Can't clear the form after successful completion - php

Question

Hi I have a "Sticky" form that after successful completion I want to clear the fields
I tried placing the $_POST = array(); in different sections of the IF statements,
This is the entire file, it is a form that get's sent to itself and records what you wrote in a file outside the webroot
Thanks for any help
<!-- BEGIN CHANGABLE CONTENT -->
<?php require('templates/header.html') ?>
<div id="main" role="main">
<h1>Welcome to the site</h1>
<h2>Please fill out the form</h2>
<p>Register and become a member!<br />Members enjoy newsletters and free swag courtesy of Tony Browns Design</p>
<form action="index.php" method='post' id='login_form'>
<legend><h2>Registration Form</h2></legend>
<fieldset>
<div>
<label for="fname">First Name: </label>
<input type="text" name='fname' id='fname' size='20'
value="<?php if (isset($_POST['fname'])){echo htmlspecialchars($_POST['fname']);} ?>" />
</div>
<div>
<label for="lname">Last Name: </label>
<input type="text" name='lname' id='lname' size='20'
value="<?php if(isset($_POST['lname'])){echo htmlspecialchars($_POST['lname']);} ?>" />
</div>
<div>
<label for="email">Email: </label>
<input type="text" name='email' id='email' size='20'
value="<?php if(isset($_POST['fname'])) {echo htmlspecialchars($_POST['email']);} ?>" />
</div>
<div>
<label for="quotes" class='move-top'>Quote: </label>
<textarea name="quotes" id="quote" cols="22" rows="8">Enter your quotation here.</textarea><br />
</div>
<div>
<input type="submit" value='submit' />
</div>
</fieldset>
</form>
<?php
$file = '../quotes_from_users.txt';
//Check if form is submitted
if ($_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD'] == 'POST') {
if (empty($_POST['fname']) && (empty($_POST['lname']) && (empty($_POST['email'])))) {
echo '<p style="color: #d00; text-shadow: -1px -1px 0 #200; font-size: 1.4em;">You need to fill in the all the fields!</p>';
}
if (!empty($_POST['quotes']) && ($_POST['quotes'] != 'Enter your quotation here.') ) {
if (is_writable($file)) {
file_put_contents($file, $_POST['quotes'] . PHP_EOL, FILE_APPEND | LOCK_EX);
echo '<p style="color= #cf5 font-size: 1.4em;">Your quote has been stored.</p>';
$_POST = array();
} else {
echo '<p style="color: #d00; text-shadow: -1px -1px 0 #200;">Your quote could not be stored due to a systems error, sorry about that!</p>';
}
} else {
echo '<p style="color: #d00; text-shadow: -1px -1px 0 #200; font-size: 1.4em;">Please enter a quote!</p>';
}
}
?>
<?php require('templates/footer.html'); ?>
</div>
<!-- END CHANGABLE CONTENT -->

Answer 1

Your logic seems flawed, if you only post a quote, it will get saved with this code.
It should be something like:
if ($_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD'] == 'POST') {
// the next line has changed
if (empty($_POST['fname']) || (empty($_POST['lname']) || (empty($_POST['email'])))) {
echo '<p style="color: #d00; text-shadow: -1px -1px 0 #200; font-size: 1.4em;">You need to fill in the all the fields!</p>';
}
else // added
{
if (!empty($_POST['quotes']) && ($_POST['quotes'] != 'Enter your quotation here.') ) {
if (is_writable($file)) {
file_put_contents($file, $_POST['quotes'] . PHP_EOL, FILE_APPEND);
echo '<p style="color= #cf5 font-size: 1.4em;">Your quote has been stored.</p>';
// only empty $_POST on a successful submission
$_POST = array();
} else {
echo '<p style="color: #d00; text-shadow: -1px -1px 0 #200;">Your quote could not be stored due to a systems error, sorry about that!</p>';
}
} else {
echo '<p style="color: #d00; text-shadow: -1px -1px 0 #200; font-size: 1.4em;">Please enter a quote!</p>';
}
}
}
That is assuming that your form gets added in templates/footer.html