using pull-down menus with editing forms

cadams

I have built a database maintenance page that gives certain users the ability to use one link to add new records and then to use another link to edit the records. The new record form utilizes quite a few pull-down menus. The editing form simply displays existing values for each field and gives the user the ability to do free-form editing. I would like to code the editing form, and ideally make adding and editing one form, so that the editing form uses pull-down menu elements.

I have spent alot of time learning PHP to get to this point and I am wondering how much more I would have to do to achieve this. I imagine that I would have to echo the pull-down menus in the editing form, but I am unsure how to deal with existing values and adding the ability to select other values. Seems like it would get a bit messy.

gufmn

If you have the add new record part working you're 90% there.

Just add a value to the query string on your link to edit. Something like:

Then run a SELECT * from database where itemID = $_GET['itemID']

Set up your results in an array using mysql_fetch_array() so you end up with something like $row['itemID'], $row['itemName'] etc.

then just echo the variables as the values you want in the form fields.

For drop down menus you'll need to loop through the options to see if the value is equal to your $row['something'] variable and if so add a SELECTED attribute to the dropdown option.

Then, instead of using your INSERT query, grab all the data posted from the form and run an UPDATE query.

hth

Roger_Ramjet

There seems to be some confusion here. What it sounds like you want to do is to use the same html template for both an add and an edit script. Perfectly sensible idea. But not how you have set our project up for. If it were then you would not be asking this question, you would already know how to do it.

Now, there are too many unknowns for me to be able to give you some constructive help: what kind of records are they? how will the user indicate whether it is an add or an edit? how will they select the record they want to edit?

I can show you how to code a general purpose script that reuses the same html form for both when you answer these questions. Post the answers and the add script and we'll make the neccessary changes to it, and to the query. How we recode the query is version specific so also let me know what version of mysql you are using.