What's wrong

[bette-ann]

I have an HTML form for which I'm trying to use a PHP script to get the form variables sent to an email address. A friend wrote the script and tested it on his server. The script works fine on his server. On Earthlink's business server (runs Apache), only part of the script works. On Earthlink, the variable names get printed out, but no data gets extracted, and no email is generated. Earthlink tells me to "put in an ending tag or >? everywhere you switch from HTML to PHP in the script" because the server is "getting confused". I don't know what they're talking about. There is no HTML until the very end of the script, so there is no "switching back and forth". Anyone see anything wrong with this script? And if not, why the heck isn't it working on Earthlink, if it works on a test server?

<?php

$MailToAddr = "[e-mail]";
$ReplyToAddr = "";
$FromAddr = "Realnet Mortgage Application Robot";
$SendingName = "[e-mail]";
$redirectUrl = "http://www.realnetct.com";

{
$headers = "From: $SendingName \n Reply-To: [e-mail]";
$message .= "Name: ". $POST['name'] ."\n";
$message .= "Social Security Number: ". $POST['ssn']. "\n";
$message .= "Home Address: ". $POST['address'] ."\n";
$message .= "City: ". $POST['city'] ."\n";
$message .= "State: ". $POST['state'] ."\n";
$message .= "Zip Code: ". $POST['zip_code'] ."\n";
$message .= "Email Address: ". $_POST['email_address'] ."\n";
mail($MailToAddr, $FromAddr, $message, $headers);
print "<center><b><font size=+3 color=blue> Sucessfully Submitted, re-directing you </font></b></center>";

}

[Anon]

The version on Earthlink's server may not be as up-to-date as on your friends server.

Try adding:

$_POST=&$HTTP_POST_VARS;

at the top of the script.

I don't remember the exact version where $_POST first showed up, but I think it was 4.1.0. And there are a lot of people out there still running 4.0.x series.

[bette-ann]

Jerry, I think you might be on to something. I tried doing what you suggested. It didn't work, but then I tried putting in $HTTP_POST_VARS everywhere I had previously put $_POST, and the script actually got the data and printed it out. It still isn't emailing the report to the $MailToAddr or executing the $redirectURL command, though. Is there another way to code those commands, in the earlier versions?
Thank you so much for your help! This is the first significant progress I've made in a week.

[Anon]

Is the script you posted in your first post the entire script? (if not, can you post the whole thing?)

If it is, does the "successfully submitted" message appear? If it does you're getting through the script ok. But once you've printed that message to the screen a redirect will have to be done with a link the visitor has to click.

The better way would be to comment out that last print command and add:

header("location:".$redirectURL);

That should make the redirect happen for you. Note that nothing else can print/echo to the browser before this line or the redirect will not happen and you'll get an error about not being able to add headers because output started on line X.

On the email problem (I'm assuming you're hosting with a hosting company and this is not your own server) try creating a seperate script just to test email functionality. If the server isn't correctly configured email my simply not be available in a functional way.

If that is the case try using a mailer class that attaches to another mail server (SMTP) to send the message. Your host provider should be able to provide you with a server that will accept the connections. The mailer class that I prefer is http://phpmailer.sourceforge.net/ Of course, your mileage may vary (YMMV) and there are a number of these classes floating around with more or less the same functionality.