
Last question: Where do I find documentation about Wamp server and MySQL/PHP? Thanks! – Daniel Montenegro Aug 17 '12 at 15:42
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PHP: [link](http://www.php.net/manual/en/) MySQL: [link](http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.5/en/index.html) – reformed Aug 17 '12 at 21:32

score 3 · Answer 2 · answered Aug 17 '12 at 01:45

If you mean to run a PHP script then yes you would need Apache or any type of web server that supports PHP. If you want to run your scripts locally on your computer you can install XAMPP and and run your computer will act like a web server. Just enter http://localhost/ in your browser to get the homepage when it is installed. Comment if you have any issues or another question. :)

EDIT: XAMPP is available accross almost every platform including Windows, Mac, and Linux

You can grab XAMPP from it's website at http://www.apachefriends.org/

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Aug 17 '12 at 01:44

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php -f /path/to/test.php

If you are on linux and PHP is installed.

answered Aug 17 '12 at 01:44

Mike Mackintosh

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How to open a .php file

3 Answers3