Browser Address Bar and header(Location)

Anon

I have a submission form, and the form's action points to another file that processes the form's information and puts it into a database. In the form, I pass a $PHP_SELF variable, so that the processing file can redirect back to the original file (with the form) after performing the database procedures. I would like this processing page to be invisible, so I used header(Location: ) to redirect. However, the processing page's address is still displayed in the browser address bar, even though the form file page is displayed. How can I change this? I don't want to use a <META refresh> because then the processing page is visible using the browser's back button.

Thanks.

Anon

I haven't come across a way of doing it. What's even stranger is that some of the 'self' type variables in PHP stay set to the page you've come from. Odd.

Ryan

Anon

I have seen this a few times and I have to wonder if it has something to do with the browser caching details about pages that have been changed. Clearing my history, cache, and cookies after a major change makes it stop.

Anon

Hello,

let's say you have two PHP program :

program A display the form
program B process the data
and send it to the database

1) calling program A display the form
The "ACTION" property is set back
to program A

2) The user click on the submit button,
program A is called again, then from
program A you call program B
(or simply a fonction from program 😎

3) After finishing the execution of
program B you can send whatever
data you need back to the user,
and the only URL appearing in the
browser is the program A URL

Hope this helps you,
Hervé.

Anon

but the reason i have a separate processing page is so that the user doesn't get a "Repost Form Data" box when he tries to refresh the page after submitting.

Anon

You cannot clear the existing history but you can make sure a newly
selected page replaces the previous one preventing building up a
history. You do so by calling
location.replace('newPage.htm');
instead of assigning
location.href = 'newPage.htm';
Use the <META refresh) tag with the following JavaScript to prevent the history from accumulating. I haven't tried it.

The location.replace('url') call will replace the current page in the
history list with the new page thus preventing backing to the current
page.
You might also use that in a link with
<A HREF="newPage.html"
ONCLICK="location.replace(this.href); return false;"

new page</A>

The back button cannot be disabled besides using the above technique
for preventing backing or besides opening a new window without
toolbar/menubar.