Using Form Validation & Preserving User's Input

[phpBeginner06]

I have wrote a form validation script that sends error string back to php form. My question is; what is the best way to send error strings back to orginal form, while still leaving users orginal input in form fields; while maintaining users priviate information?

 

Right now, when an error occurs; I just have a header location to send error back to forms page using query string, with variables I have already declared.

 

Example:

 

header("Location: formPage.php?nameError=$error1&emailError=$error2")

 

I know I could always catch users input in variable and send it back to form page in query string; so that it would post to user input fields, but that will leave user informtion in address bar; so that is a security risk for their priviate infomation. 

 

I also thought about sending all query strings (error & user input) throught form submission; with javascript, but I would like too try to find another way first.

 

Any one have any ideas.....

[ted_chou12]

use sessions, try:

$_SESSION["error"] = "$error1";

however, this:

session_start();

must be on top of all the pages.

Ted

[phpBeginner06]

Is there any way to send variables back to orginal form page without sending them through query string or through using another form submission to post to previous page?

 

I am not quit sure how to use sessions to send my user input values back to my orginal form and still send error query sting - I kind of understand what you are trying too tell me to do with the session, but not exactly. I still am trying to learn more about sessions; I know there like or are php cookies and I have used them before while creating a hit counter, but do not know how to implement them with this.

 

Can you give me a little bit more detail on how I can accomplish what I am trying to do with session?

[ted_chou12]

This is a variable:

$_SESSION["error"] = $string;, and you set it equal to something (info. that you wish to store)

and at the next page, where you want to retrieve the information, get it like:

$string = $_SESSION["error"];

something like this would get the information to the string again.

However, you do have to put this:

session_start();

on top of (and I mean the first thing) of your page, where you use anything like sessions to initialize the sessions.

Hope that makes it clear.

Ted

[phpBeginner06]

Thanks Ted - I will give it a try.