[Resolved] Passing form data across multiple pages

sunshine66

Hi,

I'm new to PHP/SQL and am having trouble figuring out how to pass form-inputted variables across mulitple pages.

I am writing an application that allows a user to create/modify their companyProfile, add/modify/edit employeeProfile, and print various documents that contain all or some of the data contained in the multiple tables (MySQL database).

This particular piece of code:

Creates a session for a user who logged into a Web site.
When the user ADDS an employee to the database, it adds the record to the employeeProfile table in the database (this works). I use auto_increment to create an "EmployeeID" field.
I ask the user if they want to print the document. If they answer YES, then I want to pass all the newly entered form data to the next page. (I can't get this to work. Employee data is not passed to "f-A_initialnotice.php". Could it be something to do with the HREF tag? Typically, I've been appending the URL with something like "?$last_id" , i.e. <a href="f-A_initialnotice.php?$last_id">YES</a>, but this is not working either.).

Here is the ADD EMPLOYEE code:


<?php 

session_start(); 

if ($_SESSION['valid_log'][0] != $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'] ||  

$_SESSION['valid_log'][1] != $_SESSION['User']) 
{ 

//redirect to error page 
echo '<META HTTP-EQUIV="Refresh" Content="1; URL=/error_access.html">'; 
exit(); 
} 


 <!-- Begin body -->  

/* upon Submit : */ 
/* If plan type is family/single parent; change Dependents field to YES (default in Db is NO)*/ 
/* Add record to Db 
/* Ask user if they want to print document now? */ 
/* If YES, pass employee variables to document */ 
/* If NO, redirect to master employee list */ 

// If plan type is family or single parent; change Dependents field to YES (default in Db is NO) 
    if (($HplanType=="SingleParent") || ($HplanType=="Family") || ($DplanType=="SingleParent") || 
    ($DplanType=="Family")) 
    {    $Dependents="Yes"; 
    } 
    print "Dependents: $Dependents<br>"; 
    print "$HplanType<br>"; 

// update Db 
    $link = mysql_connect("localhost", "root", "web2004") or die("Could not connect. Please try again later."); 
    mysql_select_db("ecbp",$link) or die("Could not select database. Please try again later."); 

$sql5 = "INSERT INTO employeeProfile  
(CompanyID, EmployeeFirst, EmployeeLast, EmployeeStreet1, EmployeeStreet2, EmployeeCity, EmployeeState, EmployeeZip, SpouseFirst, SpouseLast, Dependents, FSA, FSAamount, TAA, HealthPlan, HplanType, DentalPlan, DplanType)   
  VALUES('$CoID', '$EmployeeFirst', '$EmployeeLast', '$EmployeeStreet1', '$EmployeeStreet2', '$EmployeeCity', '$EmployeeState', '$EmployeeZip', '$SpouseFirst', '$SpouseLast', '$Dependents', '$FSA', '$AmountFSA', '$TAA', '$HealthPlan', '$HplanType', '$DentalPlan', '$DplanType')"; 

$result5 = mysql_query($sql5);   

$EE_id = mysql_insert_id();  
$query6 = "SELECT * FROM employeeProfile WHERE EmployeeID = $EE_id";  
$result6 = mysql_query($query6) or die('Error with query 6.');  
$row6 = mysql_fetch_array($result6);  
$_SESSION[$last_id] = $row6;

// display confirmation and ask user if they want to print document 
    print "<p></p>"; 
    echo '<b><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="RED">The employee profile information was successfully added.<br><br>'; 
    print "Do you want to Print their Initial COBRA Notice now?</FONT></b><br><br>"; 
    echo '<b><FONT SIZE="4"><a href="f-A_initialnotice.php">YES</a> or <a href="employees.php">NO</a></FONT></b></p>'; 

/* NEED TO FIX: Employee data is not passed to "f-A_initialnotice.php". Could it be something to do with the HREF tag? Typically, I've been appending the URL with something like "?$last_id" (<a href="f-A_initialnotice.php?$last_id">YES</a> ) 
but this is not working either. 
*/


?>  

<!--   END of PHP/MYSQL code -->

Here is the how the "f-A_initialnotice.php" code works:

This confirmation page displays the companyProfile and employeeProfile data in a form, which allows the user to modify if changes are needed. It also asks the user for the date of the letter (this date is not added to the Db, only passed to the document, which is the next page).
When the user hits the "Print" button, I want to pass all the form data to the document. (I can get the company data based on the session, but I'm having trouble figuring out how to pass the employee data, and I haven't even tried the date fields yet.)

Below is the code for "f-A_initialnotice.php"
The company profile data display works, but the employee profile data (that was just added to Db) does not show up.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

<!-- PHP session ID code --> 
<?php 

session_start(); 

if ($_SESSION['valid_log'][0] != $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'] ||  

$_SESSION['valid_log'][1] != $_SESSION['User']) 
{ 

//redirect to error page 
echo '<META HTTP-EQUIV="Refresh" Content="1; URL=/error_access.html">'; 
exit(); 
} 

<!-- Begin "body" -->  

<br>  

$link = mysql_connect("localhost", "root", "web2004") or die("Could not connect. Please try again later."); 
mysql_select_db("ecbp",$link) or die("Could not select database. Please try again later."); 

// query the DB to get company profile data 
    $query = "SELECT * FROM userProfiles,companyProfile WHERE userProfiles.CompanyID=companyProfile.CompanyID"; 
    $result = mysql_query($query) or die("Error with query.");     

    $row = mysql_fetch_array($result); 

 //Get Company ID & User ID values 
     if($row) { 
    $CoID = $row["CompanyID"]; 
    $id = $row["ProfileID"]; 
    } 

/* THIS DOES NOT WORK: 
//   query the DB to get Employee values 
    $query2 = "SELECT * FROM employeeProfile WHERE EmployeeID=$EE_id"; 
    $result2 = mysql_query($query) or die("Error with query2."); 
    $row2 = mysql_fetch_array($result2); 
*/ 

?>  

<h2>Review Required Data</h2> 
<P>The following displays the information required 
for the <B>Initial Notification</B>.<BR>To 
make changes, type in the correct information, then click the "Print Form" button.</P> 

<P>&nbsp;</P> 

<form name="document_data" action="printform/A_initialnotice" method="post"> 
<!-- insert hidden fields for employee and company ID --> 
<input type=hidden name="id" value="<?php echo $last_id ?>"> <input type=hidden name="CoID" value="<?php echo $CoID ?>"> 

<table border="0" cellspacing="3"> 

<TR><TD COLSPAN="3"><H2>Company Profile</H2></TD><TR> 

<TR><TD ALIGN="right"> Company Name : </TD> 
<TD><INPUT TYPE="text" NAME="CompanyName" VALUE="<?php echo $row["CompanyName"] ?>" SIZE="50"></TD> 
<TD>&nbsp;</TD></TR> 

<TR><TD ALIGN="right">Mailing Address: </TD> 
<TD><INPUT TYPE="text" NAME="Street1" VALUE="<?php echo $row["CompanyStreet1"] ?>" SIZE="50"></TD> 
<TD CLASS="note">Full street address</TD></TR> 

<TR><TD ALIGN="right">City : </TD> 
<TD><INPUT TYPE="text" NAME="City" VALUE="<?php echo $row["CompanyCity"] ?>" SIZE="25"></TD> 
<TD>&nbsp;</TD></TR> 

<TR><TD ALIGN="right">State : </TD> 
<TD><INPUT TYPE="text" NAME="State" VALUE="<?php echo $row["CompanyState"] ?>" SIZE="2"></TD> 
<TD CLASS="note">2-digit abbreviation</TD></TR> 

<TR><TD ALIGN="right">Zip Code : </TD> 
<TD><INPUT TYPE="text" NAME="Zip" VALUE="<?php echo $row["CompanyZip"] ?>" SIZE="10"></TD> 
<TD CLASS="note">01234 or 01234-5678</TD></TR> 

<tr><td COLSPAN="3"><H2>Employee Profile</H2></td></tr> 

<TR><TD ALIGN="right">First Name : </TD> 
<TD><INPUT TYPE="text" NAME="EmployeeFirst" VALUE="<?php echo $row["EmployeeFirst"] ?>" SIZE="25"></TD> 
<TD CLASS="note">&nbsp;</TD></TR> 

<TR><TD ALIGN="right">Last Name : </TD> 
<TD><INPUT TYPE="text" NAME="EmployeeLast" VALUE="<?php echo $row["EmployeeLast"] ?>" SIZE="25"></TD> 
<TD CLASS="note">&nbsp;</TD></TR> 

<TR><TD ALIGN="right">Street 1 : </TD> 
<TD><INPUT TYPE="text" NAME="EmployeeStreet1" VALUE="<?php echo $row["EmployeeStreet1"] ?>" SIZE="25"></TD> 
<TD CLASS="note">Full street address</TD></TR> 

<TR><TD ALIGN="right">City : </TD> 
<TD><INPUT TYPE="text" NAME="EmployeeCity" VALUE="<?php echo $row["EmployeeCity"] ?>" SIZE="25"></TD> 
<TD CLASS="note">&nbsp;</TD></TR><TR> 

<TD ALIGN="right">State : </TD> 
<TD><SELECT NAME="EmployeeState" SIZE="1"> 
<OPTION VALUE="<?php echo $row["EmployeeState"] ?>"><?php echo $row["EmployeeState"] ?></OPTION> 
</SELECT> </TD> 
<TD CLASS="note">2-digit abbreviation</TD></TR> 

<TR><TD ALIGN="right">Zip : </TD> 
<TD><INPUT TYPE="text" NAME="EmployeeZip" VALUE="<?php echo $row["EmployeeZip"] ?>" SIZE="15"></TD> 
<TD CLASS="note">01234 or 01234-5678</TD></TR> 

<TR><TD ALIGN="right">Spouse First Name : </TD> 
<TD><INPUT TYPE="text" NAME="SpouseFirst" SIZE="25" VALUE="<?php echo $row["SpouseFirst"] ?>"></TD> 
<TD CLASS="note">&nbsp;</TD></TR> 

<TR><TD ALIGN="right">Spouse Last Name : </TD> 
<TD><INPUT TYPE="text" NAME="SpouseLast" SIZE="25" VALUE="<?php echo $row["SpouseLast"] ?>"></TD> 
<TD CLASS="note">&nbsp;</TD></TR> 

<tr><td align="right">Date of Letter : </td>
<td nowrap>
<select name="letter_month" size="1" align="TOP"> 
<option value="January">January</option> 
<!-- rest of option boxes omitted for this post -->
</select> 
<select name="letter_day" size="1" align="TOP"> 
<option value="1">1</option> 
<option value="2">2</option> 
<!-- rest of option boxes omitted for this post -->
</select> 
<select name="letter_year" size="1" align="TOP"> 
<option value="2004">2004</option> 
<option value="2005">2005</option> 
</select> </td>
<TD CLASS="note">When will you be mailing the letter?</TD></tr>   

<tr><td align="right">&nbsp;</td><td colspan="2"><input type="submit" name="print" value="Print Form" class="small"> 
</td></tr> 

</table> 
<br clear="all"> 
</form>

sunshine66

Okay, I've been able to figure this out using hidden fields to store passed variables (must continue for each page) - although I'm not sure if this is the best/most efficient way:

Page 1 - Add Employee - form with input fields/values; form action is Page 2 "employees_save.php"
Page 2 - Save Employee - get passed values and adds record to database; stores passed values in hidden form fields
Page 3 - Print Form - uses passed values

So, here's a code snippet:

Page 1 - "employee_add.php"

<form name="employee" action="employees_save.php" method="post" onSubmit="return validateForm()"> 
<input type=hidden name="id" value="<?php echo $id ?>"> <input type=hidden name="CoID" value="<?php echo $CoID ?>"> 
<input type=hidden name="Dependents" value="No"> <table border="0" cellspacing="3"> 
<tr><td colspan="2"><h2>Add Employee Profile</h2></td><td class="note">&nbsp;</td></tr> 
<tr><td align="right">First Name : </td><td><input type="text" name="EeFirst" size="25"></td><td class="note">&nbsp;</td></tr> 
<tr><td align="right">Last Name : </td><td><input type="text" name="EeLast" size="25"></td><td class="note">&nbsp;</td></tr> 
<tr><td align="right">&nbsp;</td><td NOWRAP colspan="2"><input type="submit" name="submit" value="Save Profile" class="small"> 
<input type="reset" value="Clear & Restart" class="small">
<input type="button" value="Cancel" class="small" onclick="history.back()"> </td></tr> 
</table></form><br clear="all">

Page 2 - "employee_save.php"

//connect to database
	include ("reuse/_connection.php");

// Add record to Db
	$sql5 = "INSERT INTO employeeProfile 
	(CompanyID, EmployeeFirst, EmployeeLast)  

  	VALUES 
  	('$CoID','$EeFirst','$EeLast')";
	$result5 = mysql_query($sql5)or die('Error with query 5.');

// display confirmation 
	print "<p><BR></p>";
	print "<b><FONT SIZE=4 COLOR=RED>$EeFirst $EeLast profile was successfully added to the system.</FONT></b>";
	print "<p></p>";

//   ask user if  they want to print Doc A
	print "<h2>Do you want to Print  Document A now?</h2>";

print "<FORM ACTION=\"f-A_initialnotice.php?eeID\" METHOD=\"POST\">"; 
            print "<input type=hidden name='eeID' value='$eeID'>";
print "<input type=hidden name='EeFirst' value='$EeFirst'>";
           print "<input type=hidden name='EeLast' value='$EeLast'>";
           print "<INPUT TYPE=\"submit\" NAME=\"Print\" VALUE=\"YES\">"; 
print "&nbsp; OR &nbsp; <INPUT TYPE=\"button\" VALUE=\"NO\" Name=\"skip\" 	onclick=\"JavaScript: (document.location.href='employees.php')\">";
print "</FORM>";

Page 3 - "f-A_initialnotice.php"

<H1>Initial Notification</H1>
<TABLE BORDER="0" CELLSPACING="5"  CELLPADDING="0">
<TR><TD VALIGN="TOP">TO: </TD><TD><?php print "$EeFirst' $EeLast' "; ?> </TD></TR>
<TR><TD>RE:</TD><TD>Letter Subject goes here</TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<BR clear="all">
<P>Page body continues here</P>

rehfeld

a much easier, more efficeint, more secure way is to use php's sessions

www.php.net/session

they are pretty easy to use and are exactly meant for this type of thing.

sunshine66

I ran into some problems when trying to use sessions
ref: http://www.phpbuilder.com/board/showthread.php?s=&threadid=10284767
ref: http://www.phpbuilder.com/board/showthread.php?s=&threadid=10284759.

I was not able to figure it out how to use sessions effectively so I came up with this method.

It's pretty obvious that I'm still a newbie.

rehfeld

i see where your coming from. ive gotten frustrated too at times and just do whatever way works.

id highly recomend you keep trying to learn how to use them. they are extremely usefull, and very easy to use once you understand them a bit better.

to answer one of your questions, how to clear a session variable, you use
unset($_SESSION['varname']);
just like any other variable.

also, its usually very helpfull to turn error reporting up so you can see undefined variables etc..

error_reporting(E_ALL);

sunshine66

thanks for the tip!