Cakephp 2 errors on reporting level 0 - php

Question

I would like to show a custom error page when the reporting level is set to 0 and it is a 500 error not a 404. It seems I can't access the error message at all, outside of the default view.
I would like to set a custom layout outside of the normal error layouts. I know if I switch the reporting to level 1 or 2 then it works fine. I want this for production where it is set at 0 and not a 400 error. Is this possible?
$error->getMessage()

Answer 1

Q: I would like to show a custom error page when the reporting level is set to 0 and it is a 500 error
A: You can edit the default error views error400.ctp and also error500.ctp in /app/View/Errors/
Q: I would like to set a custom layout outside of the normal error layouts.
A: If you want to use another (custom) layout you can copy the file CakeErrorController.php from /lib/Cake/Controller/ to /app/Controller/ and add the following line in the function:
function __construct($request = null, $response = null) {
$this->layout = 'your-layout-name'; // add this line in the function
// ...
}
and add the custom layout template file as usual in /app/View/Layouts/, e.g. your-layout-name.ctp
If you want to show data from your app in the error page/layout (eg generate the main menu from the database) you can add more custom code in your error controller as well, e.g.:
// Error controller in /app/Controller/CakeErrorController.php
class CakeErrorController extends AppController {
public $uses = array('MenuCategory'); // load relevant table/model
public function __construct($request = null, $response = null) {
$this->set('mainmenu', $this->MenuCategory->getMenu()); // or find() or whatever
// ...
}
}
Q: How can I keep different error messages in production mode (debug level = 0)?
A According to the documentation "ErrorHandler by default, displays errors when debug > 0, and logs errors when debug = 0." The reason is e.g. that you should not show your public visitors (in production mode) an error message like "Missing Component", because this error is irrelevant and not useful for the visitor (so a 404/500 is responded). These kind of errors are only relevant for development and should be fixed before you go live in production mode.
If you want to change this behaviour you have to set up your own error handling as it is exlained in the book. Please also have a look at the explanation directly in the CakePHP code. You can also create your own exeptions if necessary.
If you have problems in using/creating your own error handler, please start a new question on Stackoverflow with more details: What files have you created (e.g. your error handler and/or exceptions), how is your code looking like, what have you tried to solve the problem... and please give a clear example of what you want to achieve (e.g. in the comments below to the first version of my answer you are talking about special 500 errors - What is triggering these errors and what do you want to response instead of a 500 or what exactly do you want to change...)?
An alternative solution in some situations could also be something like this:
// In your controller
public function moderator_view($id = null) {
// Your error check, in this example the user role
if ( $this->Auth->user('role') != 'moderator' ) {
// Custom error message
$this->Flash->custom('You are not a moderator.');
// Redirect to your your special error page
// In this example got to previous page
return $this->redirect(
$this->referer(
// or go to a default page if no referrer is given
array('controller' => 'articles', 'action' => 'index', 'moderator' => false)
)
);
}
// else show moderator content...
}
Please also have a look at the many other questions to custom error pages in CakePHP ;-)