Moving files with rename()

Use for both renaming and moving files, rename() takes two parameters: the original filename and the new filename you wish to use. Rename() can rename/move files across directories and drives, and will return true on success or false otherwise.

Here is an example:

<?php
    $filename2 = $filename . '.old';
    rename($filename, $filename2);
?>

If you had $filename set to c:\\windows\\myfile.txt, the above script would move that file to c:\\windows\\myfile.txt.old.

Author's Note: rename() should be used to move ordinary files, and not files uploaded through a form. The reason for this is because there is a special function, called move_uploaded_file(), which checks to make sure the file has indeed been uploaded before moving it - this stops people trying to hack your server into making private files visible. You can perform this check yourself if you like by calling the is_uploaded_file() function.

Want to learn PHP 7?

Hacking with PHP has been fully updated for PHP 7, and is now available as a downloadable PDF. Get over 1200 pages of hands-on PHP learning today!

If this was helpful, please take a moment to tell others about Hacking with PHP by tweeting about it!

Next chapter: Copying files with copy() >>

Previous chapter: Moving, copying, and deleting files

Jump to:

Home: Table of Contents