Just attempting to use cookies and i get...
Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/thebulls/public_html/includes/functions/misc.php:162) in /home/thebulls/public_html/config.php on line 50

Config.php arround line 50

PHP Code:

if ($_COOKIE['nopops'] == "TRUE" && $nopops !== "STOP")
{
$nopops == "TRUE";
setcookie("nopops", "TRUE");
}
elseif ($nopops == "STOP")
{
setcookie("nopops", "FALSE");
}
elseif ($nopops == "TRUE")
{
setcookie("nopops", "TRUE");
} 


misc.php

PHP Code:

<?php
    function bwsaver($filename) 
        {
            global $off, $contents;
                //if home pc is on
                if($off == "NO")
                    {
                        //use http://(loggedip)/filename assigned at point of execution
                        echo "http://" . $contents . "/" . $filename;
                    }
                //error trapping, allways pull styleshet off webserver
                elseif($filename == "style.css")
                    {
                        echo "style.css";
                    }
                //see if script is executed by server, rather than user
                elseif(strpos($_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'],"~thebulls"))
                    {
                        //if so, use ../~thebulls/filename to make sure path is correct
                          echo "../~thebulls/" . $filename;
                    }
                //if home pc is off, just use webserver
                else echo "../" . $filename;
        }
    $phrase  = $_SERVER['SCRIPT_NAME'];
    $healthy = array("/", ".htm", "category", "search", "index", "ply", ".php");
    $yummy  = array("", "", "", "", "", "", "");
    $btbgames = str_replace($healthy, $yummy, $phrase);
    function gamelink($gamename, $gameid)
        {
            global $btbgames;
            $healthy = array(" ");
            $yummy  = array("-");
            $new = str_replace($healthy, $yummy, $gamename);
            if ($btbgames != "~thebulls")
                {
                    echo "<a href='";
                    echo $gameid;
                    echo "-";
                    echo $new;
                    echo "'>";
                }
            else 
                {
                    echo "<a href='ply.htm?id="; 
                    echo $gameid;
                    echo "'>";
                }
        }
    function gamelink2($gamename, $gameid)
        {
            global $btbgames;
            $healthy = array(" ");
            $yummy  = array("-");
            $new = str_replace($healthy, $yummy, $gamename);
            if ($btbgames != "~thebulls")
                {
                    echo "<a class='nav' href='";
                    echo $gameid;
                    echo "-";
                    echo $new;
                    echo "'>";
                }
            else 
                {
                    echo "<a class='nav' href='ply.htm?id="; 
                    echo $gameid;
                    echo "'>";
                }
        }
     function smile($post)
        {
            $smilies=array(':)' => "<img src='../images/smile.gif' />",':(' => "<img src='../images/sad.gif'   />",':p' => "<img src='../images/tongue.gif' />",';)' => "<img src='../images/wink.gif'  />",';smirk' => "<img src='../images/smirk.gif' />",':blush' =>"<img src='../images/blush.gif' />",':angry' =>"<img src='../images/angry.gif' />",':shocked'=> "<img src='../images/shocked.gif' />",':ninja'=>"<img src='../images/ninja.gif' />",':cool'=>"<img src='../images/cool.gif' />",'(!)'=>"<img src='../images/exclamation.gif' />",'(?)'=>"<img src='../images/question.gif' />",'(heart)'=>"<img src='../images/heart.gif' />",':{blink}'=>"<img src='../images/winking.gif'>",'{clover}'=>"<img src='../images/clover.gif'>",':[glasses]'=>"<img src='../images/glasses.gif'>",':[barf]'=>"<img src='../images/barf.gif'>",':[reallymad]'=>"<img src='../images/mad.gif'>",':[evil]'=>"<img src='../images/melkor.gif'>");
            $post=str_replace(array_keys($smilies), array_values($smilies), $post);
            return $post;
         }    
    function file_put_contents2($filename, $data, $flags = 0, $f = FALSE) 
         { 
             if(($f===FALSE) && (($flags%2)==1)) $f=fopen($filename, 'a'); else if($f===FALSE) $f=fopen($filename, 'w'); 
             if(round($flags/2)==1) while(!flock($f, LOCK_EX)) { /* lock */ } 
             if(is_array($data)) $data=implode('', $data); 
             fwrite($f, $data); 
             if(round($flags/2)==1) flock($f, LOCK_UN); 
             fclose($f); 
         }
    function file_put_contents1($filename, $data, $flags = 0, $f = FALSE) 
         { 
             if(($f===FALSE) && (($flags%2)==1)) $f=fopen($filename, 'a'); else if($f===FALSE) $f=fopen($filename, 'w'); 
             if(round($flags/2)==1) while(!flock($f, LOCK_EX)) { /* lock */ } 
             if(is_array($data)) $data=implode('', $data); 
            fwrite($f, $data); 
             if(round($flags/2)==1) flock($f, LOCK_UN); 
             fclose($f); 
         } 
    function  MakeImage($cookie, $count = 0)  
        { 
              // Creation of image with GD
              if ($cookie == 1) 
                {
                    $text = "Admin";
                       $im = imagecreate(50,20);
                 } 
            elseif ($cookie == 2) 
                {
                    if ($count == 0) 
                        { 
                            $length = 1;
                        } 
                    else 
                        {
                            $length =  1+intval(log($count)/log(10));
                        }
                    $size = 14+($length-1)*9;
                    $im = imagecreate($size,20);
                    $text = "$count";
                  } 
            elseif ($cookie == 3) 
                {
                    $text = "Count";
                       $im = imagecreate(50,20);
                  } 
            else  
                {
                    $text = "";
                    $im = imagecreate(1,1);
                  }
            $black  =  ImageColorAllocate($im,  0,  0,  0); 
              $white  =  ImageColorAllocate($im,  255,  255,  255); 
              imagefill($im,0,0,$black);  
              ImageString($im,5,3,2,$text,$white);
            if (function_exists("imagegif")) 
                {
                    @header("Content-type: image/gif");
                    imagegif($im);
                } 
            elseif (function_exists("imagepng")) 
                {
                    @header("Content-type: image/png");
                    imagepng($im);
                } 
            elseif (function_exists("imagejpeg")) 
                {
                    @header("Content-type: image/jpeg");
                    imagejpeg($im, "", 0.8);
                }  
            elseif (function_exists("imagewbmp")) 
                {
                    @header("Content-type: image/vnd.wap.wbmp");
                    imagewbmp($im);
                } 
            else 
                {
                    die("No image support in this PHP server");
                }
            ImageDestroy($im);
        }

    function backstr($haystack, $needle) 
        {
            return substr($haystack, 0, strlen($haystack) - strlen(strstr($haystack,$needle)));
         }
?>

Idea is this disables popup window for requests if people say they have a popup blocker. This bit works fine using address bar, but i wish for it to save what the users preference is for returining visits.

It's exactly as the error says: you can't have ANY output to the browser before sending headers. Setting a cookie is sending a header and so you need to do this before ANY output.

Even a newline at the end of the ?> in an included file is output.

no way of getting arround this? setting cookies using html for example?

You could do it with Javascript, I guess, but definitely not HTML by itself.

Alternatively, use a PHP session. Again, you'll have to start the session before any output to the browser, but at least you won't have to assign any values right then and there...

Off to look for a session tutorial!

EDIT:
Managed to get cookies working...

PHP Code:

    if ($nopop == 2)
    {
    setcookie("nopops", 2, time() + 10);
    }
    elseif ($nopop == 1)
    {
    setcookie("nopops", 1, time() + (86400*365));
    } 
    elseif ($_COOKIE['nopops'] == 1)
    {
    $nopop = 1;
    setcookie("nopops", 1, time() + (86400*365));
    }
    else $nopop = 2; 


Taken me since I originaly posted at 17:19 GMT till 20:21 GMT