I'm Stumped: How to Send HTML Form using PHP Mailer - php

Question

OK, so I have done a substantial amount of research over the last several days and am stumped. I have XAMPP and PHP Mailer and I know they are both working correctly locally.
I also have an HTML form that I know is working correctly using Hostgator web hosting. This HTML form calls a .php file named send_email.php which sends the form contents to my email.
My questions are:
What is the new .php code (roughly speaking) to send this HTML form on my local host (XAMPP) using PHP Mailer?
How do I call the new .php file in my HTML file?
What is the file tree structure that I need for both this HTML form and the new .php file which PHP Mailer will use to send it?
Please note: I've changed some of details in my code so I'm not including my actual email address and person info.
Here is my form:
<!-- THE SUBMISSION FORM -->
<div class="container">
<form id="contact" action="send_email.php" method="post">
<h3>Apply Today!</h3>
<h4></h4>
<fieldset>
<input placeholder="Full Name" type="text" name="name" tabindex="1" required autofocus>
</fieldset>
<fieldset>
<input placeholder="Telephone Number" type="tel" name="telephone" tabindex="2" required>
</fieldset>
<fieldset>
<input placeholder="Email Address" type="email" name="email" tabindex="3" required>
</fieldset>
<fieldset>
<input placeholder="Subject" type="text" name="subject" tabindex="4" required>
</fieldset>
<fieldset>
<textarea placeholder="Type your Message Here...." name="message" tabindex="5" required></textarea>
</fieldset>
<fieldset>
<button name="submit" type="submit" id="contact-submit" data-submit="...Sending" tabindex="6">Submit</button>
</fieldset>
</form>
</div>
Here is the send_email.php file I am using (which I know works)
<?php session_start();
if(isset($_POST['submit'])) {
$from = "sender#gmail.com";
$to = "receiver1#gmail.com";
$to2 = "receiver2#gmail.com";
$to3 = "receiver3#gmail.com";
$subject = "NEW LEAD!";
$message =
"|---------BEGIN TRANSMISSION----------|" . PHP_EOL .
PHP_EOL . "The person that contacted you is: ". $_POST['name'] .
PHP_EOL . "E-mail: " . $_POST['email'] .
PHP_EOL . "Telephone: " . $_POST['telephone'] .
PHP_EOL . "Subject: " . $_POST['subject'] .
PHP_EOL . "Message: " . $_POST['message'] . PHP_EOL .
PHP_EOL . "|---------END TRANSMISSION----------|";
$headers = "From:" . $from;
echo "Thank you for contacting us. We will will be in touch.<br/>Go to <a href='/index.php'>Home Page</a>";
mail($to, $subject, $message, $headers);
mail($to2, $subject, $message, $headers);
mail($to3, $subject, $message, $headers);
} else {
echo "You must write a message. </br> Please go to <a href='/index.html'>Home Page</a>";
}
?>
Here is my index.php file in my PHPMAILER folder (which I know works).
<?php
//Import PHPMailer classes into the global namespace
//These must be at the top of your script, not inside a function
use PHPMailer\PHPMailer\PHPMailer;
use PHPMailer\PHPMailer\SMTP;
use PHPMailer\PHPMailer\Exception;
//Load Composer's autoloader
require 'vendor/autoload.php';
//Instantiation and passing `true` enables exceptions
$mail = new PHPMailer(true);
try {
//Server settings
$mail->SMTPDebug = SMTP::DEBUG_SERVER; //Enable verbose debug output
$mail->isSMTP(); //Send using SMTP
$mail->Host = 'smtp.gmail.com'; //Set the SMTP server to send through
//$mail->Host = gethostbyname('smtp.gmail.com');
$mail->SMTPAuth = true; //Enable SMTP authentication
$mail->Username = 'sender#gmail.com'; //SMTP username
$mail->Password = 'sender-password'; //SMTP password
$mail->SMTPSecure = PHPMailer::ENCRYPTION_STARTTLS; //Enable TLS encryption; `PHPMailer::ENCRYPTION_SMTPS` encouraged //TCP port to connect to, use 465 for `PHPMailer::ENCRYPTION_SMTPS` above
$mail->Port = 587; //TCP port to connect to, use 465 for `PHPMailer::ENCRYPTION_SMTPS` above
//Recipients
$mail->setFrom('receiver1#gmail.com', 'Mailer');
$mail->addAddress('receiver2#gmail.com', 'Dylan');
//Content
$mail->isHTML(true); //Set email format to HTML
$mail->Subject = 'Here is the subject';
$mail->Body = 'This is the HTML message body <b>in bold!</b>';
$mail->AltBody = 'This is the body in plain text for non-HTML mail clients';
$mail->send();
echo 'Message has been sent';
} catch (Exception $e) {
echo "Message could not be sent. Mailer Error: {$mail->ErrorInfo}";
}
This is my location for PHP Mailer on XAMPP:
c:/Users/dylan/.bitnami/stackman/machines/xampp/volumes/root/htdocs/phpmailer
This is the location for my HTML form and send_email.php :
c:/Users/dylan/.bitnami/stackman/machines/xampp/volumes/root/htdocs/WEBSITE

Answer 1

You should not have to change the code at all; it should work equally well wherever it's run from. So long as you're using a sending mechanism that your hosting provider allows, e.g. that they don't block outbound SMTP, it should work fine. Have you tried it?
Aside from that, your file structure looks a bit unusual. Composer installs PHPMailer for you and automatically loads it when you ask for it, so composer is also responsible for where it is stored; you don't need to make your own phpmailer folder. If you're hosting a single site, it's probably not necessary to put things in subfolders of your web root, so you can use a flatter structure like:
c:/Users/dylan/.bitnami/stackman/machines/xampp/volumes/root/htdocs/
index.php
send_email.php
vendor/
composer/
phpmailer
If you are hosting multiple sites you would typically have multiple folders within .../htdocs/, each of which will have a similar internal structure.

Answer 2

You have 0 knowledge of php
FIRST OF ALL, When you use .php files you can use html in it
You think this is a joke ?
try {
//Server settings
$mail->SMTPDebug = SMTP::DEBUG_SERVER; //Enable verbose debug output
$mail->isSMTP(); //Send using SMTP
$mail->Host = 'smtp.gmail.com'; //Set the SMTP server to send through
//$mail->Host = gethostbyname('smtp.gmail.com');
$mail->SMTPAuth = true; //Enable SMTP authentication
$mail->Username = 'sender#gmail.com'; //SMTP username
$mail->Password = 'sender-password'; //SMTP password
$mail->SMTPSecure = PHPMailer::ENCRYPTION_STARTTLS; //Enable TLS encryption; `PHPMailer::ENCRYPTION_SMTPS` encouraged //TCP port to connect to, use 465 for `PHPMailer::ENCRYPTION_SMTPS` above
$mail->Port = 587; //TCP port to connect to, use 465 for `PHPMailer::ENCRYPTION_SMTPS` above
//Recipients
$mail->setFrom('receiver1#gmail.com', 'Mailer');
$mail->addAddress('receiver2#gmail.com', 'Dylan');
//Content
$mail->isHTML(true); //Set email format to HTML
$mail->Subject = 'Here is the subject';
$mail->Body = 'This is the HTML message body <b>in bold!</b>';
$mail->AltBody = 'This is the body in plain text for non-HTML mail clients';
$mail->send();
echo 'Message has been sent';
} catch (Exception $e) {
echo "Message could not be sent. Mailer Error: {$mail->ErrorInfo}";
}
This is copy and pasting to a new LEVEL !
$mail->setFrom('receiver1#gmail.com', 'Mailer');
$mail->addAddress('receiver2#gmail.com', 'Dylan');
You need to set it up
THE WHOLE CODE IS WRONG!
Go to Home Page";
mail($to, $subject, $message, $headers);
mail($to2, $subject, $message, $headers);
mail($to3, $subject, $message, $headers);
} else {
echo "You must write a message. Please go to Home Page";
}
?>
Last of all
This is my location for PHP Mailer on XAMPP:
c:/Users/dylan/.bitnami/stackman/machines/xampp/volumes/root/htdocs/phpmailer
This is the location for my HTML form and send_email.php :
c:/Users/dylan/.bitnami/stackman/machines/xampp/volumes/root/htdocs/WEBSITE
YOU PUT PHPMAILER IN THE DIRECTORY OF YOU WEB PAGE!!!!!!!1