HTML form with PHP text placement

Question

I'm working on a project to create a blog-like webpage using PHP. I want to print the text on the screen above the form but this appears to not be possible as the variables are attempting to $_GET the data from the form before the data is entered. Is it possible to place the text above the form?

Here is my code so far: (The PHP updates the screen by putting "basic.php" (the file name) into the action attribute of the <form> tag)

<!-- this file is called basic.php-->
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>My Blog</title>
<style type = "text/css">
h2
{
color:#FF2312;
text-align:center;
font-family:Impact;
font-size:39px;
}
p
{
font-family:Verdana;
text-align:center;
color:#000000;
font-size:25px;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<?php 
    $subject=$_GET["msg"];//variable defined but attempts to get unentered data
?>

<i>  <?php print $subject;//prints var but gets error message because $subject can't get form data ?></i>
<!--want to print text above form-->
<form name = "post" action = "basic.php" method = "get">
<input type = "text" name = "msg">
<input type = "submit">
</form>

</body>
</html>

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Mar 08 '13 at 19:44

3

It seems that you want to show the message only if it exists right?

<?php if ( ! empty($_GET['msg'])) : ?>
<i><?= $_GET['msg']; ?></i>
<?php endif; ?>

answered Mar 08 '13 at 19:44

landons

9,502
3
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yeah... y is there – imulsion Mar 08 '13 at 19:55
It's an alternate syntax for IF statements. I use it primarily in views, where HTML and PHP is mixed together. – landons Mar 08 '13 at 19:56
2

check out : [Can HTML be embedded inside PHP “if” statement?](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/722379/can-html-be-embedded-inside-php-if-statement) – UnholyRanger Mar 08 '13 at 19:57

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 08 '13 at 19:39

1

Use session variable:

...
</head>
<body>
<?php
    session_start(); //if is not started already
    if(isset($_GET["msg"]))
        $_SESSION['subject']=$_GET["msg"];
?>

<i>  <?php if(isset($_SESSION['subject']))
            print $_SESSION['subject']; ?></i>
<!--want to print text above form-->
<form name = "post" action = "basic.php" method = "get">
...

answered Mar 08 '13 at 19:39

CAPS LOCK

1,960
3
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41

oh...i am such a php noob sorry :/ – imulsion Mar 08 '13 at 19:54

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Mar 08 '13 at 19:45

Usually I solve this with a hidden variable in the form:

<form name = "post" action = "basic.php" method = "get">
<input type = "text" name = "msg">
<input type = "hidden" name="processForm" value="1">
<input type = "submit">
</form>

Then check for that variable before I process the form:

<?php 
    if($_GET["processForm"]){
        $subject = $_GET["msg"];//variable defined but attempts to get unentered data
    }else{
        $subject = "Form not submitted...";
    }
?>

It's generally a good way to prevent the form from being processed before it's submitted - such are the perils of self-submitting forms.

Keep in mind that, with strict error reporting, you'll still get a notice. Put an `isset()` check around `$_GET['processForm']` — landons, Mar 08 '13 at 19:57

HTML form with PHP text placement

3 Answers3