PHP - If Statement With Session Variable Problem

My login script stores the user's login name as $_SESSION[ 'name'] on login. For some unapparent reason, i'm getting errors stating that $user  and $priv are  undefined variables, though I've attempted to define $user as being equal to $_SESSION['name'], using $user to look up the the user's privilege level (stored as the su column ) in the SQL table, and then where the result of the sql query is $priv which is then evaluated in an if statement. I can't seem to figure out why this might not be working.

The code I'm using:

<?php
session_start();
function verify() {
	//verify that the user is logged in via the login page. Session_start has already been called. 
	if (!isset($_SESSION['loggedin'])) {
	header('Location: /index.html'); 
	exit;
	}
	//if user is logged in, we then lookup necessary privleges. $_SESSION['name'] was written with the login name upon login. Privleges   // are written in db as a single-digit integer of of 0 for users, 1 for administrators, and 2 for special users. 
        $user === $_SESSION['name'];
    //Connect to Databse
	$link = mysqli_connect("127.0.0.1", "database user", "password", "database");
	if (!$link) {
  	  echo "Error: Unable to connect to MySQL." . PHP_EOL;
    	echo "Debugging errno: " . mysqli_connect_errno() . PHP_EOL;
    	echo "Debugging error: " . mysqli_connect_error() . PHP_EOL;
    	exit;
        }
        //SQL Statement to lookup privlege information. 
       if ($result = mysqli_query($link, "SELECT su FROM accounts WHERE username = $user", MYSQLI_STORE_RESULT)) {
         //LOOP TO CYCLE THROUGH SQL RESULTS AND STORE Privlege information as vairable $priv.
            while ($row = $result->fetch_assoc()) {
           $priv === $row["su"];
            }
        }
        // close SQL connection.
        mysqli_close($link);

 // Verify privleges and take action. Only a privlege of "1" is allowed to view this page. A privlege of "2" indicates special 
//accounts used in other scripts that have certain indermediate additional functions, but are not trusted administrators. 

        if ($priv !== 1) {
        echo $_SESSION['name'];
        echo "you have privlege level of $priv";
        echo "<br>";
        echo 'Your account does not have the privleges necessary to view this page';
        exit;
        }
        
}
verify();
?>

 

Hello everyone,

I can get Test 2 to successfully operate the if statement using a variable variable.

But when I try the same method using a session variable (Test 1) the if statement is not executed. Please could you tell me why the if statement in Test 1 is not being executed?

Code: [Select]

<?php
# TEST 1
$_SESSION[test_variable] = "abcd";
$session_variable_name = "_SESSION[test_variable]";
if ($$session_variable_name == "abcd")
{
echo "<br>line 373, abcd<br>";
}

# TEST 2
$test_variable = "efgh";
$test_variable_name = "test_variable";
if ($$test_variable_name == "efgh")
{
echo "<br>line 379, efgh<br>";
}

?>
Many thanks,

Stu

Hi guys, I have an interesting situation and I was hoping someone could explain what is going on to me.

I have an enquiry form on a site that sends an e-mail. All the code is on one page with the form submitting back to the same page. I have a variable, msg, which at the top of the page is set to nothing and then an if statement to see if the form was submitted. If the form was submitted then msg will have one of three messages in it by the end (regardless of anything else). However when I check the msg variable after the if statement it is empty.

To test if it was being affected I changed the initial value from nothing to TEST. After the IF statement the variable still held the value TEST, thus confirming it wasn't being affected by the IF statement. Now onto my code (the whole page is over 600 lines long so I'm only posting the relevant code):

Code: [Select]
<?php
session_start();
$msg = '';
$input = array(
24 variables from form here...
);
if(isset($_POST['form-submitted'])) {
$missing_info = FALSE;
$array = array(
variables along with their filter validation/sanitize types...
);
$input = filter_input_array(INPUT_POST, $array);
/* PHP validation code checking appropriate fields were not empty. If they were set $missing_info = TRUE */

if(!$missing_info) {
/* Construct e-mail, this sends successfully. */
if(mail($to, $subject, $content, $headers)) { 
$msg = '<div class="message"><h1>Form Sent</h1><br />Your form has been sent to us. We endevour to respond to all booking requests with 2 working days. If you have not heard from us in that time please contact us on 01462 893620. If you chose to confirm by post please allow 5 working days before contacting us.</div>';
$_SESSION['msg'] = $msg;
} else {
$msg = '<div class="message"><h1>Technical Issues</h1><br />We appologise but the website is currently experiencing technical difficulties. Please try again later or print this form out and post / fax it to us. Alternatively you can call us on 01462 893620.</div>';
$_SESSION['msg'] = $msg;
}
} else {
$msg = '<div class="message"><h1>Incomplete Form<h1><br />Please make sure to complete all fields of the form before submitting your booking request.</div>';
$_SESSION['msg'] = $msg;
}
}
if(isset($_SESSION['msg'])) { 
$msg = $_SESSION['msg'];
unset($_SESSION['msg']);
}
?>

If I don't load the message into session and then back out of session after the if statement then $msg will still hold whatever it was initially set to (in this case an empty string). Why isn't it set in the if statement?

Okay so after echoing awardType it says Match which would mean it would go to the else part of the statement but it doesn't. It still shows the dropdown for the characters and don't know why?

Code: [Select]
<?php require ('php/awardsshowNom.php'); ?>
   
<script type="text/javascript" src="forms/edit/js/awardsshowNom.js"></script>

<!-- Form -->
<form action="#" id="awardsshowNomForm" >
<fieldset>
<legend>Edit Award Nominations</legend>
        <?php echo $awardType; ?>
        <?php if ($awardType = 'Singular') { ?>
        <div class="field required">
<label for="nominees">Nominees</label>
<select class="dropdown" name="charactersDrop" id="charactersDrop" title="Characters Drop">
                <option value="">- Select -</option>
               <?php
                    while ( $row = mysqli_fetch_array ( $charactersResult, MYSQL_ASSOC ) ) { 
                        print "<option value=\"".$row['ID']."\">".$row['characterName']."</option>\r";
                    }
                ?>
            </select>
            <input type="button" value="Add Character" class="" onclick="HandlerCharacters()"/>
            <ul id="characterList">
            </ul>
            <span class="required-icon tooltip" title="Required field - This field is required, it cannot be blank, and must contain something that is different from emptyness in order to be filled in. ">Required</span>
        </div>
        <? } else { ?>
        <div class="field required">
<label for="nominees">Nominees</label>
<select class="dropdown" name="events" id="events" title="Events for <?php echo date("Y") ?>">
                <option value="">- Select -</option>
               <?php
                    while ( $row = mysqli_fetch_array ( $matchResult, MYSQL_ASSOC ) ) { 
                        print "<option value=\"".$row['ID']."\">".$row['segmentTitle']."</option>\r";
                    }
                ?>
            </select>
            <input type="button" value="Add Match" class="" onclick="AddMatch()"/>
            <ul id="matchList">
            </ul>
            <span class="required-icon tooltip" title="Required field - This field is required, it cannot be blank, and must contain something that is different from emptyness in order to be filled in. ">Required</span>
        </div>
        <?php } ?>
        <input type="hidden" name="awardID" id="awardID" value="<?php echo $awardID; ?>" />
        <input type="hidden" name="awardShowID" id="awardShowID" value="<?php echo $awardShowID; ?>" />
        <input type="hidden" name="awardName" id="awardName" value="<?php echo $awardName; ?>" />
        <input type="submit" class="submit" name="editAwardNom" id="editAwardNom" title="Edit Award Nominees" value="Edit Awards Nominees"/>
</fieldset>
</form>
<!-- /Form -->

<!-- Messages -->
<div class="message message-error">
    <h6>Required field missing</h6>
    <p>Please fill in all required fields. </p>
</div>
<div class="message message-success">
    <h6>Operation succesful</h6>
    <p>Arena was added to the database.</p>
</div>
<!-- /Messages -->

I wonder whether someone can help me please.

I'm using the script below to create a page whereby users are presented with a list of image folders they have created. Clicking on any of the folders allows the user to drill down and view the individual images.

Code: [Select]
<?php session_start(); 

$_SESSION['username']=$_POST['username'];
$_SESSION['locationid']=$_POST['locationid'];
 
?>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<?php 
  //This variable specifies relative path to the folder, where the gallery with uploaded files is located.
  $galleryPath = 'UploadedFiles/' . $_SESSION['username'] . '/' . $_SESSION['locationid'] . '/';
  
  $absGalleryPath = realpath($galleryPath) . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR;  
  
  $descriptions = new DOMDocument('1.0');
  $descriptions->load($absGalleryPath . 'files.xml'); 
  
  $items = array();

  for ($i = 0; $i < $descriptions->documentElement->childNodes->length; $i++) {
    $xmlFile = $descriptions->documentElement->childNodes->item($i);
    $path = $xmlFile->getAttribute('name');
    $path = explode('/', $path);
    
    $t = &$items;
    for ($j = 0; $j < count($path); $j++) {
      if (empty($t[$path[$j]])) {
        $t[$path[$j]] = array();
      }
      $t = &$t[$path[$j]];
    }
    $t['/src/'] = $xmlFile->getAttribute('source');
    $t['description'] = $xmlFile->getAttribute('description');
    $t['size'] = $xmlFile->getAttribute('size');
  }
  
  $basePath = empty($_GET['path']) ? '' : $_GET['path'];
  if ($basePath) {
    $basePath = explode('/', $basePath);
    for ($j = 0; $j < count($basePath); $j++) {
      $items = &$items[$basePath[$j]];
    }
  }
  
  $files = array();
  $dirs = array();
  
  function urlpartencode(&$item, $index) {
    $item = rawurlencode($item);
  }
  
  foreach ($items as $key => $value) {
    if (isset($value['/src/'])) {
      $value['/src/'] = explode('/', $value['/src/']);
      array_walk($value['/src/'], 'urlpartencode');
      $value['/src/'] = implode('/', $value['/src/']);
      $files[] = array(
        'name' => $key,
        'src' => $value['/src/'],
        'description' => htmlentities($value['description'], ENT_COMPAT, 'UTF-8'),
        'size' => htmlentities($value['size'], ENT_COMPAT, 'UTF-8')
      ); 
    } else {
      $dirs[] = $key;
    }
  }
  
  $basePath = empty($_GET['path']) ? '' : $_GET['path'];
  $up = dirname($basePath);
  if ($up == '.') {
    $up = '';
  }
  
  sort($files);
  sort($dirs);
?>
<head>
  <title>View Image Folders</title>
  <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />
  <link href="Styles/style.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
  <script src="Libraries/jquery/jquery-1.4.3.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
   <style type="text/css">
<!--
.style1 {
font-size: 14px;
margin-top: 5px;
margin-right: -50px;
}

-->
  </style>
<body style="font-family: Calibri; color:  #505050; margin-right: 160px; margin-left: -180px;">
<div align="right" class="style1"> <a href = "index.php" /> Add Images <a/> &rarr; <a href = "javascript:document.imagefolders.submit()"> View All Images </a> </div>
<form id="imagefolders" name="imagefolders" class="page" action="gallery.php" method="post" enctype="application/x-www-form-urlencoded"> 
   <div id="container">
  </div>
    <div id="center">
      <div class="aB">
        <div class="aB-B">
          <?php if ('Uploaded files' != $current['title']) :?>
          <?php endif;?>
          <div class="demo">
  <input name="username" type="hidden" id="username" value="IRHM73" />
          <input name="locationid" type="hidden" id="locationid" value="1" />
            <div class="inner">
              <div class="container">
                <div class="gallery">
                  <table class="gallery-link-table" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
                    <thead>
                      <tr class="head">
                        <th class="col-name">
                          Name
                        </th>
                        <th class="col-size">
                          Size
                        </th>
                        <th class="col-description">
                          Description
                        </th>
                      </tr>
                    </thead>

                    <tbody>
                      <tr class="directory odd">
                        <td class="col-name">
                          <a href="?path=<?php echo rawurlencode($up); ?>">..</a>
                        </td>
                        <td class="col-size">
                        </td>
                        <td class="col-description">
                        </td>
                      </tr>
                      <?php $i = 1; ?>
                      <?php foreach ($dirs as $dir) : ?>
                      <tr class="directory <?php $i++; echo ($i % 2 == 0 ? 'even' : 'odd'); ?>">
                        <td><a href="?path=<?php echo rawurlencode(($basePath ? $basePath . '/' : '') . $dir); ?>"><?php echo htmlentities($dir, ENT_COMPAT, 'UTF-8'); ?></a></td>
                        <td>Folder</td>
                        <td></td>
                      </tr>
                      <?php endforeach; ?>
                      <?php foreach ($files as $file) : ?>
                      <tr class="<?php $i++; echo ($i % 2 == 0 ? 'even' : 'odd'); ?>">
                        <td><a target="_blank" href="<?php echo $galleryPath . $file['src']; ?>"><?php echo htmlentities($file['name'], ENT_COMPAT, 'UTF-8'); ?></a></td>
                        <td><?php echo htmlentities($file['size'], ENT_COMPAT, 'UTF-8'); ?></td>
                        <td><?php echo htmlentities($file['description'], ENT_COMPAT, 'UTF-8'); ?></td>
                      </tr>
                      <?php endforeach; ?>
                    </tbody>
                  </table>
                </div>
              </div>
            </div>
          </div>
        </div>
      </div>
  </div>
        </div>
      </div>
    </div>
</form>
</body>
</html>
I can create the list of folders, but when I click on any of these, instead of being able to view the images, I receive the following error:
Quote

Warning: DOMDocument::load() [domdocument.load]: I/O warning : failed to load external entity "/homepages/2/d333603417/htdocs/development/UploadedFiles/files.xml" in /homepages/2/d333603417/htdocs/development/imagefolders.php on line 16

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /homepages/2/d333603417/htdocs/development/imagefolders.php on line 52


Line 16 is this line Code: [Select]
$descriptions->load($absGalleryPath . 'files.xml'); and line 52 is this Code: [Select]
foreach ($items as $key => $value){
However, if I change this line Code: [Select]
$galleryPath = 'UploadedFiles/' . $_SESSION['username'] . '/' . $_SESSION['locationid'] . '/'; to
Code: [Select]
$galleryPath = 'UploadedFiles/' . 'IRHM73' . '/' . '1' . '/'; i.e. replacing the 'Session Variables' with the actual values, the page works.

I've been working on this for days now, and I just can't find the solution. I just wondered whether someoen could perhaps have a look at this and let me know where I'm going wrong.

Many thanks and regards

Hi

I am using very simple code. Here it is

Code: [Select]
<?php
session_start();
$user = "guest";
$uid = "1";
echo $_SESSION['user']."<br />";
echo $_SESSION['uid'];
?>
it displays this error
Code: [Select]
Notice: Undefined index: user in C:\wamp\www\DealDash\index.php on line 5
Notice: Undefined index: uid in C:\wamp\www\DealDash\index.php on line 6
how can I solve this problem? Help please

hi all , i am working on a script which is oop driven and i m not much familiar with it, i appericiate if someone can help me to solve this problem , so basicaly current script is only setting one session variable to true if user login $_SESSION['is_successful_login']  , here is my code
<?php
include('files/db.php');
class ajaxLoginModule  {
  private $timeout         = null;
  private $target_element  = null;
  private $wait_text       = null;
  private $form_element    = null;
  private $wait_element    = null;
  private $notify_element  = null;
   
  function __construct() {
     include ('config.php'); 
 $msql  = new Db;
 $msql->connect();
 $this->is_login();
  } 
  function get_config() {
 $this->set_ajax_config();
  } 
  function set_ajax_config() {
     $this->timeout         = AJAX_TIMEOUT;
     $this->target_element  = AJAX_TARGET_ELEMENT;
     $this->wait_text       = AJAX_WAIT_TEXT;
 $this->wait_element    = AJAX_WAIT_ELEMENT;
     $this->notify_element  = AJAX_NOTIFY_ELEMENT;
     $this->form_element    = AJAX_FORM_ELEMENT;
  }
  function initLogin($arg = array()) {
 $this->get_config();
 $this->login_script();     
  }
  function initJquery() { 
 return "<script type='text/javascript' src='files/jquery-1.3.2.min.js'></script>";
  }
  function login_script() { 
 include ('files/login_script.php');
  }
  function is_login() {
      if(isset($_POST['username']))  {
     $username   = $_POST['username'];
 $password   = $_POST['password'];
 $strSQL = "SELECT * FROM ".USERS_TABLE_NAME."
    WHERE username ='$username' AND password = '$password'
   ";
        $result  = mysql_query ($strSQL); 
$row     = mysql_fetch_row($result);
   /*
//THIS IS WHAT I NEED
$_SESSION['user'] = $row['username'];
 $_SESSION['id'] = $row['id'];
*/
$exist   = count($row);
if($exist >=2) { $this->jscript_location();  } 
else { $this->notify_show();}
exit;
  }   
  }
  function notify_show() {
    echo "<script>$('.".AJAX_NOTIFY_ELEMENT."').fadeIn();</script>";
  }
  function jscript_location() {
    $this->set_session();
    echo "<script> $('#container').fadeOut();window.location.href='".SUCCESS_LOGIN_GOTO."'</script>";
  }
  function set_session() {
      session_start();
  $_SESSION['is_successful_login'] = true;

  }    
  
}  
?>  

i comment that line what i need is username and id to store in those session variables

$_SESSION['user'] = $row['username'];
 $_SESSION['id'] = $row['id']

 i tried to add code in  function set_session but did not helped, appreciate  for any help.

Thanks

Need help declaring some session variable guys.

I have a login form where the member enters his
1. Pilot Callsign
2. Password

I want to declare that Pilot Callsign as the session variable on authentication.

Using that Pilot Callsign session variable, I will fetch data from the database relevant to his profile.

I already have the whole login page coded along with the restricted access pages (not coded by me).

Check this out

1. Page is coded like this and working PERFECTLY
---

Code: [Select]
<?php
// *** Validate request to login to this site.
if (!isset($_SESSION)) {
  session_start();
}

$loginFormAction = $_SERVER['PHP_SELF'];
if (isset($_GET['accesscheck'])) {
  $_SESSION['PrevUrl'] = $_GET['accesscheck'];
}

if (isset($_POST['pilot_callsign'])) {
  $loginUsername=$_POST['pilot_callsign'];
  $password=$_POST['password'];
  
  mysql_select_db($database_brn_system, $brn_system);
  
  $LoginRS__query=sprintf("SELECT pilot_callsign, password, staff_level, firstname FROM pilots WHERE activated = 1 AND pilot_callsign=%s AND password=%s",
  GetSQLValueString($loginUsername, "text"), GetSQLValueString($password, "text")); 
   
  $LoginRS = mysql_query($LoginRS__query, $brn_system) or die(mysql_error());
  $loginFoundUser = mysql_num_rows($LoginRS);
  if ($loginFoundUser) {
    
    $loginStrGroup  = mysql_result($LoginRS,0,'staff_level');
    
if (PHP_VERSION >= 5.1) {session_regenerate_id(true);} else {session_regenerate_id();}
    //declare two session variables and assign them
    $_SESSION['MM_Username'] = $loginUsername;
    $_SESSION['MM_UserGroup'] = $loginStrGroup;      
?>
---

2. As you can see, there already is a session variable declared for Pilot Callsign
But on the next page "Restricted Access Page", when I try to call this same Session Variable, it doesn't work.

I tried doing this
<?php echo $_SESSION['MM_Username'] ?>

Moreover, I even tried to fetch data from the table like this -

SELECT * FROM pilots WHERE pilot_callsign=$_SESSION['MM_Username']

Doesn't work 

I have to put a link that can be clicked around the first name and last name variables in the echo statement below.  I also need to add a variable from the Select query to the link such as: 'www.phpfreaks.com/admin/customers.php?page=1&cID="VARIABLE HERE" &action=edit'

I've tried a bunch of things and none seem to work.


while($row = mysql_fetch_array($result)){


echo '<tr><td>' . $row['customers_firstname'] . " " . $row['customers_lastname'] . '</td><td>' .


date("M. d, Y", strtotime($row['date'])) . '</td><td>' . $row['plan_id'] . '</td></tr>';

David

basically, I have one calculation that relies on the value returned by an if statement, but i can;t for the life of me figure it out correctly... Here is what i am trying to accomplish:

Here is the code for the IF i need to get the value of

if ($loadedMiles < 500) { 
(500 - $loadedMiles) * .25 * $mainRate;
}


And here is the reason why i need it:

if ($loadSize == "Full") {
$loadedmiles + thevalueoftheif;
}


basically i will need to have a way to get the values of the functions in the IF statements if that makes any sense...

thanks in advance!

Hello all,

I am a beginner at PHP and trying to form an IF statement, I'm running into a problem which I cannot seem to solve.
Due to my lack of syntax knowledge I would appreciate if someone could point me in the right direction.

The combo variables are sent to this page through a form and defined as these variables at the top of the page.
e.g $combo0 = $_POST["combo0"];

When the results are displayed any form field which was left blank or empty I want to show "N/A" if data is detected in being sent through the form I then want the "Else" statement to take affect.

Currently when I run the below statement N/A is echoed despite if data was sent through the form fields or not....

if (empty($scrap))  {
echo "<h3>Submitted Scrap Results</h3> No scrap parts were booked off";
}
elseif (empty($combo0) || empty($combo1) || empty($combo2) || empty($combo3) || empty($combo4)) {
echo "N/A";
}
else {
echo "<h3>Submitted Scrap Results</h3> <b>Reason:</b> " .$combo0." - ".$combo1." - ".$combo2." - ".$combo3." - ".$combo4."
<br /> <b>on machine</b> " .$mid. " - <b>No. Scrap</b> " .$noscrap. "";
}

Anyone any ideas?

What's the correct syntax for having a variable in a select statement?

Here's an example of what I'm trying to do (after I'm already connected to the database).

Code: [Select]
$username = "thomas";
$query = mysql_query( "SELECT * from users WHERE username = $thomas" );
if( mysql_num_rows( $query ) > 0 )
{
bla bla...
It works if I don't put the WHERE part in, but I get an error if I use it, so I'm assuming I have the wrong syntax for using a variable in the select statement.

I want to display some specific data from my database (just data from a given date).
I first created a page where the user picks the date. After the date is defined it is passed to the next page where the data from that date is displayed. That page includes a form where users can edit the data. The form data is then passed to a third page for processing. All of this works fine. Now I want the user to be taken back to the previous page with the assigned date.
On the processing page I am using this statement:
Code: [Select]
header("Location: /teetimes/adminteetimes.php?teetimedate=$dateID");and on the display page I'm using
Code: [Select]
$dateID = $_REQUEST[teetimedate];The display page is using a SELECT...WHERE Date='$dateID' statement and $dateID is defined in the processing page.
Problem is: I'm redirected from the processing page back to the display page but the date isn't passed, so the correct data isn't being displayed.
Can anyone help me pass a variable using a header?? Or show me where my logic is lacking??
Thanks!

I've been baffled by this for 2 days now and cannot figure it out after exhaustive searches. I'd like to think I'm doing this correctly, but cannot get it to work.   I'm trying to use a variable within a query WHERE statement, and it shows 0 results. If I directly hardcode the text instead of using the variable, it works. The variable is pulling from a $_GET, and if I echo that variable, it is showing the correct text.   Here's my code:

$Domain = $_GET['Domain'];
$result = mysql_query(SELECT Code, Title, Domain, Status FROM tablename WHERE Domain="$Domain" ORDER BY Code');

If I swap out "$Domain" for direct text, like "ABC", it works. I have tried swapping out the quotes and single quotes throughout the statement, removing the quotes around $Domain, concatenating the statement separately....all yield erros or the same result.   And as stated, if I echo $Domain, it shows "ABC" (or whatever it's supposed to show), so i know it's pulling correctly from the $_GET.   Anyone know what I'm doing wrong?

Code: [Select]
echo("<p class=\"commentboxContainer\"><table width=100% border=0>
                      <tr>
                        <td bgcolor=\"#EEE\"><strong><p class=fltlft>$name </strong>says:</p></td>
                      </tr>
                    </table>
                    <table width=100% border=0 bgcolor=\"#EEE\">
                      <tr>
                        <td width=40%><img src=../images/Icons/People/Anonymous.png width=64 height=64 border=1 /></td>
                        <td width=60%>$comment',0,6</td>
                      </tr>
                    </table>
                    <table width=100% border=0>
                      <tr>
                        <td bgcolor=\"#EEE\" ><p class=fltlft><em>$email</em></p></td>
                      </tr>
                      <tr>
                        <td bgcolor=\"#EEE\" ><p class=fltlft>added on $time</p></td>
                      </tr>
                    </table></p><br>");
Here's my echo statement for displaying comments by users.  I want to add a substr (); function to limit the amount of characters of the $comment field. That way if a user makes a long comment it doesn't push the page down.

I tried putting it after the echo ();  but that didn't work. I also tried putting it before $comment and that didn't even work. I know that if I make two separate echo statements, this can be done, but the field "$comment" is displayed within a table that is part of the original echo statement, so what do I do?