Enable GD support in PHP

Question

I'm trying to install pixelpost on an Apache server on windows. The installer is failing because:

Pixelpost will not run if your PHP installation is not compiled with the GD graphics library.

I've added the following line to php.ini

extension=php_gd2.dll

But I still get the same error message. When I run phpinfo() I don't see any reference to GD, so I guess it really isn't installed. I searched for php_gd2.dll and it's in the ext subfolder of my PHP root dir.

I know nothing about PHP, so be gentle with me.

Update

To answer the questions raised in the comments:

• I restarted Apache after modifying php.ini
• php.ini is in the root dir of my PHP installation C:\php\php.ini

---

Glary

Did you restart Apache after adding the line? Are you sure you're adding the right php.ini? If in doubt, do a phpinfo() to see for sure. – Keane

You must restart apache and also post the location of php.ini you edited – Finical

Relative path in extension_dir can cause Apache to look in its on folder, also additional dll's might be outside system path (er.. not in system32/ or environmental settings not changed) – Wun

Answer 1

Following are the steps for any php extension (on MS-Windows):

1. Give absolute path (not relative) to extensions directory [use forward slashes (/) instead of backslashes (\); I'm not too sure whether it's required to end the path with trailing slash.
   • e.g.: extension_dir = c:/php5/ext
2. Make sure php is referring your php.ini, now php.ini can be inside your php installation root dir.
   • If your changes to php.ini are reflected on phpinfo(), it's OK. If not, please refer to INSTALL file in php root dir.
3. Restart apache if you're binding php as a module to apache

Pinkster

using an absolute path for extension_dir fixed the problem - thanks! – Ingeborgingelbert