if else statement where 'else' is a link

[fortez]

I want to setup my form to link to a page after it's submitted. Right now it simply prints out "Thanks for contacting us. Someone will get back to you shortly. Instead, I want it to go to a new page of my choice. How do I do this? I figure its just a command I am unfamiliar with. Thanks!!

if($from == '') {print "You have not entered an email, please go back and try again";}
else {

$send = mail($to, $subject, $body, $headers);
if($send)
{print "Thanks for contacting us. Someone will get back to you shortly.";}
else
{print "We encountered an error sending your mail."; }
}

[sneakyimp]

do you want to output a link or do you want to redirect to the other page?

to redirect, you send a header command and then exit like this:

function my_redirect($page) {
  header('location: ' . $page);
  exit();
}

[fortez]

Ok, so if I'm using your logic in my code to redirect to abc.com, for example, is the below post correct?

if($from == '') {print "You have not entered an email, please go back and try again";}
else {
$send = mail($to, $subject, $body, $headers);
if($send)
function http://www.abc.com($page) {
header('location: ' . $page);
exit();
}
else
{print "We encountered an error sending your mail."; }
}

[fortez]

tried that and it resulted in the error below...

Parse error: parse error, unexpected T_FUNCTION in

[sneakyimp]

you don't know much about php programming do you?

try this:

if($from == '') {
  print "You have not entered an email, please go back and try again";
} else {
  $send = mail($to, $subject, $body, $headers);
  if($send) {
    header('location: ' . http://www.abc.com);
    exit();
  } else {
    print "We encountered an error sending your mail.";
  }
}

[fortez]

no, today is actually my third day.....but, starting to get the hang of it (kind of)

...however, your code gave me the following:

Parse error: parse error, unexpected ':' in line 49...............line 49 was

header('location: ' . [url]http://www.abc.com);[/url]

I've tried to take out each of them but received same error....what am I missing?

Thanks for your help.

[sneakyimp]

my bad:

if($from == '') {
  print "You have not entered an email, please go back and try again";
} else {
  $send = mail($to, $subject, $body, $headers);
  if($send) {
    header('location: http://www.abc.com');
    exit();
  } else {
    print "We encountered an error sending your mail.";
  }
} 

[fortez]

Ok, on to a new error, which I have found is usually a sign of progress 🙂

Here's what it gave me and thanks again for your help:

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at c:\domains\xxxxx.com\wwwroot\general_contact.php:9) in c:\domains\xxxxx.com\wwwroot\general_contact.php on line 49

And here's the entire code:

<?php
$to = "[e-mail]" ;
$from = $REQUEST['Email'] ;
$name = $REQUEST['Name'] ;
$headers = "From: $from";
$subject = "Request for Veggies";

$fields = array();
$fields{"height"} = "Height";
$fields{"weight"} = "Weight";
$fields{"goal_weight"} = "Goal Weight";
$fields{"list"} = "Mailing List";
$fields{"sex"} = "Male or Female";
$fields{"currently_dieting"} = "Currently dieting:";
$fields{"current_diet"} = "If yes, what is your current diet";
$fields{"nutrition_coaching"} = "Requested Nutrition Coaching";
$fields{"services"} = "Requested Services";
$fields{"medical_conditions"} = "Current Conditions, Illnesses";
$fields{"diet_history"} = "Diet history";
$fields{"Name"} = "Full name";
$fields{"location"} = "Location";
$fields{"Phone"} = "Phone";
$fields{"Email"} = "Email";
$fields{"notes"} = "Comments";

$body = "We have received the following information:\n\n"; foreach($fields as $a => $b){ $body .= sprintf("%20s: %s\n",$b,$_REQUEST[$a]); }

$headers2 = "From: [e-mail]";
$subject2 = "Thank you for contacting us";
$autoreply = "Thank you for contacting us.

We will get back to you as soon as possible";

if($from == '') {
print "You have not entered an email, please go back and try again";
} else {
$send = mail($to, $subject, $body, $headers);
if($send) {
header('location: http://www.abc.com');
exit();
} else {
print "We encountered an error sending your mail.";
}
}

[sneakyimp]

you cannot call the header() function if you have already output any text to the user's browser. in other words, if you have already echoed or printed anything (even just a single space) then you have to redirect another way.

in that case you would need to use a META tag like this site does when you post a topic. google +meta +refresh

[fortez]

got it, but where is that happening in my code? it only sends text to the user's browser if there's an error.............or is it the possibility that it COULD send text?

And, just to clarify, I'm basically sticking html in there to make the redirect happen, right?

Thanks again. This is fun.

forTez

[fortez]

Still trying to determine why I get the header error if I'm not echoing or printing anything. Any suggestions?

Thanks for your assistance.

[sneakyimp]

Sadly, this is all you my friend. You are going to have to examine your code carefully. Look for any blank lines before <? and after ?>

Look for anylines that say 'echo'

look for any closing ?> tags that result in information resulting in information going to the browser.

you have to inspect not just the main file but any included files as well. they are often the culprits.

a handy trick is to put this line at various steps throughout your code execution:

if (headers_sent()) {
  die ('DRAT!  IT MUST BE BEFORE THIS LINE OF CODE SOMEWHERE');
}

[fortez]

Thanks - are you talking the html file that calls this php file above? If not, the above code is the entire code of that file outside of the <head></head> section.....what am I missing?

If it's the html file, I can dig through there, but thinking that wouldn't be what you are referencing...

[sneakyimp]

I don't think you are listening to me really. RTFM!

http://php.net/header

when somebody visits your server and asks for a page - whether it is html or php - the very second that page request sends any info to the browser, it's TOO LATE to send any more header() commands. subsequent files that are called up using include() or require() or whatever are all part of that same page request.

if the user asks the server for page 1 and page 1 outputs a single 'z' to the browser then page 1 includes page 2 then by the time page 2 reaches its first line of instruction (hell even before that) then headers have all been sent and it's TOO LATE TOO LATE TOO LATE.

[fortez]

No need to get so frustrated. I'm in the Newbie section for a reason.

Perhaps I can clarify, since I don't see any of what you referenced happening.
1. customer clicks on link that brings them to a form.
2. they fill out the form.
3. they push submit
4. the php code above is supposed to pull in the fields that were entered in the form, which it's doing fine.
5. i am sending a response to the visitor telling them that their info was received.
6. the if, else statement looks for an email, if there was no email, it does print the error. if they do have an email, it prints nothing to their browser and then tries to send to use the header. these are the only commands that (aside from the error message) that attempt to request any information to their browser. correct?

given that the entire code is above and nothing is printing to their browser, aside from displaying the form, i don't understand what else it could be. Thanks for bearing with me, if you will.

fortez

[fortez]

as an aside, do this working through the redirect. but, it seems like a work around for the issue above...........

Stick with me man, I'll teach you how to get chicks. 😃 Seriously though, I'm just starting out here, using some guides and appreciate your help. Once I finish this page, I can take our site live.....

fotez

[bpat1434]

Let me ask you this (based off the following quote):

Thanks - are you talking the html file that calls this php file above? If not, the above code is the entire code of that file outside of the <head></head> section.....what am I missing?

So are you saying that you have a file that includes a PHP file (like SSI (*.shtml))? If so, then the PHP needs to be included priorto any output so that the PHP file is interpreted and such before any output to the browser is done.

There are a couple ways to combat this:
1.) Use a Template System (Smarty is a good one)
2.) Store all output into a common variable, then dump its contents at the end

The easiest is the storage. Templating can get rough down the line, but save time later on. So it's a toss-up and your call. But storing the information is as easy as:

<?php
$output = ''; // Initialize and set to an empty string, the $output variable

/*

In this commented section, all your procesing code would take place.

*/

// Now we output the $output variable:
echo $output;
?>

Now, in your particular case, there are a few issues:
1.) The code you posted isn't 49 lines long (so thus you can't have an error, or you didn't post the entire code 🙁)
2.) Line 9 in your code references an array assignment ($fields['height'] = 'Height'😉. Not an issue for output.
3.) Your array declaration is awkward. Personally, I'd do something like:

$fields = array(
    'height' => 'Height',
    'weight' => 'Weight',
    'goal_weight' => 'Goal Weight',
  /* etc., etc., etc. . . */
);

Makes a little more sense.

So, hopefully that can help you a little bit.

[fortez]

Thanks - not a shtml form, but a standard html form. The only reference to the php is the line <form method="post" action="general_contact.php"> which is placed at the beginning of the form. I have got to think this is a simple fix or maybe the meta redirect is the only answer??? Thanks for taking a look.

The entire code is below. And, after I tried to clean up any spaces, etc, the error is on line 36.

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
<html>
<head>
<title>Untitled Document</title>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
</head>
<body>
<?php
$to = "[e-mail]";
$from = $REQUEST['Email'];
$name = $REQUEST['Name'];
$headers = "From: $from";
$subject = "Request for Veggies";
$fields = array();
$fields{"height"} = "Height";
$fields{"weight"} = "Weight";
$fields{"goal_weight"} = "Goal Weight";
$fields{"list"} = "Mailing List";
$fields{"sex"} = "Male or Female";
$fields{"currently_dieting"} = "Currently dieting:";
$fields{"current_diet"} = "If yes, what is your current diet";
$fields{"nutrition_coaching"} = "Requested Nutrition Coaching";
$fields{"services"} = "Requested Services";
$fields{"medical_conditions"} = "Current Conditions, Illnesses";
$fields{"diet_history"} = "Diet history";
$fields{"Name"} = "Full name";
$fields{"location"} = "Location";
$fields{"Phone"} = "Phone";
$fields{"Email"} = "Email";
$fields{"notes"} = "Comments";
if($from == '') {
print "You have not entered an email, please go back and try again";
} else {
$send = mail($to, $subject, $body, $headers);
if($send) {
header('location: http://www.abc.com');
exit();
} else {
print "We encountered an error sending your mail.";
}
$body = "We have received the following information:\n\n"; foreach($fields as $a => $b){ $body .= sprintf("%20s: %s\n",$b,$_REQUEST[$a]); }
$headers2 = "From: [e-mail]";
$subject2 = "Thank you for contacting us";
$autoreply = "Thank you for contacting us. We will get back to you as soon as possible";
}
?>
</body>

[sneakyimp]

fortez wrote:

given that the entire code is above and nothing is printing to their browser, aside from displaying the form, i don't understand what else it could be. Thanks for bearing with me, if you will.

this is the frustrating part....what do you mean 'aside from the form'. is not a form html? is not html not just one but many characters that get sent to the browser?

is this not html at the top of your php script before you try to call the header command?

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
<html>
<head>
<title>Untitled Document</title>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
</head>
<body>

Thanks for the offer on flirting technique, but my lucrative coding skills are doing just fine at the moment. I should tell you about the two navy girls from my rock band days...

[fortez]

Here's the html form I was referencing..I realize that there was html above the php code, but didn't think it was relevant (was it?)... Don't think it matters, but hopefully I'm wrong....

This is everything I am trying to work with....so 2 files, one the above that you mentioned in your last post and this one that calls the php using <form method="post" action="general_contact.php">. Where is the header() failing?

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
<html>
<head>
<title>Contact Us</title>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<link href="/cyv.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">
<br>
<p class="cyv"><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Thank you for
your interest in our programs and services. We are currently working on setting
up an easy to use online order form. In the meantime, please submit your request
here and we will contact as soon as possible. We look forward to helping you
meet your nutrition goals!</font></p>
<p class="cyv"><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Your responses
will be kept confidential. </font></p>
<form method="post" action="general_contact.php">
<p>&nbsp; </p>
<p class="cyv"><strong><font color="#003300" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Please
enter the following information:</font></strong></p>
<table width="18%" border="0" cellpadding="1">
<tr>
<td width="86%" height="43" class="cyv"><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Height:</font></td>
<td width="14%"> <div align="right" class="cyv"><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
<input type="text" name="height" size="1">
</font></div></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td height="26" class="cyv"><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Weight:</font></td>
<td><div align="right" class="cyv"><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
<input type="text" name="weight" size="1">
</font></div></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td height="26" class="cyv"><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Goal
weight:</font></td>
<td><div align="right" class="cyv"><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
<input type="text" name="goal_weight" size="1">
</font></div></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p class="cyv"><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br>
<label>
<input type="radio" name="sex" value="female">
Female</label>
<br>
<label>
<input type="radio" name="sex" value="male">
Male </label>
</font></p>
<p class="cyv"><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Are you currently
dieting?<br>
<label>
<input type="radio" name="currently_dieting" value="yes">
Yes </label>
<br>
<label>
<input type="radio" name="currently dieting" value="no">
No </label>
<br>
If yes, what is your current diet:</font><br>
&nbsp;
<input type="text" name="current_diet" size="40">
&nbsp;</p>
<p class="cyv"><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">What kind
of consulting or services are you looking for (select all that are applicable):</font></p>
<table width="417" border="0">
<tr>
<td class="cyv">Nutrition Coaching</td>
<td class="cyv">Services</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="244" class="cyv"><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
<input type="checkbox" name="nutrition_coaching" value="weight loss">
Weight loss and management<br>
<input type="checkbox" name="nutrition_coaching" value="diabetes">
Diabetes meal planning<br>
<input type="checkbox" name="nutrition_coaching" value="high blood pressure">
High blood pressure / Heart Health<br>
<input type="checkbox" name="nutrition_coaching" value="family meal planning">
Family meal planning</font></td>
<td width="163" class="cyv"><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
<input type="checkbox" name="services" value="grocery store tours">
Grocery store tours<br>
<input type="checkbox" name="services" value="understanding labels">
Understanding lables<br>
<input type="checkbox" name="services" value="meal planning tips">
Meal planning tips<br>
<input type="checkbox" name="services" value="recipe modifications">
Recipe modifications</font></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p class="cyv"><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br>
Current Medical Conditions / Chronic Illnesses:</font><br>
&nbsp;
<textarea name="medical_conditions" cols="40" rows="5"></textarea>
</p>
<p class="cyv"><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Diet History
(optional):</font><br>
&nbsp;
<textarea name="diet_history" cols="40" rows="5"></textarea>
</p>
<p class="cyv"><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Full name:</font><br>
&nbsp;
<input type="text" name="Name" size="40">
&nbsp;</p>
<p class="cyv"><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Location (City
and state):</font><br>
&nbsp;
<input type="text" name="location" size="40">
</p>
<p class="cyv"><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Phone number:</font><br>
&nbsp;
<input type="text" name="Phone" size="40">
&nbsp;<font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">(Optional)</font></p>
<p class="cyv"><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Email Address:</font><br>
&nbsp;
<input type="text" name="Email" size="40">
&nbsp;<font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">(Required)</font></p>
<p class="cyv"><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Notes, questions
or comments:</font><br>
&nbsp;
<textarea name="notes" cols="40" rows="5"></textarea>
</p>
<p> <span class="cyv">
<input type=submit name="send" value="Submit">
</span></p>
</form>
<p class="cyv"><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><img src="/images/pepper_legs.gif" width="52" height="99">
</font></p>
</body>
</html>