php problem

when i download a file that has the .php extension from my server for the purposes of editing it all the formatting is gone and the code is a huge mess. this doesnt happen when i download .html .shtml .htm or anything else. does anyone know what would cause this? thanks for any help

assneck

i'm not sure exactly, but are you downloading through an FTP client? that may be the source of the problem

Well, if you downloading it through a way other than FTP, it is because .php files are server side, which means all the code is executed befored it gets to the user. .html files are executed as the user gets it, and .shtml can be server side if the user includes a file or uses the server side scripts. But if you want to download it, you will have to download it via an FTP client. If you don't already have one, I suggest SmartFTP.
You can get this at http://www.smartftp.com.
Hope I helped.

thanks for the replies guys, i am using ftp to download it, i use aceftp. i tried opening the files with a different editor (cute html) and they are fine. must just be a problem with my ftp .