Remove querystring value on page refresh - php

Question

I am redirecting to a different page with Querystring, say
header('location:abc.php?var=1');
I am able to display a message on the redirected page with the help of querystring value by using the following code, say
if (isset ($_GET['var']))
{
if ($_GET['var']==1)
{
echo 'Done';
}
}
But my problem is that the message keeps on displaying even on refreshing the page. Thus I want that the message should get removed on page refresh i.e. the value or the querystring should not exist in the url on refresh.
Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

You cannot "remove a query parameter on refresh". "Refresh" means the browser requests the same URL again, there's no specific event that is triggered on a refresh that would let you distinguish it from a regular page request.
Therefore, the only option to get rid of the query parameter is to redirect to a different URL after the message has been displayed. Say, using Javascript you redirect to a different page after 10 seconds or so. This significantly changes the user experience though and doesn't really solve the problem.
Option two is to save the message in a server-side session and display it once. E.g., something like:
if (isset($_SESSION['message'])) {
echo $_SESSION['message'];
unset($_SESSION['message']);
}
This can cause confusion with parallel requests though, but is mostly negligible.
Option three would be a combination of both: you save the message in the session with some unique token, then pass that token in the URL, then display the message once. E.g.:
if (isset($_GET['message'], $_SESSION['messages'][$_GET['message']])) {
echo $_SESSION['messages'][$_GET['message']];
unset($_SESSION['messages'][$_GET['message']]);
}

Answer 2

Better use a session instead
Assign the value to a session var
$_SESSION['whatever'] = 1;
On the next page, use it and later unset it
if(isset($_SESSION['whatever']) && $_SESSION['whatever'] == 1) {
//Do whatever you want to do here
unset($_SESSION['whatever']); //And at the end you can unset the var
}
This will be a safer alternative as it will save you from sanitizing the get value and also the value will be hidden from the users

Answer 3

There's an elegant JavaScript solution. If the browser supports history.replaceState (http://caniuse.com/#feat=history) you can simply call window.history.replaceState(Object, Title, URL) and replace the current entry in the browser history with a clean URL. The querystring will no longer be used on either refresh or back/previous buttons.

Answer 4

When the message prompt ask for a non exsisting session. If false, show the message, if true, do nothing. session_start(); is only needed, if there is no one startet before.
session_start();
if ($_GET['var']==1 && !isset($_SESSION['message_shown']))
{
$_SESSION['message_shown'] = 1;
echo 'Done';
}

Answer 5

Try this way [Using Sessions]
<?php
//abc.php
session_start();
if (isset ($_GET['var']))
{
if ($_GET['var']==1)
{
if(isset($_SESSION['views']))
{
//$_SESSION['views']=1;
}
else
{
echo 'Done';
$_SESSION['views']=1;
}
}
}
?>

Answer 6

Think the question mean something like this?
$uri_req = trim($_SERVER['REQUEST_URI']);
if(!empty($_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'])){
$new_uri_req = str_replace('?avar=1', '?', $uri_req);
$new_uri_req = str_replace('&avar=1', '', $new_uri_req);
$pos = strpos($new_uri_req, '?&');
if ($pos !== false) {
$new_uri_req = str_replace('?&', '?', $new_uri_req);
}
}
if( strrchr($new_uri_req, "?") == '?' ){
$new_uri_req = substr($new_uri_req, 0, -1);
}
echo $new_uri_req; exit;
You can use then the url to redirect without vars. You can also do the same in js.
str_replace() can pass array of values to be replaced. First two calls to str_replace() can be unified, and filled with as many vars you like that needs to be removed. Also note that with preg_replace() you can use regexp that can so manage any passed var which value may change. Cheers!