Non-coder look'n for some juice!

Luddie

First things first… I am a lowly designer…not a coder! dives for cover :p

I am however working on a project for the University of Missouri creating an online ordering process for the Campus Sign Shop and have a student working for me that is quite amazing with coding php. Our relationship is one of he builds it I break it! Then we put our heads together and solve the problem… this time I think I may have stumped him. So now I turn to the experts! Yes… blatant butt kiss’n 😃

Let me preface my problem with the fact that we have no Database to work with… it’s not an option (I have no control over this). I need a graceful way to handle a form issue. Our order process is 5 parts:
1. Product options - product specific selections
2. Review order selections – details of the current order
3. Cart - complete listing of all the order(s) made
4. Funding collection - collection of campus interdepartmental order data
5. Email – submittal of the order via email to the sign shop

Our problem appears in two places; when the browser back button is selected from the Cart and Funding Collection. Selection of the browsers back button causes the addition of another iteration of the order.

How can we handle this? What are some options? What would you all advise?

I look forward to your reply(ies)… I may not understand some of it, :rolleyes: but at least it will give me a place to start!

Thanks,

Frag

Are you using a class object to handle this?

If so add a variable to the class called "submitted" or something.

When the order is submited assign it a value of "x". Then on the Funding section check FIRST thing to make sure $this->submitted!='x';

Hope this helps..

Frag

Let me clarify

If($submitted=='x') {
do something else...
else {
$submitted='x';
process whatever funding stuff you do...
}

Luddie

THANK YOU FRAG! 😃

I'll pass that info along to my coder and see what he has to say... I know nothing about this PHP language. So I'm not sure how he has it set up. :rolleyes:

In general how do you all feel about users moving up and down the processing path? Do you like to expire the previous page to prevent this? What do you think?

Any graceful strategies for handling this?

Luddie

Here is the URL to the order page:UMC CFSign Shop Desk Plate Order

We display the order form, review cart, cart and funding collection thru an Iframe. If someone does orders a desk plate and in the cart selects the browser back button (going to the review cart)... then selects the forward browser button or the add to cart button the form does just that and adds to the cart... doubling the order. Furthermore, the gremlins play around once you get to the funding. Selecting the browser back sometimes adds items to the cart... sometimes it doesn't. However, the obvious danger is the fact that any added items are not seen until they receive the confirmation email.

Are there any graceful ways of dealing with this? Is it the Iframes? Would we be able to display this in a div and make it work? Should I scratch the format of the order page and do the ordering in a flat page?

I have no problem doing things that are challenging if we can pull it off and make the customers side of things seamless and intuitive.