Hi all. The process was set up like this:

$dir = "../image/photos/$photo[img]";

However, I recently transfered the script folder to an entirely new category, and now the image directory is four levels up or something. I am attemptin to fix it, but it refuse to work.

$dir = "http://localhost/my_site/image/photos/$photo[img]";

I have put in the right path, and I copied the image URL directly. There aren't any error messages either, the image simply doesn't show up. I'm working on the local host environment.

It seems like you changed the directory structure of your project which is a common thing to do, but does require some careful updates to paths. Seeing that you are on a localhost environment, make sure that your local server is running properly and that all the files are accsessible.

In your previous setup, you were using a relative file path (`../image/photos/$photo[img]`), which worked when the script was located in a specific directory. Now that the script is moved and you're using an absolute URL (`http://localhost/my_site/image/photos/$photo[img]`), this could be where the problem lies.

Here are some steps you can take to troubleshoot this issue:

1. Verify the Image URL: Inspect the final URL that is being generated. You can echo out the `$dir` variable to see the exact path being constructed. It should look something like `http://localhost/my_site/image/photos/image_name.jpg`. If it doesn't, then check how `$photo['img']` is being set.

2. Check File Existance: Manually type the URL into your browser to see if the image loads. If you get a 404 error, the image might not be present in the specified path.

3. Localhost Configuration: Ensure that your localhost (e.g., XAMPP, WAMP) is configured correctly and that the `my_site` folder is within the right directory that the server is serving. Sometimes, the localhost path can be different depending on how the server is set up.

4. Permission Issues: Check if the directory where your images are stored has the right permissions. Ensure that the web server process (like Apache or Nginx) has permission to read files from that directory.

5. HTML Image Tag: Ensure that you are referencing the `$dir` properly in your HTML. For example, make sure you are using the right syntax in your img tag like `<img src="<?php echo $dir; ?>" alt="Image Description">`.

6. Browser Cache: Clear your browser cache or try accessing the page in incognito mode. Sometimes, old images may be cached, and you might not see the new changes.

7. Debugging: Use the browser's dev tools (F12) to inspect the network requests. This can tell you if the image is trying to load and failing, and why.

Using relative paths in your code just won't get the job done. You need to stick to absolute paths for it to function correctly.

For instance, you might set it up like so:
$dir = $_SERVER['dоcument_ROOT']."/image/photos/$photo[img]";

Alternatively, there's a more straightforward way to write it:
$dir = "/var/www/my_site/image/photos/$photo[img]";

Just make sure you always specify the full directory path to avoid any issues with file retrieval.

Usually, server systems on the web are similar to Unix, which treats letter cases in file names differently. This means that files named example.jpg, Example.jpg, and EXAMPLE.jpg are considered unique. When you are linking to these files in HTML, you really have to pay attention to how they're named on the server. It's a good practice to keep everything in lower case for file and directory names to prevent any mix-ups.

Moreover, there are situations when you can run into issues accessing a file. This might happen because the name of the file or the directory it's in is typed wrong, often just a simple typing mistake. Also, if you're using relative paths like ../../images/img.jpg, and you mess up the address, it can lead to errors too. Always double-checking your file paths can save a lot of hassle when developing a website.

Using an absolute URL like http://localhost/my_site/image/photos/$photo[img] might seem like a solid fix, but it can be a bit wonky in a localhost setup. First, ensure your server root is correctly pointing to my_site in your local env.

If the image still doesn't render, check the browser console for any 404s - those sneaky errors can hide there. Also, double-check if $photo[img] is spitting out the right filename; a quick var_dump() can save your bacon. If the path is legit, test it directly in the browser to see if the image loads. Localhost can be a pain with relative paths, so sometimes hardcoding the full URL temporarily is a clutch move.