PHP autofill text box from MySQL

[dybalabj]

I realize this should probably be a simple solution, but I have only been learning PHP and MySQL for a couple weeks. I am attempting to write an invoicing system that uses a MySQL database to store invoices, product pricing, and customer contact info. I would like to automatically fill in the customer's contact info after typing in the first and last name, and the product pricing info after typing in the product name. From my searches I've found that the onChanged event may be what I'm looking for. However, this only seems to reference JavaScript and AJAX. Is there a way to use this just with PHP? I've done some searching but have very little understanding of JS and AJAX.

Just to make sure my question is clear, I don't want the user to have to click a button to fill in the data, and I don't want to have to reload the page. I just want the customer contact info and pricing info to automatically fill in from the database after tabbing out of the corresponding name text box. I.E. type in first and last name, press Tab, then the phone and address automatically fill in their own text boxes. Or type a product name and press tab, and the pricing info automatically fills in its own text box.

Sorry for being so long-winded. Any suggestions? Is there any code I should post that would help? I can submit the form and update my database w/o any problems, I just have no clue where to begin on this one.

Thanks,
Dybs

[ak1dnar]

http://www.w3schools.com/php/php_ajax_database.asp
In this example can select the FirstName and LastName from a list menu and other details will display using Http Resqusts/Responses. what you have to do get the concept and make it as per your requirement. If you have any doubt please feel free to ask. Good luck!

[dybalabj]

Ajaxrand,

Thanks for the info. It looks to be almost exactly what I need. However, it only looks to fill the info into a table format. I'd like the info to go into text boxes that the user can edit (say, if the customer moves and needs to change a phone number or something). The only way I know to specify a value in a text box is when it's created by <input type="text" value="somethin g>. Is there anywhere else I can specify the "something" for the text box?

Thanks

[The1corrupted]

Ajaxrand,

Thanks for the info. It looks to be almost exactly what I need. However, it only looks to fill the info into a table format. I'd like the info to go into text boxes that the user can edit (say, if the customer moves and needs to change a phone number or something). The only way I know to specify a value in a text box is when it's created by <input type="text" value="somethin g>. Is there anywhere else I can specify the "something" for the text box?

Thanks

Here, if you used a post method in a form, this is what it would look like but on the second page, it shows you how to embed php values in a text box.

First Page, callinvoice.htm l

[HTML]
<form action="get_inv oice.php" method="post">
First Name: <input name="first_nam e" type="text" size="20"><br>
Last Name: <input name="last_name " type="text" size="20">
<input type="sumbit" value="Submit">
</form>
[/HTML]

Second Page, get_invoice.php

[PHP]
<?php
$first_name = strtolower($_PO ST['first_name']); //Eliminates case sensitivity
$last_name = strtolower($_PO ST['last_name']);

$table=mysql_qu ery("SELECT * FROM `your_table` WHERE `first_name`='$ first_name' AND `last_name`='$l ast_name'"); //Get your info
$invoicearray=m ysql_fetch_arra y($table); //Stuff it into an array

echo "<form action='updatei nvoice.php' method='post'>
First Name <input type='text' name='fn' value='".$invoi cearray['first_name']."'><br>
Last Name <input type='text' name='ln' value='".$invoi cearray['last_name']."'>
<input type='submit' value='Submit'>
</form>"; //Call each value by their table structure name and embed them into the values of the textboxes. Put single quotes around the embedded information
?>
[/PHP]

[dybalabj]

OK, It's almost working perfectly now :) I used that tutorial from w3schools and I now have the product and customer info updating correctly, but not quite in the right locations on the page. I think the problem has to do with the placeholder from the <div> tag. I have 2 of these: one for the customer towards the top of the page, another further down for each product line. Here's the code for the customer info:

[PHP]<?php
echo "Customer Info:<br>";
echo "Last:
<input type='text' size=20 name='last'> &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp ";

echo "<script src='selectcust omer.js'></script>";
echo "First:
<input type='text' size=20 name='first' onblur='showCon tact(this.value , last.value)'><b r>";

echo "<div id='cust_info'> ";
echo "Phone 1: &nbsp
<input type='text' size=12 name='phone1'>< br>";

echo "Phone 2: &nbsp
<input type='text' size=12 name='phone2'>< br>";

echo "Address: &nbsp
<input type='text' size=50 name='address'> <br>
</div>";[/PHP]

Here's the code for my product lines:

[PHP]$i=1;
echo "<script src='selectpric e.js'></script>";
while($i<=5){
echo "$i";
echo "<input type='text' size=5 name='quantity$ i'> &nbsp ";
echo "<input type='text' size=90 name='product$i ' onblur='showPri ce(this.value, $i)'>&nbsp ";
echo "<div id='unit'><inpu t type='text' size=6 name='unit$i'></div> &nbsp ";
echo "<input type='text' size=10 name='total$i'> <br>";
$i++;
}[/PHP]


The loop creates a new line with quantity, description, unit price, and total price text boxes. But the <div> tag creates a line break before and after showing the unit price text boxes. Also, For some reason all the updates are occurring in the first product line. So when I update the customer info (which is closer to the top of the form), the phone and address info shows up where the unit price for the first product should be. In my javascript files I do reference the correct div id's, too. Is there something I'm missing?

Thanks,
Dybs

[ak1dnar]

Thanks for the info. It looks to be almost exactly what I need. However, it only looks to fill the info into a table format. I'd like the info to go into text boxes that the user can edit (say, if the customer moves and needs to change a phone number or something). The only way I know to specify a value in a text box is when it's created by <input type="text" value="somethin g>. Is there anywhere else I can specify the "something" for the text box?

If I am continuing with my earlier post, in that example, Its using "responseTe xt". in other words its printing the server page's out put as it is inside the client side. That's what InnerHTML is doing. So in that case in the client side page they are using a "id" (for <DIV> tags) and that paticular responseText out put coming from the server page will set inside the id using innerHTML. here is the line to which doing the job;

document.getElementById("txtHint").innerHTML=xmlHttp.responseText
 
 

For your requirement you have do some thing else.

• Send the name to the server page
• Get the records for the specific user/customer and print them in the server page. use XML output instead of HTML out put.
• Parse the XML file,get the xml node values and Set them to the input Text boxes in the client side page. Instead of "innerHTML" you can use "value" attribute for this.

here is another example:
http://www.w3schools.com/php/php_ajax_responsexml.asp

[dybalabj]

If I am continuing with my earlier post, in that example, Its using "responseTe xt". in other words its printing the server page's out put as it is inside the client side. That's what InnerHTML is doing. So in that case in the client side page they are using a "id" (for <DIV> tags) and that paticular responseText out put coming from the server page will set inside the id using innerHTML. here is the line to which doing the job;

document.getElementById("txtHint").innerHTML=xmlHttp.responseText
 
 

For your requirement you have do some thing else.

• Send the name to the server page
• Get the records for the specific user/customer and print them in the server page. use XML output instead of HTML out put.
• Parse the XML file,get the xml node values and Set them to the input Text boxes in the client side page. Instead of "innerHTML" you can use "value" attribute for this.

here is another example:
http://www.w3schools.com/php/php_ajax_responsexml.asp

Ajaxrand,
Thanks again for your help. Just to make sure I understand that that example is doing:

1. The <span> tags are placeholders to individual fields, and I can arrange them wherever I need to, they don't necessarily have to be on separate lines, like the <div> tags seem to do.

2. In the PHP page in the example, for the line:
[PHP]echo "<firstname >" . $row['FirstName'] . "</firstname>";[/PHP]

I could replace $row['FirstName'] with
<input type="text" value="$row['FirstName']"> to make sure that my fields are filled in to text boxes in the proper arrangement. Also, the <firstname> tag matches w/ the id in the <span> tag in the HTML form.

Is all that correct? If so, this may be just what I need. Thanks again.

[ak1dnar]

I'll answer for all your questions, first tell me this. do you want to make this with php-ajax or with pure Php?

[ak1dnar]

create your Client Side HTML form Tags with a "ID" attribute on it.

[HTML]<input id="txt_name_of _the_id" name="txt_name_ of_the_id" type="text" size="60"/>[/HTML]

Parse the genarated XML file and set the values to the text input boxes, Then The User can Edit them.

document.getElementById("txt_name_of_the_id").value= 'Set the XML Response Text Value Here instead of this line';
 

[dybalabj]

I'll answer for all your questions, first tell me this. do you want to make this with php-ajax or with pure Php?

If possible, I'd like to do this with pure PHP, but if it's easier to do w/ php-ajax I'm certainly willing to learn it. As for the document.getEle mentByID() line in your last post, would those go in the stateChanged() function in the javascript file from the examples on w3schools? Or would those go in the php file after my sql query returns my results?

Thanks,
Dybs