Question

I have a bit of a problem with my PHP form validation that I could use some help with.

I got an optional field which should be validated only if the user fills it, otherwise the form should be processed as normal. Here’s the validation for the field:

if (!preg_match("/(0?\d|1[0-2]):(0\d|[0-5]\d) (AM|PM)/i", '$start')) :
        $errors->add('submit_error', __('<strong>ERROR</strong>: The time is incorrect', 'appthemes'));
        endif;

Might be simple, but at the moment I just can’t get my head around how can I bypass the validation if the field is left empty. Any ideas?

Answer 1

if(!empty($your_field) && !preg_match(...))

PHP tests if the field is null before testing the regex.
If the field is null PHP will jump to the next instruction.