Select image menu, display in form?

[Breana]

Is it possible to use php to load an image in a form when a user selects it from the dropdown box?
I want them to be able to select there avatar but there is way to many to put onto the form so i made a "select menu" with all 45 avatars.
I want it to show the image when selected, so the default (Please choose) shows the image no image selected, and after they pick one lets say avatar_1 it'll show a ghost where the default no image was.

So they can see a preview of it.
I did it using javascript but i really don't like it i hear it is not safe.

I see several sites using this, cheatcc gamefaqs so i know it will work but they use asp..?

[Atli]

Hi Breana.

This can be done in several ways.
The first, and probably the easiest would be to use JavaScript.
If, however, you do not want to use JavaScript (as may don't) you can also just use PHP.

You can have the selection box submit the form by using the onChange event and have your form check whether the Submit button has been pressed. If you do not use the Submit button, it's value will not be sent along with the form.
So, if you can not find the Submit button amongst the $_POST variables, look for the select box. If you find that, change the image according to the selection and set all the other fields according to their respective values in the $_POST array.
If, however, you find the Submit button in the $_POST array, you will know that the user tried to Submit the form. In that case, run the normal submit routine.

Note that this assumes that the action property on the form is pointing to itself.

Hope I've explained that properly :)