Presenting text using a PHP form

jonnyboy

I have created a PHP form to create HTML documents using a PHP template.

I require the info keyed into the textarea to come out as keyed not as one long string. Which PHP function should I use and how?

Many thanks

Jonathan

<?php if(!empty($_POST['message_text'])) {echo "{$_POST['message_text']}";} ?>

Hawkee

I'm not sure if I understand your question here. Are you talking about using a textarea? If so, why can't you just display your value between the textarea tags? I may be way off so let me know what you mean exactly,

Hawkee

jonnyboy

Thanks...

I have one PHP form which collects the data from the user. Then I output that data into a formatted HTML page using another PHP file.

When the user has completed the form, they click "Create Document". This then starts the post which generates the new PHP file. To the user, it has just generated a nicely formatted form with the content they have keyed in the fields.

I need to know how to echo the data from the initial forms textarea into the new php page (converted form).

When I did this retieving data from MySQL, I used "nl2br" but I am not sure how to make this work now?

Thanks

Jonathan

Hawkee

Aha! Much more clear! =) It sounds like you'd just like to replace any new lines with html breaks. This can use the function str_replace which is outlined here:

http://www.php.net/manual/en/function.str-replace.php

You will simply replace a new line character "\n" with a "<br>" HTML tag. I hope this works for ya!

Hawkee

jonnyboy

Thanks Hawkee

I am really quite a newbee and have studied one of my books, but I am not sure how to convert the below code to incorporate your suggestion...

<?php if(!empty($_POST['text_test'])) {echo "{$_POST['text_test']}";} ?>

Thanks

Jonathan

Hawkee

Here you are, try this:

echo preg_replace('/\n/', '<br>', $_POST['text_test']);

Hawkee

jonnyboy

Thanks Hawkee...that's done the trick.

Jonathan