I have a form with variable names that include characters like spaces and periods. When they are posted PHP changes those characters to underscores. I don't have access to change the variable names. Is there a way around this?
If you're using GET, parse $QUERY_STRING (urldecode() might help here).
If you're using POST, you'll have to make up something. Try using hidden fields or something. If you tell me more about what you're doing, I might get better idea(s).