[Resolved] Simple JS validation before php form

nelsons

Have a form and I am trying to JavaScript validate first (before sending to formmail.php)

The issue seems to be checking the radio buttons. Am using this to check:

// ** START RADIO **
if (form.history[0].checked == false && form.history[1].checked == false) {

alert('Please select history.');
form.history[0].focus();
return false;
}
// END RADIO

and using this to submit.

<input type="radio" name="history[]" value="yes ">Yes.

<input type="radio" name="history[]" value="no ">No.

Keeps blowing up saying that the variable does not exist. Any clues.

I know that formmail can pop back if a form field is empty, but this form nneds to be JS validated first.

All other validation for form fields is working great. Just this one oddball.

Weedpacket

You haven't got a form variable named "history". You've got variables named "history[]".

http://www.php.net/manual/en/language.variables.external.php#46952
[font=monospace](html code)
<form method="post" action="..." onsubmit="return verifyForm(this)">
<input type="checkbox" name="colors[]" value="black"> black<br>
<input type="checkbox" name="colors[]" value="white"> white<br>
<input type="checkbox" name="colors[]" value="other"> other color<br>
</form>

(javascript code)
function verifyForm(form) {
var selColors=new String();
for(i=0;i<form["colors[]"].length;i++)
if(form["colors[]"].checked) selColors+=form["colors[]"].value;
if(selColors=="") msgErr="You have to check at least one choice of color";
...
}[/font]

Shrike

A JavaScript identifier, or name, must start with a letter or underscore ("_"); subsequent characters can also be digits (0-9). Because JavaScript is case sensitive, letters include the characters "A" through "Z" (uppercase) and the characters "a" through "z" (lowercase).

So, [ and ] are illegal characters in Javascript. Which I imagine is a bit of a showstopper.

nelsons

Which begs the question - is this at all do-able. As I cannot seem to get it to perform the same way the other validations are going.

If memory (ha ha) serves me correctly, PHP forms must have the square brackets "fieldname[]" identifier to pas an array from a check box form.

Weedpacket

http://www.phpbuilder.com/board/showthread.php?s=&postid=10581060#post10581060

Shrike

Ack. Must read whole post before replying.

bodzan

...are checked like when the two or more have the same name just checked whether any is checked like:

form.history[].checked == false

So the []'s are useless... You can name both just history and then checked whether checked is false and if this is true no button from that group is checked...

Shrike

The problem is that PHP requires form variables to be named with [] appended to the end in order for each variable to be added to an array within $_POST.

http://www.php.net/manual/en/language.variables.external.php

nelsons

Thanks to you all. Although I still havent solved the specific problem, I have re-learned quite a bit. In the future - no more javascript form validation before php for me. I believe that my methodology was flawed from the start on this one,

I think I will just include the formmail.php file into the form, and php check for vars, then self submit (at the top of the code) if the required fields are sent.

Thanks again. And happy new years all around.

rehfeld

i think bodzan pointed out the key thing here.

a radio group allows only 1 thing to be selected. because of this, there is no need to pass the selected value as an array to php anyway, because its always going to be a single value. in html, you can only select a single option from a radio group.

if you want multiple selections possible, use checkboxes like weedpacket showed you.

i think your trying to use the wrong html tool to get the job done.

once you name the radio group like so:

then validating w/ js will be simple just like validating other form fields. just check if history has been selected or has a value etc...theres no need to check each of them, because they are the same in a sense, just different values.

if you ever did need to pass an array to php without using [] in the form names, it can still be done. access the post data via $http_raw_post_data and parse it yourself.

nelsons

Ill be right back.... I've got to go bang my head into a wall.

(thump >> thump >> thump)

Ok - all better now.

Damned simple stuff gets you sometimes- and this was my turn.

Of course - radio button, not an array. . . . . its either there or not - duh.

Thanks everyone.