Page Structure using Includes and HTML Forms

ShootingStar

I have a php page with a html form AND the corresponding handling code. Normally the forms action parameter would be set to the self same php file e.g. if the file is called account.php then forms action parameter would be action="account.php"

However my php file (account.php) is included in another file (index.php) using the include statement.

My first try to submit the form resulted in the account.php file being displayed individually - as i expected. but this isn't what I want. I want to display the index.php page again with the account.php file included.
My next try used the action="index.php", as I assumed that the included account.php is now just a section of index.php and therefore the handling code would be part of index.php. But this doesn't work either.

Does anyone know how I can have an include with a form and its handling code?

liquorvicar

what error(s) are getting with the second method?

ShootingStar

Theres no errors but the POST data doesn't seem to get passed onto the included php file.

liquorvicar

are you sure the POST data is not there? have you tried echo-ing it?

echo('<pre>');
print_r($_POST);
die();

can you post some examples of your code so we can look at it?

ShootingStar

I've tried your example code to display the POST data but I just get
array
(
)
printed out.

My code is far to big to post because my pages are built dynamically from a structure defined in a database and there is a lot of code. And also the account.php is a couple of Includes deep. i.e. index.php includes page.php which includes account.php.
account.php has the form and the processing code, but the processing code just sees an empty POST array.

liquorvicar

well, $_POST is a super-global array so it should be available everywhere.
just to check you are using the POST method and not the GET method in your form.

have you tried:

echo('<pre>');
print_r($_REQUEST);
die();

check if your POST data is being read right at the top of the script. try putting the debug code in at various points to see where the POST data is being lost.

ShootingStar

I think this may be causing a problem.

index.php includes
page.php?getpage=account

then page.php includes
account.php

account.php has the form and form processing code and the action is specified as index.php

When I print the $_REQUEST array in account.php it displays the GET variable getpage and that is it.

array
(
[getpage] => account
)

Maybe by using the GET variable the POST data is being cleared???

liquorvicar

could be.

is there any reason why you have page.php?getpage=account as an include?
rather than just making page.php a function and calling it like this:

page('account');

ShootingStar

errr... {embarressed look}

didn't think of that!

thanks for the suggestion.