putting info from a database into a form

[the_link]

hi

i'm trying to create a web page where i can enter an id, then click on a search button which will search for the record corresponding to the id from a database. The details retrieved should then be inserted into a form into their corresponding boxes.

help and any examples would be greatly appreciated!

thanks

[hrosas]

It's very simple just use the value properti of every form element and that's all. For example if you want to set the text os a text elemento in your form, you must

<input type="text" value="<?php echo $record["field"] '>" other properties>

hope that helps-

Hector

OKSonora

[darfbobo]

If you're using mysql, this would be one example:

The HTML search page:

<form action="search.php" method="post">
<input type="text" name="id"> <input type="submit" value="submit">
</form>

The 'search.php' page:

$db = mysql_connect("db_host", "db_user", "db_password");
mysql_select_db("db_name",$db);
$myrow = mysql_fetch_array(mysql_query("SELECT * FROM table_name WHERE id=$_POST[id]"));
// Let's say you have 3 fields called 'name', 'item', and 'description'.
echo "<form>
<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" value=\"$myrow[name]\"><p>
<input type=\"text\" name=\"item\" value=\"$myrow[item]\"><p>
<textarea name=\"description\">$myrow[description]</textarea>
</form>";

This is just one of a few different ways of doing it. You can always stick it in a table or what not, to make it prettier. Note the backslashes () before the quotes (") on the php page. You must use these when using quotes in an 'echo' or 'print' function.

I hope this is helpful to you...

~Brian

[the_link]

thanks for your help!

i tried your code Brian but i get an error message when from the search.php code about the line:

$myrow = mysql_fetch_array(mysql_query("SELECT * FROM Staff WHERE staff_no=$_POST[staff_no]"));

the error is:

Warning: Supplied argument is not a valid MySQL result resource

does anyone know why this comes up?

[darfbobo]

You may need to change the code from:

$myrow = mysql_fetch_array(mysql_query("SELECT * FROM Staff WHERE staff_no=$_POST[staff_no]")); 

~to~

$myrow = mysql_fetch_array(mysql_query("SELECT * FROM Staff WHERE staff_no='$_POST[staff_no]'")); 

The difference above is the addition of the single quotes around '$_POST[staff_no]'. Depending on how you set up your database, this may or may not resolve the problem. If this does not work, you might try breaking it up some, like so:

$result = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM Staff WHERE staff_no='$_POST[staff_no]'");
$myrow = mysql_fetch_array($result);

And, of course, make sure you have a table called "Staff" and a field called "staff_no". And to make it even more complicating, it's case-sensitive, too. Make sure it's "Staff" and not "staff". 😉

This should fix your problem... Good luck! 🙂

~Brian

[the_link]

thanks again for your help brian, i tried the two options you suggested and although i don't get errors now nothing appears in the boxes!

The code below works but the post method doesn't seem to be working.
$myrow = mysql_fetch_array(mysql_query("SELECT * FROM Staff WHERE staff_no='SA1'"));

this just displays two empty boxes
$myrow = mysql_fetch_array(mysql_query("SELECT * FROM Staff WHERE staff_no='$POST[staff_no]'"));

sorry to be such a pain, i know this is probably something really simple but i dont know what!😕

[darfbobo]

No problem - I'm happy to help!

Your first example should work:
$myrow = mysql_fetch_array(mysql_query("SELECT * FROM Staff WHERE staff_no='SA1'"));
Just remember that $myrow is now an array, which means when you want to see its values, you must specify which field. ie:
echo "$myrow[name]";
Also - did you try breaking up your query into a variable and pluggin that into the mysql_fetch_array? That may help... See my example in my previous post.

Your second example:
$myrow = mysql_fetch_array(mysql_query("SELECT FROM Staff WHERE staff_no='$POST[staff_no]'"));
...has one too many underscores(). There should be no underscore between POST and [staff_no], so it should look like:
$myrow = mysql_fetch_array(mysql_query("SELECT FROM Staff WHERE staff_no='$POST[staff_no]'"));

If you think it might be a problem with POSTing, then try using GET. When you submit your form, you should see the url like:
http://www.yoururl.com?staff_no=SA1
If there is no 'SA1' after ?staff_no=, then the problem lies within your form - check for typos. You would also change $POST[staff_no] in your PHP file to $GET[staff_no] for that to work properly.

Give that a shot and let me know if that fixes it...

~Brian

[the_link]

i tried hard coding the staff_no in the first example just to make sure it was accessing the database which it was because the other details appeared in the form. It also confirms that the fields are correcltly named etc.

i tried both your POST examples and it doesn't return any errors but nothing gets displayed in the boxes unlike when i explicitly specified the staff no in the first example. (Sorry i must have altered the code somehow when i pasted it in this forum to add the extra underscore as i didnt include it in the code.)

i think it has to do with the post method because even when i try:

<?php
if(isset($_POST[name]))
echo "hello";
?>

nothing is displayed.

i also tried using the GET method u suggested and 'SA1' does appear in the url but again no data in the form! :mad:

[darfbobo]

Hmm... At this point, I'm afraid that without taking a look at it, I can't quite pinpoint the problem. If you'd like, you can send me your file(s) and I'll take a look at it for you. Otherwise, I'm afraid I don't know what else to suggest. I think we're missing on something here though. 🙁

~Brian