Question

So I’m using the following code to pull a random file from a folder and I would like to make it so there is never a chance of pulling up the current file again (ie: seeing the same image/document twice in a row).

How would I go about this? Thanks in advance!

function random_file($dir = 'destinations')
{
    $files = glob($dir . '/*.*');
    $file = array_rand($files);
    return $files[$file];
}

Answer 1

Store the last viewed filename in a cookie or in the session.

Here’s how to do it with a cookie:

function random_file($dir = 'destinations') {
    $files = glob($dir . '/*.*');
    if (!$files) return false;
    $files = array_diff($files, array(@$_COOKIE['last_file']));
    $file = array_rand($files);
    setcookie('last_file', $files[$file]);
    return $files[$file];
}