Re: populate form input option dropdown box from existingdata

tedd wrote: > At 6:09 PM -0400 6/15/09, PJ wrote: >> I am having difficulties figuring out how enter retrieved data into a >> dropdown box for editing. Here's a snippet: >> ...snip >> <select name="categoriesIN[]" multiple size="8"> >> <option value="1">Civilization</option> >> <option value="2">Monuments, Temples &amp; Tombs</option> >> <option value="3">Pharaohs and Queens</option>... snip >> >> As I understand it, I need to put an array ( $categoriesIN[] ) somewhere >> in the above code... or do I need to insert a series of value "selected" >> fields for the values? >> The closest thing to what I need, seems to be in this post: >> http://www.hpfreaks.com/forums/index.php?topic=165215 >> But it doesn't appear too inviting... not sure if they ever got it to >> work... > > Think about it. A Select control returns *one* value and not an array. > As such you don't need to provide an array to collect a single value. > > Here's the solution: > > HTML > > <select name="categories" > > <option value="1">Civilization</option> > <option value="2">Monuments, Temples &amp; Tombs</option> > <option value="3">Pharaohs and Queens</option> > </select> > > PHP > > $category = $_POST['categories']; > > The variable $category will contain 1, 2, or 3 after a post form submit. > > Try it. > > The reference/link you cite above is for a dynamic select control that > incorporates javascript to populate the second select control. It's not > a simple select. > > If you are looking to understand what basic html does, try this: > > http://www.htmlcodetutorial.com/ > > I often use this site to refresh my failing memory about html stuff. > > Cheers, > > tedd > He has a multiple select, so the select has to be an array or you just get one value even if more than one was selected (you just get the last one). -- Thanks! -Shawn http://www.spidean.com