PHP displays odd symbols when trying to use readfile() function

Question

The intent of this is to have users submit applications to the client and for the client to review their information and select the best application. I am trying to display a document from a file server onto the php web page. MySQL code holds the path of the file and I'm using readfile(). I thought maybe it was the encoding or maybe it was the file type but nothing I do seems to be working. I tried using a different filetype and I tried using mb_convert_encoding to modify the encoding.

    <?php foreach ($applications as $application) : ?>        <p> Name: <?php echo $application['fname']; ?> <?php echo $application['mname']; ?> <?php echo $application['lname']; ?><br /></p>
    <?php  

    readfile ($file); ?>

   <?php endforeach; ?>

Here's an example of the symbols that are displaying:

PK!��Ʌ)[Content_Types].xml �(�̕MK�@��!�U�m+�H��8j� ^��I��N��Vۊ�@23��0;� �F'sQ9��N�f X�re'{=��YQ�\hg!c+�l�??�VbB�6fl��o8�r F��y�)\0�5L��ML�w��+.�E��R��{wP��~I�k�:��N,�2&��J �8��Kk�Re��J|�C��]�D� *�d(> CY|�B�s'g�*��28]Q( M}�惓#��贉��&9��̫�!�ap>v�iDK=��p��LD\i�ǟ�Zw�= R�)��;0~>�'� ��X��1�H��fI��v �8��,�[~��oI��A��s��]�#�� PK!�U~��_rels/.rels �(��MK1��!̽;�"��^D�Md�C2��(�.Ե�3y��3C֛��+�4xW��(A��yX܂JB��Wp��b��#InJ���E�b�=[J��M�%��a �B�,o0�f@=a�� n��o�A��;�N�

The file I'm trying to read is .doc file.

`readfile()` doesn't work that way. It works with output buffers. Reply is complex to write as it relies on many factors. Please see this topic: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/2028898/php-output-file-on-disk-to-browser It's the same thing except it uses `fopen` instead. — user8555937, Feb 24 '20 at 17:05
It looks like an Office Open XML format (docm/docx, pptm/pptx, xlsx/xlsm), which means it's compressed. You're not going to be able to use `readfile` in this straight-forward way. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_Open_XML_file_formats for how they're built. — aynber, Feb 24 '20 at 17:13
@NinoŠkopac there is only text in the file it's a .doc file and I've tried using a .docx file. — IncliningTitan, Feb 24 '20 at 17:34
Possible duplicates of https://stackoverflow.com/questions/7358637/reading-doc-file-in-php and https://stackoverflow.com/questions/188452/reading-writing-a-ms-word-file-in-php and https://stackoverflow.com/questions/19503653/how-to-extract-text-from-word-file-doc-docx-xlsx-pptx-php — aynber, Feb 24 '20 at 17:41
Like @aynber said, doc(x) files aren't plaintext files. You should've mentioned it's a doc(x) file in your question. — The Onin, Feb 24 '20 at 18:00
Does this answer your question? [Reading DOC file in php](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/7358637/reading-doc-file-in-php) — The Onin, Feb 24 '20 at 18:02

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Feb 24 '20 at 17:06

0

$file seems undefined; assuming $application holds all the application data you want to display to the client, then you should be doing:

<?php readfile($application['file']); ?>

If this isn't working then you aren't using the correct path - try debugging like this:

<?php var_dump($application['file'], file_exists($application['file'])); ?>

answered Feb 24 '20 at 17:06

The Onin

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Readfile reads data in binary mode and works with output buffers instead. Please check the docs: https://www.php.net/readfile – user8555937 Feb 24 '20 at 17:08
@user8555937 Sure it writes to the output buffer, but so does _every_ function that outputs instead of returns and every outputting function (print, echo, var_dump, print_r, var_export...) behaves in the same way. Output buffering has nothing to do with this post. – The Onin Feb 24 '20 at 17:11

PHP displays odd symbols when trying to use readfile() function

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