php URL decode get '+' from URL

Question

So I am trying to encode/decode a url that when decoded will return the encoded + symbols from teh url. For example, I encodewebsite.com/index.php?eq=1+12 which when encoded turns the + into %2B, as it should. When I retrieve the value from $_REQUEST['eq'] and use urldecode() it echo's as "1 12". I cannot seem to get the decode to bring back the + so to speak. Am I doing something wrong here, or is there a more efficient/better way to go about doing this? Here is the exact encode/decode lines I use.

Submit Page

<?php
$eq = "1+12";
$send = '<a href="website.com/index.php?eq='.urlencode($eq).'</a>';
echo $send;

Retrieval page

<?php
$eq = urldecode($_REQUEST['eq']);
echo $eq;
?>

Quentin · Accepted Answer · 2018-03-04 16:54:52Z

21

Don't run urldecode, the data in $_REQUEST is automatically decoded for you.

A plus sign, in a URL, is an encoded space. PHP decodes the hex value to a + automatically. Then, by running the result through urldecode, you are manually (and incorrectly) decoding the + to a .

edited Mar 4, 2018 at 16:54

answered Mar 31, 2011 at 6:13

Quentin

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5 Comments

Ed R Over a year ago

so I removed the urldecode, and kept the urlencode. It still is registering the $_REQUEST as a space.

Quentin Over a year ago

It doesn't when I copy/paste that code and remove the urldecode statement.

Ed R Over a year ago

I'm not sure, maybe the php version is different and functions differently? Or could be other parts of my page conflicting. I figured a workaround by using str_replace(" ", "+", $eq). Probably not ideal, but since my URL will never need spaces, seems to work. Thank you for your help.

Quentin Over a year ago

It probably is some other part of your code. You should trace through and find out what modifies it and where (starting with checking that the URL in the link is actually containing eq=1%2B12.

Quentin Over a year ago

@Andrew — That is what the line "urldecode($_REQUEST['eq'])" in the question does. It is the problem.

Mats Rietdijk · Accepted Answer · 2012-11-04 13:16:15Z

18

Try using the function rawurldecode() instead of urldecode()

edited Nov 4, 2012 at 13:16

Mats Rietdijk

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answered Nov 4, 2012 at 12:49

Maurice

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1 Comment

Alex78191 Over a year ago

yes, it't the solution

adrianTNT · Accepted Answer · 2012-12-06 22:30:36Z

2

I encode it in JavaScript with encodeURIComponent() and decode it in PHP with rawurldecode() and it encodes/decodes properly for me, including the "+", but NOT with urldecode()

answered Dec 6, 2012 at 22:30

adrianTNT

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