Submitting Forms

[Anon]

When submitting a form, I want to pass all values from a list box to the next page. How can you select all values within a list box. I am positive it will JS that I will have to use.

Can anyone help please.

Many Thanks

[marty]

You can send multiple values from a form to your PHP Script as an array by identifying the array with "[]":

<select size=8 name="myArray[]" multiple>
<option value="option1">option1</option>
<option value="option2">option2</option>
... etc ...
</select>

Now within the script that handles this form, you access the array with $myArray[]

hope that helps

[Anon]

Hi Marty

Thanks for the help. I understand the process of passing the array. The problem I have is that the array is only populated upon the selection of either 1 or more items within the list.

I want to force the selection of all items upon submitting the form so the next page can receive the array and its values.

[jscnet]

If I understand your question correctly...

Make an array of your selection items, like so.

$myChoices = array('val1'=>'item1','val2'=>'item2','val3'=>'item3');

Put this into an INCLUDE file, (say called) options.inc.

Now...

Bewteen your <SELECT NAME="items[]" size="12" MULTIPLE>

....

</SELECT>

tags, put the following code on each page where you want the selections to be.

<?
foreach($myChoices as $key=>$value)
{
print('<option value="' . $key . '" ' . '>' . $value . '</option>');
}
?>

------------- or -----------

<SELECT NAME="items[]" size="12" MULTIPLE>
<?
foreach($myChoices as $key=>$value)
{
print('<option value="' . $key . '" ' . '>' . $value . '</option>');
}
?>
</SELECT>

Put the INCLUDE('options.inc') at the top of each page where you want these selections. The array will be called from this .inc file.

Let me know if you need help carrying over the selections the user makes, so that they are highlighted (selected) on the next page.

Jason

[Anon]

Hi Jason

I have the list populated without any problems whatsoever. The data is retrieved from a database.

If you submit a page without physically selecting any of the options within the list box, the array passed on submission is empty.

If you select one or more and then submit the list contains, the value of the item or items selected.

What I want to do is to pass all the items within list (effectively in the array). Therefore I need to automatically using code select all items in the list to enable the array to be populated. HOW?

[marty]

Well, to select the items in the list (this will not hold if the user de-selects them) try:

<select name='items[]' size=12 multiple>
<option value=1 selected>1</option>
<option value=2 selected>2</option>
<option value=3 selected>3</option>
... etc
</select>

by default now when the form loads, any <option> with 'selected' in the tag will be selected.

i hope this is what you were asking 🙂

if not and you ALWAYS want to pass the entire array to the next page, why not pass it as a hidden form field? Or for that matter, why not do the database SELECT on the next page?

cheers!
marty

[jscnet]

You Wrote

Therefore I need to automatically using code select all items in the list to enable the array to be populated. HOW?

Whether or not you are using an ARRAY or DB isn't important -- they both can be used with the code I gave you -- if you want all the items to be selected, just ad the SELECTED command in your <SELECT></SELECT>

Like so:

<SELECT NAME="items[]" size="12" MULTIPLE>
<?
foreach($myChoices as $key=>$value)
{
print('<option value="' . $key . '" ' . 'SELECTED>' . $value . '</option>');
}
?>
</SELECT>

Your question is quisi-clear... a bit confusing. Is your SELECT list dynamic?

Are you using SESSIONS?

Another thing you could do is store the data in a hidden field, then just pass it normally.

An example would be:

<SELECT NAME="items[]" size="12" MULTIPLE>
<?
foreach($myChoices as $key=>$value)
{
print('<option value="' . $key . '"> . $value . '</option>');

$dynArray[$key] = $value; // need to build array here.

}
?>
</SELECT>

<form>
<?
// Store array as string
$mySelList = htmlspecialchars(serialize($dynArray));

// need to use HTMLSPECIALCHARS so that the string will not be 'snipped' by the quotes generated by the SERIALIZE function. PHP will automatically convert this back to it's normal string when passed.

<input type="hidden" name="selList" value="<?print($mySelList);?>">
?>

This will turn your array into a string which can easily be stored in a Hidden Field...

On page2 use the following:

<?
$mySelList = unserialize($selList);

foreach($mySelList as $key=>$value)
{
print('<option value="' . $key . '"> . $value . '</option>');
}
?>

I hope this is what you were looking for :-)

Jason