How to use the PHP magic quotes directive

The magic quotes directive can be enabled or disabled in a custom PHP.ini file, as explained in this article.

This article’s content is limited to specific kinds of hosting accounts. To ascertain whether the details listed below pertain to your account

This guide will presume that your website already has a custom php.ini file setup. If you don’t already have a customized PHP.ini file set up,

This article only applies to PHP 5.3 and earlier versions. The magic quotes directive was removed in PHP 5.4.

Using PHP magic quotes directive

PHP automatically escapes data from HTTP GET and POST requests as well as cookie data when the magic quotes directive is enabled. For instance, PHP will automatically escape the quotation marks and save the data as “hello” if a user inputs “hello” (with the quotation marks) in a form. Using a text editor, change the magic quotes gpc directive in the php.ini file as follows to enable this functionality:

magic_quotes_gpc = on

To disable this functionality, modify the magic_quotes_gpc directive in the php.ini file as follows:

magic_quotes_gpc = off

To verify the current value of the magic quotes directive and other directives, you can use the phpinfo() function. For more information