Busy — Mon, 06 Feb 2006 09:40:24 +0000

Also be sure to put a watermark (like 'sample') across your image or you may not get paid

Dux0r — Mon, 06 Feb 2006 02:39:33 +0000

When your customer clicks 'Continue' on the last page of their paypal transaction the IPN script on paypal.com sends your chosen webpage (yoursite.com/yourpage.php) the word FAILED or SUCCESS along with all the data of the transaction (amount payed, buyers email/country/state, etc).

You then use that information to do something. For example if they've payed $2 you give them access to the download twice, if they've payed $4 you give them access 4 times, whatever.

In my example I say issue a random password to the user. Keep this password along with their username in your database and allow access to the file for that user/pass.

raymondh — Thu, 02 Feb 2006 16:54:40 +0000

Okay, all of that I can figure out with the exception of the paypal IPN. Would paypal send this information directly to the customer in an email? I'm assuming the IPN has some way of responding to a script on my server telling it that the charge went through????

Dux0r — Thu, 02 Feb 2006 16:50:59 +0000

There are numerous ways you could accomplish this.

Being a PHP buff, I'll tell you how I'd do it.

Have the photos uploaded to a specific directory.
Block direct access to this directory via chmod or .htacess.
Have a PHP file in the same directory which can access the files, then re-generate them.
Require a password/access code to the PHP file (issued by PayPal IPN).

After reviewing what I've written, that seems overly complicated. Hopefully someone else will have a much simpler approach.