Re: Re: Generating an option list with a default

On 2/11/2014 11:26 AM, Jim Lucas wrote:

On 02/11/2014 05:59 AM, Jim Giner wrote:

On 1/25/2014 3:45 PM, Jennifer wrote:

Hello all,

    We have a PHP form with a static <option> list, where people can

request a product sample. http://www.superiorshelving.com/mfg/aigner/sample.php

    There are links on multiple pages that call this page.  I would

like to send a different default option to that form from each of those pages so that the customer doesn't have to pop-up the list to choose it manually. Of course, if they go to that form directly, there shouldn't be a default.

    What would be the best way to handle this?  I'm thinking to have

code generate the list with the default undefined, and then have the links to that page pass a variable to the form to set a default. Does that sound like it would work?

    Any other ideas are appreciated!

Thank you, Jenni

    Superior Shelving Systems::::....
    http://www.SuperiorShelving.com

    The (Storage|Office|Home|Warehouse) Shelving Specialists
    Since 1984

Wire LAN Shelving: http://www.superiorshelving.com/mfg/nexel/pages/wire-shelving-chrome.php

I had your thought in mind halfway thru your question. Of course that's the way to do it. So simple, flexible and easily implemented. Set a session var that your central piece of code checks as it builds the select list and you're all set.

I see one issue with doing it this way. If a person visited a page that he didn't want to have a default for the form value, then he would have empty that session variable. So, not only are you setting a variable on each page you want it done on, you need to make sure that variable is erased/emptied on every page load that should not have a default. That to me is a headache waiting to happen. The OP's original idea was that any specific page have a specific option in mind as the default to be selected when going to the central 'list' page. It is not meant to be the user's option, but the intermediate page's. If the user did however go directly to the list page, then there is no default.