error in contact form - can't work it out

i have a standard contact form which i have used a number of times.

I have the form check for the 'submit' button being pressed, and then through a series of checks to ensure validation.

it seems to run ok, but in this particular instance, i am getting an error message, as though the form has already been submitted.

error reads "Sorry, there was a problem sending your message. Please try later" which shouldn't be tested for, until the form is posted

the problem seems to lie with my CSSMenuWriter menu.

when it isn't included, I dont get the error, when it is, I do.

by commenting out line 197, the error goes away, but otherwise, line 212 will run.

i have used the form with many other CSSMenuWriter menus without a problem

link to live form is

contact.php

form code is attached

Your code looks like you have put it in a paragraph and is a static comment..

Yes, you are right, the comment is static, bur I am trying to establish why it is appearing.

it should only appear if the form has been posted and the $mailsent variable has not been set

using "if($_POST)" is not a very reliable way to check if the form was posted.

$_POST is a supper global that contains an array of the posted elements. it exists whether a form is posted or not. If a form was not posted, it's an empty array, but it still exists. "if($_POST)" will pretty much always return true.

as a test, put the following on a blank page:

<?php echo($_POST); ?>

this will return:
Array


to test for a form post use "if($_SERVER["REQUEST_METHOD"] == "POST")" instead

so the elseif statement at line 210 becomes:

elseif ($_SERVER["REQUEST_METHOD"] == "POST" && !$mailSent) {

If that doesn't help the issue, then please send a copy of the CSSMenuWriter/cssmw0/menu.php so I can examine the code.

This only posts before you actually send the email...

Maybe it has something to do with the captcha code for
$mailsent

If I intentionally type a error on your form I get the
the proper messages, however I do NOT get your:
"Sorry, there was a problem sending your message. Please try later."

Your code for the "Sorry, there was a problem sending your message. Please try later." is identically for $mailsent

<?php
}
elseif ($_POST && !$mailSent) {
?>
<p class="warning">Sorry, there was a problem sending your message. Please try later.</p>
<?php
}
elseif ($_POST && $mailSent) {
?>
<p><strong>Your message has been sent. Thank you for your feedback.</strong></p>

I don't see where this "Sorry.." is connected to anything

<?php
}
elseif ($_POST && !$mailSent) {
?>
<p class="warning">Sorry, there was a problem sending your message. Please try later.</p>
<?php
}
elseif ($_POST && $mailSent) {
?>
<p><strong>Your message has been sent. Thank you for your feedback.</strong></p>

the 2 elseif lines ARE different, the first has a ! in front.

thanks for replying, I think Jason has a solution.

Thanks for the reply Jason, FYI I first set this page up over a year ago using code from David Power's book.
I will make other changes to the if statements as needed.

Thanks again

no worries, if your still having problems, let me know.