For security reasons (to prevent “PHP include” hacker attacks),  some servers set the allow_url_fopen and allow_url_include PHP directives to off. If you see errors similar to the following on your website, then your website (or software you have installed on your website) uses insecure PHP calls.

Common Errors

Warning: fopen() [function.fopen]: URL file-access is disabled in the server configuration in /……../ on line (..)

Warning: file_get_contents() [function.file-get-contents]: URL file-access is disabled in the server configuration in in /……../ on line (..)

Warning: include() [function.include]: URL file-access is disabled in the server configuration in /……../ on line (..)

Warning: getimagesize() [function.getimagesize]: URL file-access is disabled in the server configuration in in /……../ on line (..)

Warning: readfile() [function.readfile]: URL file-access is disabled in the server configuration in in /……../ on line (..)

Solution

WordPress / Joomla / Drupal Software: These applications do not use functions that require allow_url_fopen or allow_url_include to be turned on. However, certain third party plugins may require changes. If you see any of the errors above, try to isolate which plugin is causing the issue and replace it with an alternative plugin. You should also consider reporting the issue to the plugin developer so that they may fix it in an upcoming release. Alternatively, you can check out some of the examples below and attempt to fix the errors yourself.

Note: Do not attempt to fix issues yourself if you do not have prior software development experience. If the below does not make sense, you should consult with your web professional.

The errors above manifest themselves when your website is attempting to retrieve outside web URLs. The solution is to use the PHP Curl library to do so instead, which is more secure. How you use PHP ‘s Curl library to circumvent this issue depends on which warning you’ve received.

Example 1: Warning: fopen() [function.fopen]:

$file = “http://news.google.com/news?ned=us&topic=h&output=rss”;

$xml_parser = xml_parser_create();
xml_set_element_handler($xml_parser, “startElement”, “endElement”);
xml_set_character_data_handler($xml_parser, “characterData”);

if (!($fp = fopen($file, “r”))) {
die(“could not open XML input”);
}

while ($data = fread($fp, 4096)) {
if (!xml_parse($xml_parser, $data, feof($fp))) {
die(sprintf(“XML error: %s at line %d”,
xml_error_string(xml_get_error_code($xml_parser)),
xml_get_current_line_number($xml_parser)));
}
}

In the above example, an attempt to open a Google RSS feed is being made. The fopen() call will fail because $file is an outside web site, and the rest of the code will not be executed. To properly load the RSS feed and parse, this snipit of code would need to be rewritten as follows:

$xml_parser = xml_parser_create();
xml_set_element_handler($xml_parser, “startElement”, “endElement”);
xml_set_character_data_handler($xml_parser, “characterData”);

$file = “http://news.google.com/news?ned=us&topic=h&output=rss”;

$ch = curl_init();
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, $file);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
$xmldata = curl_exec($ch);
curl_close($ch);

$xmldata = split(“\n”,$xmldata);

foreach ($xmldata as $data) {
if (!xml_parse($xml_parser, $data)) {
die(sprintf(“XML error: %s at line %d”,
xml_error_string(xml_get_error_code($xml_parser)),
xml_get_current_line_number($xml_parser)));
}
}

Example 2: Warning: file_get_contents() [function.file-get-contents]:

<?php

$contents = file_get_contents(‘http://www.cnn.com/’);

echo $contents;

?>

In the above example, the file_get_contents function is used to retrieve the content of the CNN website. You can accomplish the same thing safely using CURL as follows:

<?php

$ch = curl_init();
curl_setopt ($ch, CURLOPT_URL, ‘http://www.cnn.com’);
curl_setopt ($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, 1);
$contents = curl_exec($ch);
curl_close($ch);

// display file
echo $contents;
?>

Example 3: Warning: include() [function.include]:

Including files from web hosts is not allowed.

<? php include(“http://www.example.com/new.php”); ?>

If the file that you are trying to include is local, use relative paths instead , not the web URL. Otherwise, use the following:

<?php

$ch = curl_init();
curl_setopt ($ch, CURLOPT_URL, ‘http://www.example.com/mew.php’);
curl_setopt ($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, 1);
$contents = curl_exec($ch);
curl_close($ch);

// display file
echo $file_contents;
?>

Example 4: Warning: getimagesize() [function.getimagesize]:

getimagesize() allows you to get the height, width and size of an image file. To use getimagesize() safely, CURL can be used to get the remote file, the data can be saved to a local temporary image file and getimagesize() can be used on the local version.

<php

$filename = “http://www.example.com/example.jpg”;

$ch = curl_init();
curl_setopt ($ch, CURLOPT_URL, $filename);
curl_setopt ($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, 1);

$contents = curl_exec($ch);
curl_close($ch);

$new_image = ImageCreateFromString($contents);
imagejpeg($new_image, “temp.jpg”,100);

$size = getimagesize(“temp.jpg”);

// width and height

$width = $size[0];
$height = $size[1];

Example 5: Warning: readfile() [function.readfile]:

<?php

$contents = readfile(‘http://www.example.com/some.txt’);

echo $contents;

?>

In the above example, the readfile function is used to retrieve the content of a remote text file. You can accomplish the same thing safely using CURL as follows:

<?php

$ch = curl_init();
curl_setopt ($ch, CURLOPT_URL, ‘http://www.example.com/some.txt’);
curl_setopt ($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, 1);
$contents = curl_exec($ch);
curl_close($ch);

// display file
echo $contents;
?>

The above examples are not guaranteed to run without changes, they are strictly guidance to illustrate how to safely retrieve off-site content.

LINKING TO A PDF FROM WITHIN A BLOG POST

To Link to a PDF from within a blog post, click on the add image icon.

Select the PDF file and upload.

Once it is uploaded, click on the “Insert into post” button to insert a link to it directly into your post.

LINKING TO A PDF FILE FROM A LINK OR FROM AN IMAGE IN A POST

If you want to create a link to it from an image, or from within your LINKS, then, instead of clicking on the “insert into post” button,  copy the LINK URL and then hit the “Save all changes” button.

You can then paste that URL into the web address of a link that you’ve created (see image below)..

Or, if you want to link to the PDF file from an image in a post, click on the image that you want to link the PDF to, and click on the insert link icon..

and add the LINK URL in the LINK URL field, clicking “Update” when you’re done.

ADDING A PDF FILE TO YOUR MEDIA LIBRARY

You can also add the PDF file directly to your media library by clicking on the “Add New” link under Media in your left hand navigation.

Select the PDF file from your computer.

Then click on the save changes.

Once a PDF file is in your library, to find out its URL so that you can link to it, click on the Library link under media.

Then click on the “View” link under the file that you want to get the URL of.

That will pull up the name of the PDF file, linked to the PDF file. Right click (if you don’t have a right click on your mouse, hold down the control key when you click) on the link and choose “Copy Link Location” from the contextual menu.

There are probably a slew of other ways to add PDF files to your blog posts. If you have your own version, please share by commenting on this post. Thanks!

Generating passive income is a must for the self employed and creative people in this world. There are only so many billable hours in the day, and it is hard to make a living if you are just billing billable hours.

I decided to experiment with a digital product and adding it to my blog to see how easy the process would be.

Creating A Digital Product

E-books: If you are going to be selling any form of e-book, it is generally delivered as a pdf file. The best software to use to generate the pdf files, in my opinion, is adobe acrobat professional. However, there are free pdf writers available for creative people on a budget. Cute Pdf is an example of a free pdf writing software.

Audio Files: If you are going to be selling mp3 or audio files there are a number of great software options available for recording and generating mp3 files. One free software that I recommend to clients who want to generate vocal audio and not professional music quality is Audacity.

My Journey – bundling audio and pdf: I happened to purchase finale print music software several weeks back and spent a euphoric couple of days experimenting with writing beginner/intermediate piano scores. I was able to save these scores as pdf files by using adobe acrobat professional. Now I have a handful of piano scores suitable for the beginner/intermediate player and so thought to myself, why not bundle a score with mp3 file to sell digitally for this blog example?

First of all, I want people to be able to hear what it sounds like when played. Finale Print Music can generate a digitally produced  audio mp3 file of the music score. I needed to insert the mp3 file in this blog post so that people can hear a sample of the song.  Supplying a sample listen is a great idea for musicians selling mp3 files, or for experts selling audio files. If you are thinking of selling an audio file, I recommend installing the plugin below so that visitors to your site can easily listen to a sample.

WORDPRESS PLUGIN TIP: I installed the following plugin into my wordpress blog so that my audio links would be playable with an audio player.

http://wpaudioplayer.com/download

It generates an audio player just like the one here. Click on it to listen to my Simple Song 1 for the piano.
Simple Song 1

If you want to play audio on your blog, I highly recommend wpaudioplayer.

3 Examples of Digital Delivery/E-commerce Options

1. Option 1: free and the least passive:
   The first option for selling digital products would be to use paypal and then manually email people the product. Setting up a business paypal account is free, and then you can sell products and services online and paypal takes a small percentage of sales. This is the least passive option as you have to manually email people the digital product, but it is free. You can use the steps that I illustrate in this tutorial on adding e-commerce to your blog: http://goffgrafix.com/blog/index.php/2009/04/adding-e-commerce-to-your-blog/ to generate the code for your buy now button and copy and paste it into your blog post. You would then have to manually email the digital product to the customer once you receive notice of the purchase.
2. Option 2: e-junkie.com
   With e-junkie.com you can sell up to 10 products for only $5/month, and it ties into paypal. Click here to view the complete list of features that e-junkie offers. With e-junkie the process is automated. When a customer clicks the buy now code that e-junkie supplies you, e-junkie will automatically send your customer to a page to download the product when the payment goes through. They will also email the customer a time sensitive link to the product download page.
3. Option 3: 1shoppingcart.com/marketerschoice.com
   1shoppingcart.com/marketerschoice.com is a robust and comprehensive shopping cart service that offers digital products options, autoresponder capabilities, recurring billing and much more. I use them for my hosting/web design business, so they were the obvious choice, for me, for selling digital products. After I upload my product, the cart generates a buy now link that I can just paste into this blog post below. Voila!

Purchase Simple Song 1 Piano Score for the beginner /intermediate piano player.
$2.75
Score comes bundled with mp3 file.

Listen to the score below:

Simple Song 1

Your Experience with selling digital products

Please share your experience with selling digital products. What e-commerce system do you use? Do you sell pdf files? audio files? Is there a software that you have found useful in generating digital products? Please comment below. I look forward to your input.

I want to share them with you.

FREE SERVICES (with upgrades)

1. yousendit.com
   Need to send a file that is too large to e-mail? With yousendit.com you can send unlimited 2GB files and folders.
2. altertra.com
   Alertra is a website monitoring service. I use its spot check to see if a website is being connected to globally. It will show you the connectivity of your website from locations around the world and how long it took them to connect to your site.
3. ipchicken.com
   Go to ipchicken.com and it will show you your current IP address.
4. domaintools.com
   I use domaintools.com to look up where a website is registered and hosted. Often my clients don’t remember where they registered their domain names, and domaintools.com is an easy way to look up the information.
5. tweetlater.com
   I have set up tweetlater to email me replies to my tweets and also tweets with keywords that interest me. On days where I don’t have time to log into twitter, I can still stay somewhat connected.

SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES

1. browsercam.com
   I use browsercam’s remote access to test websites that I am developing on different platforms and browsers.
2. lynda.com
   lynda.com offers tutorials on every software that you can imagine. This is the best source for software tutorials that I have found.

Is there an online service that you use? that helps your productivity and that you swear by? Please share in the comments area.