Detecting if a file exists in wordpress theme? - php

Question

I am creating a wordpress template.
I am displaying one out of a directory of videos, as in
<video controls preload="auto" autoplay loop poster="<?= item_image; ?>">
<source src="<?= $item_video_mp4; ?>" type='video/mp4' />
<source src="<?= $item_video_webm; ?>" type='video/webm' />
</video>
However, in some cases, there is no video file for the item. In that case, I'd just like to display alternate content.
I was trying to use php's file_exists() but I read that it only works with local paths, not urls. So I was trying to use a local relative path to to files.
My url to the videos is calculated from the post title:
$item_path = '/wp-content/uploads/item_media/';
$item_name = get_the_title();
$item_video_mp4 = $item_path . $item_name .'.mp4';
This works, it displays the video and poster frame if they exist. The problem is, I need to detect if the video does not exist.
Since the php template is in /wp-content/themes/mytheme as typical I was trying to use
$filepath = '../../uploads/item_media/'. $item_name .'.mp4';
if (file_exists($filepath)) {
echo "The file $filepath exists";
} else {
echo "The file $filepath does not exist";
}
But the text always returns false.
Any ideas?
UPDATE
I have also tried this for the path:
$filepath = WP_CONTENT_URL . '/uploads/item_media/'. $item_name .'.mp4'
Which echoes
"http://des.dev/wp-content/uploads/item_media/4595DW.mp4 does not exist"
Even though it does.

Answer 1

This seems to work, not sure if it's the best way:
$filepath = $_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT'] . '/wp-content/uploads/item_media/'. $ring .'.mp4'

Answer 2

You should try using this instead:
$filepath = WP_CONTENT_URL . '/uploads/item_media/'. $item_name .'.mp4';
if (file_exists($_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT'] . $filepath)) {
...
The problem is that PHP's file_exists function takes a relative or an absolute path, and it doesn't look like either one is matching up with your filesystem structure. The $_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT'] . section above will prepend your Apache DocumentRoot setting to the path you are checking for, making the parameter to file_exists be an absolute path.