HELP! output from form select field doesn't appear

[grumpy]

Hello-
I'm trying to output information from an html form select multiple field to a php processing page which inserts the result into a MySql database. When the form submits, all info from other fields of the form are okay, but info from the select field is missing. All that appears in the database in the categories column is the word 'Array' (no quotes). Below is the select field code I'm using and the insert statement from the php insert page. What am I doing wrong? Thanks very much.

<select name="categories[]" size=4 multiple>
<option value="">- Select -
<option value="cat">Accounting, Financial, Banking<option value="cat2">Administrative, Office, Clerical
<option value="cat2a">Automotive Sales, Mechanical
<option value="cat3">Computer, IT, Internet<option value="cat4">Construction, Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing<option value="cat4a">Criminal Justice, Law Enforcement, Investigation<option value="cat5">Customer Service, Call Center<option value="cat6">Distribution, Transportation, Warehousing<option value="cat7">Education, Training<option value="8">Engineering, Drafting<option value="9">Entertainment, Media, Radio, TV<option value="10">Executive, Management<option value="11">Graphics, Journalism, Publishing<option value="12">Healthcare, Medical, Nursing<option value="13">Human Resources, Personnel<option value="14">Insurance<option value="15">Landscaping, Forestry,Nursery, "Green Jobs"<option value="16">Manufacturing, Factory, Production Labor<option value="17">Professional, Legal, Social Services<option value="18">Other<option value="19">Real Estate<option value="20">Restaurant, Hospitality<option value="21">Retail, Retail Management<option value="22">Sales, Marketing, Public Relations<option value="23">Science, Research, Laboratory

</select>

//insert statement from php page
categories='$categories',

🙁

[bastien]

some versions require

$cat=$_POST['catergories']; to take the array

or
$cat=$HTTP_POST_VARS['catergories'];

[grumpy]

Thanks to everyone who responded, but the advice has not helped. If I select multiple selections I still only get the word 'Array' in the database instead of the selections. (As expected if I remove the [], I get the last selected choice, but I need to get all the selections.) Any further ideas?

[ahundiak]

Select arrays are a bit funny. You get back an array of values for the options that were actually selected.

$cats = $_POST['categories'];

foreach($cats as $cat) {
$cat_list .= $cat . ' ';
}
echo $cat_list;

So if the user selects three caterories then you get an array of three values. You then need to process the array in order to update your table.

[grumpy]

Kudos, ahundiak, it works! Would never have got that myself. Thanks so much.