AJAX post call to php script not working

Question

I cant understand why the following is not working, I am trying to call a php script to send an email, but i dont think my ajax call is calling the php script at all, I just get an error returned.

My ajax call:

        var name_field = $('#cf_name').val();
        $.ajax({
            type: 'post',
            url: 'contact.php',
            data: {'name_field' : name_field },
            dataType: 'json',
            success: function(data) {
                if(data.status == 'success')
                    alert("Thank you for subscribing!");
                else if(data.status == 'error')
                    alert("Error on query!");
            },
            error: function(err) {
                alert(err.responseText);
            }
        });

My php script:

$field_name =  isset($_POST['name_field']);
$field_email = 'name@email.com';
$field_phone = '12345';
$field_message = 'Hello World!';

$mail_to = 'emailaddress@email.com';
$subject = 'Message from a website visitor '.$field_name;

$body_message = 'This message has been sent via website:'."\n\n";
$body_message .= 'From: '.$field_name."\n\n";
$body_message .= 'E-mail: '.$field_email."\n\n";
$body_message .= 'Phone Number: '.$field_phone."\n\n";
$body_message .= 'Message: '.$field_message;

$headers = 'From: '.$field_email."\r\n";
$headers .= 'Reply-To: '.$field_email."\r\n";

$mail_status = mail($mail_to, $subject, $body_message, $headers);

if ($mail_status) { 
    $response_array['status'] = 'success';  
}
else { 
    $response_array['status'] = 'error';
}
header('Content-type: application/json');
echo json_encode($response_array);

If i navigate to the url directly the php works as intended, but i can not get the ajax post to call it.

What happens when you try the ajax? Do you get to the ajax line at all? Do you get to the success function? Do you get to the error function? — Damien Black, Feb 10 '14 at 23:26
Use the devtools to see the status of the ajax request in the network tab (firebug/fox/chrome) and see if helps or paste the result in your question, also try to use an absolute URL, if you are getting 404 your url isn't right. — Allende, Feb 10 '14 at 23:27
I definitely hit the error response from the ajax call. Although the err.responseText is empty. — LolBB, Feb 10 '14 at 23:29
But, it's your ajax call actually reaching your php script ? If something it's wrong in the server side (php) you will see a 500 status code in the response of your request in the network tab on the devtool, if you see a 404 you're not even reaching your script, if you get a 200 response then you're half-way. — Allende, Feb 10 '14 at 23:35
See this: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/10990607/jquery-ajax-post-canceled i'm not a js expert but I agree with your problem being the sync execution of your ajax call, since it take a while to send an email, maybe isn't completed in time for your js — Allende, Feb 10 '14 at 23:37
Thanks! Adding 'async: false' to my ajax call seems to have sorted it. I'm very thankful its working, but does anyone know why? — LolBB, Feb 10 '14 at 23:43
Not able to explain (as told you before not a js expert) but it's related toyour js keeps its execution no matter if your server side code is or isn't completed. Posting my commment as answer :) in case you want it to accept it or wait for a full explanation from someone else — Allende, Feb 10 '14 at 23:47

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Feb 10 '14 at 23:28

1

$field_name is not an actual string, it's a boolean since you used $field_name=isset($_POST[name_field']). Remove the isset().

answered Feb 10 '14 at 23:28

Joe Thomas

5,807
6
25
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Thanks, that wasn't the problem, but is definitely an issue, thanks. – LolBB Feb 10 '14 at 23:44
Aw, I tried your code on my server and it worked fine. I didn't recieve any errors. http://shadeoftruth.com/ take a look. – Joe Thomas Feb 10 '14 at 23:48

score 0 · Answer 2 · edited Feb 11 '14 at 00:03

0

You should check url: contact.php as you did not specify the full URL, so your post is going to a relative path. The root path will be same current script path.

edited Feb 11 '14 at 00:03

Jojodmo

23,357
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answered Feb 10 '14 at 23:38

Minhaz

446
5
7

score 0 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 10:33

See this: jQuery Ajax post cancelled i'm not a js expert but I agree with your problem being the async execution of your ajax call, since it takes a while to send an email, maybe isn't completed in time for your js

See this nice explanation about the "async" propertie in the ajax call:

What does "async: false" do in jQuery.ajax()?

And see this question/answer:

How can I get jQuery to perform a synchronous, rather than asynchronous, Ajax request?

AJAX post call to php script not working

3 Answers3