store php variables from appended form data in the form of an array

Question

I have created a php form which appends new text variables like this:

<form action="" enctype=”multipart/form-data” method="post" action="<?php echo $_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'];?>">

    <div id="div">
        value <input type="text" name="tst" >
     <button onclick ="appendRow()" value="Add Row">Add Row</button>
     <input type="submit" value="test" name="submit" >
     </div>
</form>

I have added the following java script to it:

<script> 
    var x=1
function appendRow()
{
   var d = document.getElementById('div');
   d.innerHTML += "<input type='text' name='tst"+ x++ +"'><br >";
}
</script>

Now I want to store all the variables I get from the form and use them for further calculations. I tried the for each loop for that:

if (isset($_POST['submit']) && is_array($_POST['submit'] == "test")) {
    foreach($_POST["submit"] as $key => $tst){
        $capture_field_vals .= $tst .", ";
    }
    echo $capture_field_vals;

But nothing is happening. Can you please tell me what is wrong ?

@RachelWatson Update your question and include the form element. — GrumpyCrouton, Oct 26 '18 at 14:50
do `var_dump($_POST)` and see the structure of your incoming data. I think you will see whats wrong — BizzyBob, Oct 26 '18 at 14:53
I would suggest completely removing `action=""` and `action=""`. — GrumpyCrouton, Oct 26 '18 at 14:53
I'm also fairly sure `is_array($_POST['submit'] == "test")` is invalid. — GrumpyCrouton, Oct 26 '18 at 14:53
Don't loop over `$_POST["submit"]` but loop over `$_POST`. And `$_POST["submit"]` is not an array but a value, use `is_array($_POST) === true` — Gus de Boer, Oct 26 '18 at 14:54
yeah, I agree with GrumpyCrouton. It seems like OP thinks $_POST['submit'] is how to access the posted data, but it is really just the button value... — BizzyBob, Oct 26 '18 at 14:54

GrumpyCrouton · Accepted Answer · 2018-10-26T15:05:49.430

First, remove the action properties from your form.

<form enctype="multipart/form-data" method="post">
    ...
</form>

Having multiple form actions is not supported, and forms will post to the same page they were submitted to if no action is given (by default).

Next, submit your form name='tst' as an array, like this:

<input type="text" name="tst[]"/>

And in you JavaScript, do the same:

d.innerHTML += '<input type="text" name="tst[]"/><br>';

(You do not need the x variable), (input arrays)

Now, in your PHP you can loop through all of the submitted tst values.

if (isset($_POST['submit'])) {
    foreach($_POST['tst'] as $tst){
        $capture_field_vals .= $tst .", ";
    }
    echo rtrim($capture_field_vals, ','); //rtrim will remove trailing comma
}

(rtrim() documentation)

But this can be simplified even more with implode().

if(isset($_POST['submit'])) {
    echo implode(', ', $_POST['tst']);
}

@RachelWatson Glad I could help :) – GrumpyCrouton Oct 26 '18 at 15:19 — GrumpyCrouton, Oct 26 '18 at 15:19

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 26 '18 at 14:54

Your loop seems wrong. There's nothing to loop through with $_POST['submit'], it's just a single value. The actual array is $_POST.

foreach($_POST["submit"] as $key => $tst){
        $capture_field_vals .= $tst .", ";
    }

Try this:

foreach($_POST as $key => $tst){
        $capture_field_vals .= $tst .", ";
    }

store php variables from appended form data in the form of an array

2 Answers2