default form field value

[geraldjr30]

hi,

i have a form and i want to be sure that when the form is submitted the value entered stays visible in the form. here is what i have:

<form method="post" action="<?php echo $PHP_SELF;?>">
<span style='color: #008b8b; font-size: 10pt; font-family: arial'>
<b>code </b><input type="text" size="12" maxlength="3" name="cd" value =
 

i am not sure what goes afte rthe "value=" part.

thanks in advance,
geebee

[Markus]

Just check if the post data is present and, if it is, echo it into the value.

value="<?php if ( isset ( $_POST['cd'] ) ) echo $_POST['cd']; ?>"
 

[geraldjr30]

thanks. that works. now how can i do the same thing with a dropdown box? i want it to default to the value already selected from the dropdown when the form is posted. i currently have:

<select name="TEST">
<option value="select one" selected = "selected">Select One</option> 
<option value="Charity">one</option>
<option value="Charity">two</option>
...
 

thanks in advance,
geebee

[pbmods]

Heya, geebee.

To set the value of a <select> element, you need to add 'selected="selected"' to the proper <option> element.

The easiest way to do this is to process each element as you dynamically output it:

$selected = 3;
 
$values =
  array
  (
      '0' => 'Sunday'
    , '3' => 'Wednesday'
    , '5' => 'Friday'
  );
 
foreach( $values as $val => $text )
{
  echo '<option value="', htmlentities($val), '"';
 
  if( $val == $selected )
  {
    echo ' selected="selected"';
  }
 
  echo '>', htmlentities($text), '</option>';
}
 

[geraldjr30]

thanks... i tried your suggestion.. but since ive never worked with combining arrays and dropdowns before, your code looks a little confusing to me. i have:

<select>
$selected = 3; 
$values = 
  array 
  ( 
      '0' => 'Sunday' 
    , '3' => 'Wednesday' 
    , '5' => 'Friday' 
  ); 
 
foreach( $values as $val => $text ) 
{ 
  echo '<option value="', htmlentities($val), '"'; 
 
  if( $val == $selected ) 
  { 
    echo ' selected="selected"'; 
  }   
  echo '>', htmlentities($text), '</option>'; 
}
</select>
 

but its not working... am i missing something?

thanks in advance,
geebee

[Markus]

Well, of course, you need to wrap the php code in <?php and ?>. Otherwise, the code won't be parsed.

Also, $selected will have to point to the selected index of the dropdown.

[geraldjr30]

ok now i have..

<?php
########################################################
#this dropdown remembers the values selected after form is posted
#by processing each element as i dynamically output it
########################################################
<select>
$values = 
  array 
  ( 
      '0' => 'Sunday' 
    , '3' => 'Wednesday' 
    , '5' => 'Friday' 
$selected = 3;
  ); 
 
foreach( $values as $val => $text ) 
{ 
  echo '<option value="', htmlentities($val), '"'; 
 
  if( $val == $selected ) 
  { 
    echo ' selected="selected"'; 
  }   
  echo '>', htmlentities($text), '</option>'; 
}
</select>
########################################################
#end of this dropdown remembers the values selected after form is posted
#by processing each element as i dynamically output it
########################################################
?>
 

still not working. im sure its just a small syntax or order i am missing somewhere...

[Dormilich]

swap line 13/14 so $selected is outside the array.

[geraldjr30]

i now have...

 
<?php
########################################################
#this dropdown remembers the values selected after form is posted
#by processing each element as i dynamically output it
########################################################
<select>
 $values = 
  array 
  ( 
      '0' => 'Sunday' 
    , '3' => 'Wednesday' 
    , '5' => 'Friday' 
  ); 
$selected = 3;
 
foreach( $values as $val => $text ) 
{ 
  echo '<option value="', htmlentities($val), '"'; 
 
  if( $val == $selected ) 
  { 
    echo ' selected="selected"'; 
  }   
  echo '>', htmlentities($text), '</option>'; 
}
</select>
########################################################
#end of this dropdown remembers the values selected after form is posted
#by processing each element as i dynamically output it
########################################################
?>
 

but now i am getting a parse error pointing to the <select> line

[Dormilich]

@geraldjr30
that's correct, <select> doesn't belong in the PHP code but in the HTML code (or put in simpler words, echo it out like you did with <option>).

regards

[geraldjr30]

well i am not getting an error now, but the selected option is not defaulted to after the form posts either. here is what i have:

<?php
########################################################
#this dropdown remembers the values selected after form is posted
#by processing each element as i dynamically output it
########################################################
echo "<select>";
 $values = 
  array 
  ( 
      '0' => 'test1' 
    , '1' => 'test2' 
    , '2' => 'test2' 
  ); 
$selected = $_POST['TEST_GROUP'];
 
foreach( $values as $val => $text ) 
{ 
  echo '<option value="', htmlentities($val), '"'; 
 
  if( $val == $selected ) 
  { 
    echo ' selected="selected"'; 
  }   
  echo '>', htmlentities($text), '</option>'; 
}
echo "</select>";
########################################################
#end of this dropdown remembers the values selected after form is posted
#by processing each element as i dynamically output it
########################################################
?>
 
 

[Dormilich]

what does the output look like?

[Markus]

Your select element needs a name attribute (TEST_GROUP). Also, you should check that $_POST['TEST_GROUP'] exists, first, because you'll get an undefined index, otherwise.

[geraldjr30]

thanks... this worked.

is there a good way to have he values of the dropdown be based on a SELECT statement?

thanks in advance

[Markus]

@geraldjr30
Yes, but that is a new question. So start a new thread asking that question (be a little more detailed, too.)

Kind regards,
Markus.