displaying a web page as an image?

[RyOn]

Hi

The web languages I am familiar with are HTML and PHP.

I am looking at having images of other websites on my website.
What I was going to do was take screen shots of these websites and display those screen shots as images. (easy).

What I am wondering if possible, can i some how reference a url to generate an image (or similar) that shows that website as it is now?

This would be beneficial as the images would always be up to date and would save screen shoting and editing images.

Thanks
Ryan

[GMF]

So you are basically asking us how to steal content, right?

[RyOn]

LOL, no.
it's like a snippet of where the link will take you when you click on it.
wtf???

[GMF]

Ohhh... so you mean a snapshot of the whole site.

Mh... don't know how to do that, but found something on google that could help you out

http://www.shrinktheweb.com/

There also seems to be a way with PHP

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/757675/website-screenshots-using-php

But if you are using this to steal content, and I find out.....

[webcosmo]

you can. thats what these guys did it http://browsershots.org/

[J. H. Rasmussen]

Well, a little off-topic, but none the less important.

If you don't have a computer not connected with your live website, i would recommend you use a 3. part service like http://www.shrinktheweb.com/, since there is some serious security issues with reading in website pages which is required to take a thumbnail image of it.

I have coded my fair share of search engine and directories, and therefore also web crawlers, and one thing i have learned is a thumbnail capturing application is very likely to get infected with mallware, even if you trust the people behind the websites you create thumbnails for, even there websites can get hacked, and infect the computer running the thumbnail capturing application.

Anyway good luck with the thumbnail capturing.

[phpscripts]

You can try thumbshots.

[JohnnyS]

Originally Posted by RyOn

Hi

The web languages I am familiar with are HTML and PHP.

I am looking at having images of other websites on my website.
What I was going to do was take screen shots of these websites and display those screen shots as images. (easy).

What I am wondering if possible, can i some how reference a url to generate an image (or similar) that shows that website as it is now?

This would be beneficial as the images would always be up to date and would save screen shoting and editing images.

Thanks
Ryan

i think it should be done manually rather than automatically via php, it is because the location of the snippet you want to be a snippet can change places without your knowing..