PHP Form, if not filled properly, all field clear themselves

Question

I made a contact form following this tutorial : http://tinyurl.com/nyxv8ub

Everything is working but some parameters are not adressed.

As a matter of fact, on submit, if the user hasn't filled the form properly he is notified and all fields clear themselves.

It is a pain for the user to re-type his message, so I'd like him to be notified of his mistakes without clearing any field.

Currently, there are 2 ways to get the form wrong. Whether you don't fill the Email or Name fields, or when the answer to the spam question is wrong.

Is it possible to prevent this from happening?

You can find the form here : http://bettercheckthekids.com/Form/index.php

And here is the php :

<?php
    $name = $_POST['name'];
    $firm = $_POST['firm'];
    $email = $_POST['email'];
    $list = $_POST['list'];
    $message = $_POST['message'];
    $spam = $_POST['spam'];
    $from = 'From: Adiwatt Online'; 
    $to = 'clement.fauquet@gmail.com'; 
    $subject = 'Hello';

    $body = "From: $name\n Firm: $firm\n E-Mail: $email\n Objet: $list\n Message:\n $message";
    ?>


    <?php
    if ($_POST['submit']) {
    if ($name != '' && $email != '') {
        if ($spam == '4') {                 
            if (mail ($to, $subject, $body, $from)) { 
            echo '<p>Your message has been sent!</p>';
        } else { 
            echo '<p>Something went wrong, go back and try again!</p>'; 
        } 
    } else if ($_POST['submit'] && $spam != '4') {
        echo '<p>You answered the anti-spam question incorrectly!</p>';
    }
    } else {
        echo '<p>You need to fill in all required fields!!</p>';
    }
    }
    ?>

score 2 · Answer 1 · edited Jan 24 '14 at 11:49

2

Use the input's value attribute to pre-insert the user's input on the previous form.

Also, you can use HTML5's required attribute on the input, and use JavaScript to make sure all fields are set correctly before the form is submitted.

Examples:

Using value with PHP

$value = isset($_POST["value"]) ? htmlspecialchars($_POST["value"], ENT_QUOTES) : "";
/* ... snip ... */
<input name="value" value="<?= $value ?>">

Using the required attribute
```
<input name="value" required>
```
This will make the browser (assuming it's a modern one) to validate and make sure it's not empty when the form gets submitted.

As for JavaScript, read up on a form's onsubmit event, and an input's value property.

edited Jan 24 '14 at 11:49

PeeHaa

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answered Jan 24 '14 at 11:33

Madara's Ghost

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Thanks. That's beyond my understanding of forms. Do you have an example I could test ? – cfocket Jan 24 '14 at 11:35
I'm a real beginner with php, where should I put the value code. Thanks again. – cfocket Jan 24 '14 at 11:43
There's really a reason to escape content put in forms? – Rafael Barros Jan 24 '14 at 12:11
@RafaelBarros have you heard of XSS? (read more here: http://www.acunetix.com/websitesecurity/cross-site-scripting/) – Lajos Arpad Jan 24 '14 at 12:31
Oh, yes. I'm aware of it. But, XSS is a problem if you display the content IN the form? Like in the example: `` – Rafael Barros Jan 24 '14 at 15:29
@RafaelBarros: That's exactly what I'm doing though. Putting the info directly in the form. – Madara's Ghost Jan 24 '14 at 15:30

Lajos Arpad · Accepted Answer · 2014-01-27T12:51:05.717

First of all, I would separate the backend code from the structure as much as possible. I would not generate the html inside the php code if I had any other option. Your structure should look like this:

<form method="post" action="index.php"> 
    <label>Name *</label>
    <input name="name" placeholder="..." value="<?php echo ((isset($_POST["name"])) ? (htmlspecialchars($_POST["name"], ENT_QUOTES)) : ("")); ?>">

    <label>Firm</label>
    <input name="firm" placeholder="..." value="<?php echo ((isset($_POST["firm"])) ? (htmlspecialchars($_POST["firm"], ENT_QUOTES)) : ("")); ?>">

    <label>Email *</label>
    <input name="email" type="email" placeholder="..." value="<?php echo ((isset($_POST["email"])) ? (htmlspecialchars($_POST["email"], ENT_QUOTES)) : ("")); ?>">

    <label>Object</label>
    <select name="list" id="list"> 
       <option value="Pas d'objet" <?php if ((isset($_POST["list"])) && ($_POST["list"] === "Pas d'objet")) {echo "selected";} ?>>--</option> 
       <option value="Je veux sortir" <?php if ((isset($_POST["list"])) && ($_POST["list"] === "Je veux sortir")) {echo "selected";} ?>>Object 1</option> 
       <option value="Je sortirai demain" <?php if ((isset($_POST["list"])) && ($_POST["list"] === "Je sortirai demain")) {echo "selected";} ?>>Object 2</option> 
       <option value="Je n'ai pas d'argent" <?php if ((isset($_POST["list"])) && ($_POST["list"] === "Je n'ai pas d'argent")) {echo "selected";} ?>>Object 3</option> 
    </select> 

    <label>Message</label>
    <textarea name="message" placeholder="..."><?php echo ((isset($_POST["message"])) ? (htmlspecialchars($_POST["message"], ENT_QUOTES)) : ("")); ?></textarea>

    <label>What is 2+2? (Anti-spam) *</label>
    <input name="spam" placeholder="..." value="<?php echo ((isset($_POST["spam"])) ? (htmlspecialchars($_POST["spam"], ENT_QUOTES)) : ("")); ?>">    

    <input id="submit" name="submit" type="submit" value="Send">
</form>

Cheers!

Thanks, this is working expect for the list and the message (textarea). Is there any specifics? — cfocket, Jan 24 '14 at 16:02
I have edited my answer. Is it working now? Also, please learn to read code. From the places where it worked you should understand the solution and apply it on your own. — Lajos Arpad, Jan 24 '14 at 17:24
Thanks, as you said I already tried to apply your solution to the rest of my inputs. Your new answer fixed the problem with the list but not the textarea, it's still not working. Cheers! — cfocket, Jan 27 '14 at 08:37
Edited: In case of textareas you have to edit the inner text. This is reflected in my edited post, where I have fixed the problem left. Read more here: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/6007219/how-to-add-default-value-for-html-textarea — Lajos Arpad, Jan 27 '14 at 12:52

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Jan 24 '14 at 12:04

1

In your input tag say <input name="name" placeholder="...">, change that to this <input name="name" placeholder="..." value="<?php if(isset($POST['name'])) echo $_POST['name'] : '' ?>">.

There is also the ternary operator variation of my example like so: value="<?php echo isset($POST['name']) ? $_POST['name'] : '' ?>".

answered Jan 24 '14 at 12:04

Justin Paul Paño

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Do javascript validations if you want to save traffic but server-side validations is a must. – Justin Paul Paño Jan 24 '14 at 12:08
Thanks Justin, how would I get the echo to work for "select" and "textarea" ? – cfocket Jan 24 '14 at 16:37

PHP Form, if not filled properly, all field clear themselves

3 Answers3

Examples: