Updating Variable Data Using A Form

m92g11

Okay, so I have this script I'm trying to write. I'm a little stuck. What I'm trying to write is a theme script. When the user loads the theme page, they are presented with a text box and a submit button. When the user types in the address to the theme they want to be activated, it calls upon the theme-updater.php file which then updates the variable data in the theme-loader.php file. This file will then redirect the user to the selected theme.

What I have so far is provided below:

themes-updater.php

<form method="post" action="themes-updater.php">
<br><span class="style41"><span class="style43">*</span> </span>
<input class="style41" name="$update_theme_url" style="width: 309px" type="text" value="../content/themes/">
<strong>
<input class="style42" name="Submit1" type="submit" value="Apply">

themes-updater.php

<?php
$update_theme_url = "$url";
$fh = fopen("../theme-loader.php","r");
fwrite($fh,'$update_theme_url');
?>

theme-loader.php

<?php
$url = "content/themes/default/index.php";
header ("location: $url");
?>

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in Advance!
- Michael

Tonsil

I'd like to help you with this one, but I'm having a tough time understanding what you're actually trying to do. The form, which you've (mistakenly, I think) labeled "themes-updater.php" has a name for the text field that is a PHP variable - $update_theme_url. Is that right? Or did you intend:

name="update_theme_url"

... minus the '$'?

That submits to the second (probably correctly labeled) "themes-updater.php" script. I have no idea what you're shooting for there. What's this line all about:

$update_theme_url = "$url";

What is $url supposed to be there? Did you intend:

$update_theme_url = $_POST['update_theme_url'];

And after that I'm completely lost. It seems you want to open a file in read only mode(?) and then you're trying to write to it. The file you're operating on is the file with the redirect?

This makes no sense. Perhaps you should write out in pseudocode what it is you're trying to accomplish.

m92g11

Okay, so I've got the updated code below. I'm trying to update the variable $url in the theme-loader.php file using the fwrite command in themes-updater.php. I know I'm doing something wrong. It probably has to do with the fwrite command in general.

edit-themes.php

<form method="post" action="themes-updater.php">
<br><span class="style41"><span class="style43">*</span> </span>
<input class="style41" name="update_theme_url" style="width: 309px" type="text" value="../content/themes/">
<strong>
<input class="style42" name="Submit1" type="submit" value="Apply">

themes-updater.php

<?php
$update_theme_url = $_POST['update_theme_url'];
$url = "$update_theme_url";
$fh = fopen("../theme-loader.php","r");
fwrite($fh,'$update_theme_url');
?>

theme-loader.php

<?php
$url = "content/themes/default/index.php";
header ("location: $url");
?>

Please help me figure this out.

Thanks in Advance!
- Michael

Tonsil

Okay, bear with me here. I promise I'm not trying to be a jerk, but I still think there is some confusion with what you're attempting. Your 1st file, 'edit-themes.php', seems like it works the way you want it to. It has a text box that has a default value "../content/themes/". I'm not sure why you want that, but whatever.

The second file, 'themes-updater.php' still has me confused. You get the submitted value of update_theme_url from the form, storing that in $update_theme_url. Then you store it again in $url. By the way, the quotation marks in this line have no net effect in this case (there's string interpolation, but it ends up the same):

$url = "$update_theme_url";

At that point, if you just submit the form from 'edit-themes.php', the value stored in $url is "../content/themes/". I don't understand what you're trying to do with that.
Here's where things get really weird:

$fh = fopen("../theme-loader.php","r");

That opens a file, theme-loader.php, in read only mode. And then with the following line:

fwrite($fh,'$update_theme_url');

you are trying to write to it? Okay, so what is it you want? Are you trying to store the $url value to a file? Or are you simply trying to pass the value of $url to another php script?

It would be helpful if you would write out what you're trying to do. Something like:
1. Allow the user to select a theme from a select box on a form.
2. Submit the form.
3. Store the selected theme as a value in a flat text file.
4. Forward the user to an index page with the selected theme applied.

If you do that, you'll get some better answers on here. I have a feeling that you're using fwrite for something that it doesn't actually do, but I can't be sure.

Good luck, I'm going to be away from the computer for a while but I'll help if I can. Maybe someone else will step in.

m92g11

Yay, I figured it out, with a little trial and error. The fixed working code is below.

edit-themes.php

<form method="post" action="themes-updater.php">
<br><span class="style41"><span class="style43">*</span> </span>
<input class="style41" name="update_theme_url" style="width: 309px" type="text" value="content/themes/">
<strong>
<input class="style42" name="Submit1" type="submit" value="Apply">

I dropped the ../ before content/themes/ because it's not the right url.

theme-updater.php

<?php
$update_theme_url = $_POST['update_theme_url'];
$fh = fopen("../theme-loader.php","w");
fwrite($fh,"<?php header('location: $update_theme_url');");
?>

I made it write mode instead of read mode. I also added the header to the fwrite command. Without it, only the url typed in the form would show up on the screen. But this adds the redirect to the script.

theme-loader.php

<?php
header ("location: $url");
?>

Now I'm not sure what this file does, but it is needed in order for the application to run properly.

I just want to say thanks for your help Tonsil. I have been trying to come up with a solution to add a theme changing feature to my script for about a year now. And when I come up with a half way practical way of going about, I run into a few problems.

This just shows that anything can be done in PHP. All you need is the will power, the knowledge, and of course the time to come up with it.

Thanks🙂