<?php
if($_POST['submit']){

// this strips out any unwanted html tags and turns it into a string
if (!isset($_POST['fname']) && $_POST['fname']!="")#_#_#_#_#_#_#_# New line
{
 $_POST['fname'] = filter_var($_POST['fname'], FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING); 
//if the text field is empty put the error in the array
if ($_POST['fname'] == "") {
       $errors[] = "Please enter your first name";
    }
}
else 
{
$errors[] = "Please enter your first name"; #_#_#_#_#_#_#_# New line
}