PHP Variable not storing value after submit - php

Question

I have a simple PHP page, and am attempting to validate form input.
Upon hitting submit with invalid data, the inputted value is not being returned in my echo statement
I want to echo the input as the value so that the user can understand what they typed wrong. Below is my code;
Neither the echo of "TEST" . $contactEmail nor the input value are displaying $contactEmail
<?php
// define variables and set to empty values
$contactFirstNameErr = $contactEmailErr = $retailerIDErr = "";
$contactFirstName = $contactEmail = $retailerID = "";
if ($_SERVER["REQUEST_METHOD"] == "POST") {
// collect value of input fields
if (empty($_POST["contactFirstName"])) {
$contactFirstNameErr = "<br>*First Name is required";
} else {
$contactFirstName = test_input($_POST["contactFirstName"]);
// check if name only contains letters and whitespace
if (!preg_match("/^[a-zA-Z ]*$/",$contactFirstName)) {
$contactFirstNameErr = "<br>*Only letters and white space allowed";
}
}
//Email Field
if (empty($_POST["contactEmail"])) {
$contactEmailErr = "<br>*Email is required";
} else {
// check if e-mail address is well-formed
if (!filter_var($email, FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL)) {
$contactEmailErr = "<br>*Invalid email format";
} else {
$contactEmail = test_input($_POST["contactEmail"]);
}
}
//Option Field
if (empty($_POST["retailerID"])) {
$retailerIDErr = "<br>*Retailer is required";
} else {
$retailerID = test_input($_POST["retailerID"]);
}
}
?>
<!--Begin HTML Form-->
<div class="Form_container">
<form method="post" action="<?php echo htmlspecialchars($_SERVER["PHP_SELF"]);?>">
Contact First Name<span class="required">*</span><span class="formError"><?php echo $contactFirstNameErr;?></span><br> <!--<p class='spacerLine'></p>-->
<input type="text" class="largeInput" name="contactFirstName" value="<?php echo $contactFirstName;?>">
<br><br>
Contact E-mail<span class="required">*</span><span class="formError"> <?php echo $contactEmailErr;?></span><br>
<input type="text" class="largeInput" name="contactEmail" value="<?php echo $contactEmail;?>">
<br><br>
<?php echo "TEST" . $contactEmail;?>
<br><br>
Retailer<span class="required">*</span><span class="formError"><?php echo $retailerIDErr;?></span><br>
<input type="text" class="largeInput" name="retailerID" value="<?php echo $retailerID;?>">
<br><br>
<input type="submit" class="button" name="submit" value="Add Contact">
</form>
</div>
Any thoughts? I'm new to PHP but have been following the W3 tutorial pretty tightly. Could it be my classes throwing things off? Or did I just mess up a variable name?
Thanks for all help

Answer 1

I want to echo the input as the value so that the user can understand what they typed wrong.
Neither the echo of "TEST" . $contactEmail nor the input value are displaying $contactEmail
First of all, echo $_POST values instead of $contactFirstName, $contactEmail etc. because these values are available only after it crosses all the validation steps.
Second, there's no function named test_input() in your code, or may be it is defined somewhere else.
And finally, look at this statement here:
if (!filter_var($email, FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL)) { ..
There's no variable named $email in your code. It should be:
if (!filter_var($_POST["contactEmail"], FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL)) { ..
So your code should be like this:
<?php
function test_input($string){
// your code
}
$contactFirstNameErr = $contactEmailErr = $retailerIDErr = "";
$contactFirstName = $contactEmail = $retailerID = "";
if ($_SERVER["REQUEST_METHOD"] == "POST") {
// collect value of input fields
if (empty($_POST["contactFirstName"])) {
$contactFirstNameErr = "<br>*First Name is required";
} else {
$contactFirstName = test_input($_POST["contactFirstName"]);
// check if name only contains letters and whitespace
if (!preg_match("/^[a-zA-Z ]*$/",$contactFirstName)) {
$contactFirstNameErr = "<br>*Only letters and white space allowed";
}
}
//Email Field
if (empty($_POST["contactEmail"])) {
$contactEmailErr = "<br>*Email is required";
} else {
// check if e-mail address is well-formed
if (!filter_var($_POST["contactEmail"], FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL)) {
$contactEmailErr = "<br>*Invalid email format";
} else {
$contactEmail = test_input($_POST["contactEmail"]);
}
}
//Option Field
if (empty($_POST["retailerID"])) {
$retailerIDErr = "<br>*Retailer is required";
} else {
$retailerID = test_input($_POST["retailerID"]);
}
}
?>
<div class="Form_container">
<form method="post" action="<?php echo htmlspecialchars($_SERVER["PHP_SELF"]);?>">
Contact First Name<span class="required">*</span><span class="formError"><?php echo $contactFirstNameErr; ?></span><br>
<input type="text" class="largeInput" name="contactFirstName" value="<?php if(isset($_POST['contactFirstName'])){ echo $_POST['contactFirstName']; } ?>">
<br><br>
Contact E-mail<span class="required">*</span><span class="formError"> <?php echo $contactEmailErr;?></span><br>
<input type="text" class="largeInput" name="contactEmail" value="<?php if(isset($_POST['contactEmail'])){ echo $_POST['contactEmail']; } ?>">
<br><br>
<?php
echo "TEST ";
if(isset($_POST['contactEmail'])){ echo $_POST['contactEmail']; }
?>
<br><br>
Retailer<span class="required">*</span><span class="formError"><?php echo $retailerIDErr;?></span><br>
<input type="text" class="largeInput" name="retailerID" value="<?php if(isset($_POST['retailerID'])){ echo $_POST['retailerID']; } ?>">
<br><br>
<input type="submit" class="button" name="submit" value="Add Contact">
</form>
</div>
Here's the reference for isset() function:
isset()
Sidenote: Even though this answer will work you temporarily, but you should definitely look at how to strictly validate form inputs using regex.

Answer 2

The below line validates the value of the variable $email, but i can't see anywhere in your code where does that variable get set a value, that can be the first step in fixing the issue.
if (!filter_var($email, FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL))

Answer 3

You are not defining test_input() function and $email is not defined in this line:
if (!filter_var($email, FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL))
This code works for me so far:
$contactFirstNameErr = $contactEmailErr = $retailerIDErr = "";
$contactFirstName = $contactEmail = $retailerID = "";
if ($_SERVER["REQUEST_METHOD"] == "POST") {
// collect value of input fields
if (empty($_POST["contactFirstName"])) {
$contactFirstNameErr = "<br>*First Name is required";
} else {
$contactFirstName = $_POST["contactFirstName"];
// check if name only contains letters and whitespace
if (!preg_match("/^[a-zA-Z ]*$/",$contactFirstName)) {
$contactFirstNameErr = "<br>*Only letters and white space allowed";
}
}
//Email Field
if (empty($_POST["contactEmail"])) {
$contactEmailErr = "<br>*Email is required";
} else {
// check if e-mail address is well-formed
if (empty($_POST["contactEmail"])) {
$contactEmailErr = "<br>*Invalid email format";
} else {
$contactEmail = $_POST["contactEmail"];
}
}
//Option Field
if (empty($_POST["retailerID"])) {
$retailerIDErr = "<br>*Retailer is required";
} else {
$retailerID = $_POST["retailerID"];
}
}