how to add delete buttons per subitem in 1 form in an easy way

[wim taerwe]

Hello,

I am looking for an easy way to have a delete button per subitem in 1
form.

For example : a book can have many authors and when I edit the book
details I want to have a list of the authors each with a separate
delete-submitbutton next to it. Now I have the problem that I cannot
know which exact author I want to delete when I click the delete button
next to it.

I could name every delete button differently like
"delete_author1","delete_author2",... but what is the easiest way to
process this after the submit.

Thanks in advance for your reactions,

Wim Taerwe

[Rik]

wim taerwe wrote:

Hello,

I am looking for an easy way to have a delete button per subitem in 1
form.

For example : a book can have many authors and when I edit the book
details I want to have a list of the authors each with a separate
delete-submitbutton next to it. Now I have the problem that I cannot
know which exact author I want to delete when I click the delete
button next to it.

I could name every delete button differently like
"delete_author1","delete_author2",... but what is the easiest way to
process this after the submit.

I normally use in a list:
- a button on the top names 'delete[mass]'
- checkboxes in front named id[<id_number]
- a button named delete[<id_number>] in the row

when the logic is calles for (pseudoscript to illustrate):

if(isset($_POST['delete'])){
$ids = array();
if(isset($_POST['delete']['mass'])){
$ids = array_map('intval',array_keys($_POST['id']));
} else {
$ids[] = intval(reset(array_keys($_POST['delete'])));
}
if(!empty($ids)){
$query = 'DELETE FROM table WHERE id = '.implode(', or id =
',$ids);
mysql_query($query);
}
}

So, a 'mass' button to delete all selected, and a numbered button to delete
a specific one.
The trick is naming the inputs with the [], which will automatically create
an array for you in php's $_POST.
--
Rik Wasmus

[bill]

wim taerwe wrote:

Hello,

I am looking for an easy way to have a delete button per subitem in 1
form.

For example : a book can have many authors and when I edit the book
details I want to have a list of the authors each with a separate
delete-submitbutton next to it. Now I have the problem that I cannot
know which exact author I want to delete when I click the delete button
next to it.

I could name every delete button differently like
"delete_author1","delete_author2",... but what is the easiest way to
process this after the submit.

Thanks in advance for your reactions,

Wim Taerwe

If you want you can have multiple submit buttons, each indicating
a different author to delete.

eg: (copied from a form that has multiple submit buttons to
indicate disposition of the displayed provisional web page,
generated by php)
--------------------------------------
<form method="post" action="approve_or_not.php" >
// put page id in a hidden element
<input type="hidden" name="kennel_id "
value="<?php echo $_POST[kennel_id] ?>" />

<button type="submit" name="disposition" value="approve">
Approve and make this page active. </button&nbsp;
<button type="submit" name="disposition" value="disapprove">
Disapprove and return to data entry page. </button &nbsp;
<button type="submit" name="disposition" value="quit">
Save data and just quit. </button>
</form>
---------------------------------------------------------
This will generate 3 buttons with the same name but different
values and captions.

In the receiving page I just look at the value of
$_POST[disposition] to take the appropriate action.

bill

[Tony Marston]

Instead of having a separate delete button against each line why don't you
have a checkbox against each line and a single delete button for the whole
screen? That way you can select multiple lines before pressing the delete
button. This technique means you can also have a single update button so
that you can select multiple lines to be updated.

--
Tony Marston

http://www.tonymarston.net
http://www.radicore.org

"bill" <no****@spamcop.netwrote in message
news:ku******************************@cablespeedmi .com...

wim taerwe wrote:

>Hello,

I am looking for an easy way to have a delete button per subitem in 1
form.

For example : a book can have many authors and when I edit the book
details I want to have a list of the authors each with a separate
delete-submitbutton next to it. Now I have the problem that I cannot
know which exact author I want to delete when I click the delete button
next to it.

I could name every delete button differently like
"delete_author1","delete_author2",... but what is the easiest way to
process this after the submit.

Thanks in advance for your reactions,

Wim Taerwe

If you want you can have multiple submit buttons, each indicating a
different author to delete.

eg: (copied from a form that has multiple submit buttons to indicate
disposition of the displayed provisional web page, generated by php)
--------------------------------------
<form method="post" action="approve_or_not.php" >
// put page id in a hidden element
<input type="hidden" name="kennel_id "
value="<?php echo $_POST[kennel_id] ?>" />

<button type="submit" name="disposition" value="approve">
Approve and make this page active. </button&nbsp;
<button type="submit" name="disposition" value="disapprove">
Disapprove and return to data entry page. </button &nbsp;
<button type="submit" name="disposition" value="quit">
Save data and just quit. </button>
</form>
---------------------------------------------------------
This will generate 3 buttons with the same name but different values and
captions.

In the receiving page I just look at the value of $_POST[disposition] to
take the appropriate action.

bill

[Rik]

Tony Marston wrote:

Instead of having a separate delete button against each line why
don't you have a checkbox against each line and a single delete
button for the whole screen? That way you can select multiple lines
before pressing the delete button. This technique means you can also
have a single update button so that you can select multiple lines to
be updated.

Well, why 'or' and not both (see my answer). People hate every click they
have to make. If they can delete one specifically with a button (single
click), and a bunch with checkboxes and another button, you give them the
best of both worlds.
--
Rik Wasmus