( $_FILES ) as a hidden field in a form ?

[Lahloob]

Hello,

I need to add the superglobal variable $_FILES to a form as a hidden field, but I don't seem to get it right.

echo"
<form method='post' action=index.php>
       <input type=hidden name=_FILES value=$_FILES>
       <input type=submit value=submit>
</form>";

and once the form is submitted, the result is ($_FILES is empty), ALTHOUGH, before submitting the form, the superglobal variable is NOT empty.

[laserlight]

You probably need to [man]serialize/man $FILES, but I never actually tried that with $FILES so I have no guarantees that it will work as expected (though it should).

[Installer]

You should probably use a name other than "_FILES" for the field. This could cause a some kind of a problem if "register_globals" is on, although I'm not sure exactly what, since it would have the same name with the same data as the superglobal. Even if "register_globals" is off, you might someday use the code in a different environment and have an unexpected bug.

Edit: This is also a reason why, in common practice, all-cap names are reserved for constants and predefined variables.

[Wraith2700]

Try this:

echo "<form method='post' action='index.php' enctype='multipart/form-data'>
       <input type=hidden name='MAX_FILE_SIZE' value='1000000'><input type='file' name='the_file' size=35>
       <input type=submit value=submit>
</form>";

echo "<br>$the_file_name<br>$the_file_size<br>$the_file_type<br><br><br>";

echo $_FILES['the_file']['name'] . "<br>" . $_FILES['the_file']['size'] . "<br>" . $_FILES['the_file']['type'];

Files require the form's enctype='multipart/form-data' also I give 2 different ways to access the files properties, off the top of my head name, size and type are the only properties I can think of, though I'm sure there are more.