Approve users from table - check box - php

Question

I'm writing an php script to approve users that registered on my page, but i'm facing a little problem when i want to approve them. Here's as far as i could get.
Table:
<?php
mysql_connect("localhost", "root", "") or die(mysql_error());
mysql_select_db("activation") or die(mysql_error());
//User Approval Script
$result2 = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM userinfo WHERE status='0'")
or die(mysql_error());
echo "<table border='1'>";
echo "<tr> <th>Name</th> <th>Action</th> <th>Hours</th> <th>Approve</th> </tr>";
while($row = mysql_fetch_array( $result2 )) {
// Print out the contents of each row into a table
echo "<tr><td>";
echo $row['first_name'];
echo "</td><td>";
echo $row['last_name'];
echo "</td>";
echo "<td>";
echo $row['email'];
echo "</td><td>";
echo "<form action=\"approve.php\" method=\"post\"><input name=\"approve[]\" type=\"checkbox\">";
echo "</td></tr>";
}
echo "</table>";
echo "<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Approve\"></form>";
?>
approve.php
<?php
mysql_connect("localhost", "root", "") or die(mysql_error());
mysql_select_db("activation") or die(mysql_error());
$ticked = $_POST['approve'];
foreach($ticked as $id) {
mysql_query("UPDATE status SET approved = '1' WHERE `ID` = '$id'");
}
unset($id);
?>
I would also like to know how i can send email to each user that is approved...
Thanks in advance everyone!
Edit:
The page on approve.php is all blank, and status isn't getting updated.

Answer 1

Can you try this, Moved <form> tag from near checkbox into top and added checkbox value with $row["id"]
<?php
mysql_connect("localhost", "root", "") or die(mysql_error());
mysql_select_db("activation") or die(mysql_error());
//User Approval Script
$result2 = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM userinfo WHERE status='0'")
or die(mysql_error());
echo "<form action=\"approve.php\" method=\"post\"><table border='1'>";
echo "<tr> <th>Name</th> <th>Action</th> <th>Hours</th> <th>Approve</th> </tr>";
while($row = mysql_fetch_array( $result2 )) {
// Print out the contents of each row into a table
echo "<tr><td>";
echo $row['first_name'];
echo "</td><td>";
echo $row['last_name'];
echo "</td>";
echo "<td>";
echo $row['email'];
echo "</td><td>";
echo "<input name=\"approve[]\" type=\"checkbox\" value='".$row["id"]."' >";
echo "</td></tr>";
}
echo "</table>";
echo "<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Approve\"></form>";
?>
In approve.php,
<?php
mysql_connect("localhost", "root", "") or die(mysql_error());
mysql_select_db("activation") or die(mysql_error());
$ticked = $_POST['approve'];
foreach($ticked as $id) {
mysql_query("UPDATE status SET approved = '1' WHERE `ID` = '$id'");
$message ='Approved message';
mail('to email address', 'Your Subject', $message);
}
?>
Note: Use mysqli_* functions or PDO instaed of using mysql_* functions (deprecated)

Answer 2

You tried to open form in loop while and missed attribute value in checkbox.
Change
echo "<form action=\"approve.php\" method=\"post\"><input name=\"approve[]\" type=\"checkbox\">";
To
echo '<input name="approve" type="checkbox" value='.$row["id"].'>';
Then put echo "<form action ='approve.php' method='post'>"; above while($row = mysql_fetch_array( $result2 )) {

Answer 3

You should have one large form, with many checkboxes (I imagine that's what your second page is based upon), but checkboxes are <input>s, not <form>s. Your final HTML should look something like:
<form>
<table>
...
<td><input type="checkbox" name="approve[]" value="USERIDTHATYOUWANTTOAPPROVE"></td>
...
<td><input type="checkbox" name="approve[]" value="OTHERUSERIDTHATYOUWANTTOAPPROVE"></td>
...
</table>
</form>
Also!
Your code is very susceptible to SQL Injection. See How can I prevent SQL injection in PHP? and Why shouldn't I use mysql_* functions in PHP?.
You should use prepared statements to offload work in your code (you only send the query once, and change the parameters each time).