I cant get header("Location: http://www.google.com/") to work :(

Question

I have a form that points to a php file. all the php file does is redirects the user to a specific page. I cannot seem to get it to work and im not sure what i am doing wrong.

<form method="post" action="processRegister.php">
    User Name: <input type="text" name="userName" maxlength="32"><br>
    Password: <input type="password" name="userPassword" maxlength="32"><br>
    <input type="submit">
</form>

processRegister.php

<?php
// processRegister.php
//////////////////////
header("Location: http://www.google.com/");
/*
// First include the class definition
include('UserClass.php');

// Next, create an instance of the class
$newUser = new User;

// Call the registerUser() method, passing in the required variables
if ($newUser->registerUser($userName, $userPassword)) {
  header('Location: www.google.com');
} 
else {
  header('Location: www.yahoo.com');
}
*/
?>

What the error? Was any data sent before the header() command? — André Puel, Jan 17 '12 at 18:16
Is this a typo or the problem? Your form is using `process_register.php`, but the file name you gave is `processRegister.php`. — ughoavgfhw, Jan 17 '12 at 18:20
To clarify Andrés comment: make sure your php script is at the top of your page, nothing before it, not even a space. — Olaf, Jan 17 '12 at 18:20
those are the only things on the page, i made syntax changes and fixed capitalization. this is not working — user1082764, Jan 17 '12 at 18:23
I copy-paste your code in my local PHP Wamp server and it works great. Make sure you have PHP installed first. Have you tried `` — Shankar Narayana Damodaran, Jan 17 '12 at 18:31
possible duplicate of [Headers already sent by PHP](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/8028957/headers-already-sent-by-php) — mario, Jan 17 '12 at 18:35

score 4 · Answer 1 · answered Jan 17 '12 at 18:23

Use an exit call after using header() to change locations. This will not only prevent unnecessary processing, but it also prevents potential security holes, as if you don't exit after changing locations, the page is processed and sent to the browser as per normal. In cases where you're, for example, redirecting unauthorized users to a login page, the sensitive content will still be sent to them, and they can capture it.

Anthony Tantillo · Answer 2 · 2012-01-17T19:24:15.283

0

Ah, I read your post too quickly, and didn't realize it was on two different pages. My fix is a not going to fix yours.

Try this though, but a flag after the header. So instead of just

header("Location: http://www.google.com/");

make it

header("Location: http://www.google.com/");
echo "Flag1";

If it doesn't even print "Flag1," than we'll have a better understanding of why it isn't working.

edited Jan 17 '12 at 19:24

answered Jan 17 '12 at 18:24

Anthony Tantillo

300
1
3
12

why is it obvious that there is output? – user1082764 Jan 17 '12 at 19:05
it doesnt even print Flag1. i think it is something outside my short script tho because i test it out on a test site i have and it works just fine. i cant seem to find the problem tho – user1082764 Jan 17 '12 at 19:48
Perhaps putting an [echo "flag0";] before the header would tell you if it's even getting to that page. If it doesn't even print "flag0" you know that there's something wrong on the previous page. Can you upload the entirety of the page on PasteBin that links to processRegister.php? I just copied both code verbatim, ran it on my server, and it worked like a charm. I'm sure there is something wrong with the page containing the Form that's preventing the header from working. – Anthony Tantillo Jan 17 '12 at 19:57

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Jan 17 '12 at 18:26

use exit() after header and on the very top of the page (in php) wright ob_start(); The most important is the o ob_start! this signifies where the code starts.

<?php
ob_start();
// processRegister.php
//////////////////////
header("Location: http://www.google.com/");
/*
// First include the class definition
include('UserClass.php');

// Next, create an instance of the class
$newUser = new User;

// Call the registerUser() method, passing in the required variables
if ($newUser->registerUser($userName, $userPassword)) {
  header('Location: www.google.com');
} 
else {
  header('Location: www.yahoo.com');
}
*/
exit();
?>

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Jan 17 '12 at 18:28

0

Does you source file has good encoding? If it is just UTF-8, you need to change it to UTF-8 without BOM, because BOM can causes the problem.

answered Jan 17 '12 at 18:28

terenaa

540
5
15

I cant get header("Location: http://www.google.com/") to work :(

4 Answers4