Is there a way to have a Codeigniter controller return an image?

Question

I was wondering if there was a way for a controller to, instead of returning a string, or a view, return an image (be it JPG, PNG etc). For example, instead of ending with a $t

Answer 1

This method works even if you have $config['compress_output'] set to TRUE

$filename="/path/to/file.jpg"; //<-- specify the image  file
if(file_exists($filename)){ 
  header('Content-Length: '.filesize($filename])); //<-- sends filesize header
  header('Content-Type: image/jpg'); //<-- send mime-type header
  header('Content-Disposition: inline; filename="'.$filename.'";'); //<-- sends filename     header
  $jpg = file_get_contents($filename); 
  $this->output->set_output($jpg);
}