problem with cookie

I have a problem with a cookie (what a news? :-))

I have a site with 2 different authentication levels. A generic user
level and an admin level.
I would save this level in a cookie after the user has inserted username
and passwd so I can retrieve it in the pages and showing contents
accordingly.

these are the two codes.

this is the code to set the cookie
==CODE START
if($passcheck['passwd'] == md5($_POST['passwd']))
{
setcookie('auth',$passcheck['auth']);
echo "<p>You are a known user<br>\n";
echo "Authorized at level: " . $passcheck['auth'] . "</p>\n";
echo "<p><a href=\"../start.php\">Click here to proceed.</a></p>\n";

} else { .....
==CODE END


and this is the code at beginning of start.php page

==CODE START
<?php
$auth = $_COOKIE['auth'];
?>
==CODE END

....the problem is the cookie is set correctly, but both $auth and
$_COOKIE['auth'] are empty.
I cannot understand where the problem is.

Thank you in advance.

--
Best regards,

Stefano Tessarin

To follow the path:
look to the master,
follow the master,
walk with the master,
see through the master,
become the master.
Zen poem.

Stefano Tessarin írta:
>
> I have a problem with a cookie (what a news? :-))
>
> I have a site with 2 different authentication levels. A generic user
> level and an admin level.
> I would save this level in a cookie after the user has inserted username
> and passwd so I can retrieve it in the pages and showing contents
> accordingly.
>
> these are the two codes.
>
> this is the code to set the cookie
> ==CODE START
> if($passcheck['passwd'] == md5($_POST['passwd']))
> {
> setcookie('auth',$passcheck['auth']);
> echo "<p>You are a known user<br>\n";
> echo "Authorized at level: " . $passcheck['auth'] . "</p>\n";
> echo "<p><a href=\"../start.php\">Click here to
> proceed.</a></p>\n";
>
> } else { .....
> ==CODE END
>
>
> and this is the code at beginning of start.php page
>
> ==CODE START
> <?php
> $auth = $_COOKIE['auth'];
> ?>
> ==CODE END
>
> ...the problem is the cookie is set correctly, but both $auth and
> $_COOKIE['auth'] are empty.
> I cannot understand where the problem is.
>
> Thank you in advance.
>

You should set cookies before anything else is sent, 'cause cookies are
sent in the header section in http.