Reading serialized jquery data in PHP (multiple checkboxes)

Question

JQUERY:

$(document).ready(function(){
    $('form').submit(function(){
        var content = $(this).serialize();
        //alert(content);
        $.ajax({
            type: 'POST',
            dataType: 'json',
            url: 'http://localhost/test/generate',
            timeout: 15000,
            data:{  content: content },
            success: function(data){
                $('.box').html(data).fadeIn(1000);
            },
            error: function(){
                $('.box').html('error').fadeIn(1000);
            }
        });
        return false;
    });
});

HTML:

<form>
<input type="checkbox" value="first" name="opts[]">
<input type="checkbox" value="second" name="opts[]">
<input type="checkbox" value="third" name="opts[]">
<input type="submit">
</form>

How do i process (or read) multiple checked checkbox's value in PHP? I tried doing $_POST['content'] to grab the serialized data but no luck.

Is there a reason you need to send the data as JSON? A default post of the form will make your data available as `$_POST['opts']` (it will return an array). If you need to keep it as json, try `var_dump($_POST)` to see what you're getting. — Grexis, Jan 06 '12 at 08:11
He is not sending the data as JSON. The `dataType` parameter indicates the server response content type, not the request. — Darin Dimitrov, Jan 06 '12 at 08:13
@Darin Ah, I haven't worked with jQuery much, (Does it show? :D) but I was referring to his serialization of the form and the `data:{ content: content }` line — Grexis, Jan 06 '12 at 08:17
@Grexis, this is not JSON. jQuery automatically serializes this javascript literal into an `application/x-www-form-urlencoded` request. Nothing to do with JSON. If you wanted to send JSON to the server you would specify the `contentType: 'json'` and you would JSON serialize the request: `data: JSON.stringify({ content: 'some content' })`. — Darin Dimitrov, Jan 06 '12 at 08:19
@Darin I'm going to stop while, I'm (somewhat) ahead. Still, I suppose this is the best way to learn — Grexis, Jan 06 '12 at 08:21

score 5 · Accepted Answer · answered Jan 06 '12 at 08:14

5

Replace:

data:{  content: content } // <!-- you are prefixing with content which is wrong

with:

data: content

Now in your PHP script you can use $_POST['opts'] which normally should return an array.

answered Jan 06 '12 at 08:14

Darin Dimitrov

1,023,142
271
3,287
2,928

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Jan 06 '12 at 08:13

1

Try

echo $_POST['opts'][0]. "<br />";
echo $_POST['opts'][1]. "<br />";
echo $_POST['opts'][2]. "<br />";

You post an array to the Server and it is available in the post variable 'opts'. Remember: Unchecked boxes dont get posted.

answered Jan 06 '12 at 08:13

Grrbrr404

1,809
15
17

score 0 · Answer 3 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:06

The chosen answer still didn't work for me, but here is what did:

var checkedBoxesArr = new Array();
$("input[name='checkedBoxes']:checked").each(function() {
    checkedBoxesArr.push($(this).val());
});
var checkedBoxesStr = checkedBoxesArr.toString(); 
var dataString = $("#" + formID).serialize() + 
                  '&checkedBoxesStr=' + checkedBoxesStr;

[The above code goes in your javascript, before serializing the form data]
First, cycle through the checked boxes and put them into an array.
Next, convert the array to a string.
Last, append them to the serialized form data manually - this way you can reference the string in your PHP alongside the rest of the serialized data.

This answer came partly from this post: Send multiple checkbox data to PHP via jQuery ajax()

score -2 · Answer 4 · answered Jan 06 '12 at 08:23

-2

there are an Error in your code :

The url should be url: 'http://localhost/test/generate.php' with the extension name

answered Jan 06 '12 at 08:23

jogesh_pi

9,762
4
37
65

Reading serialized jquery data in PHP (multiple checkboxes)

4 Answers4