[SOLVED] country / states lists

[radar]

The Situation:

 

I have an order form that currently only accepts us states. I am trying to expand this order form to allow all countries and states within those countries.

 

The Goal:

 

No page reloading, so ajax or javascript is the solution im sure... When the customer selects their country, the state box is automatically populated with the states from their country.

 

I imagine i'll have to have 2 tables in the database or something one for the countries and one for the states or something. I have no clue what i'm doing here but i think it should be done to better serve those who are not in the United States.

 

I have searched google for like 2 hours for this using different search terms and found nothing that explains this with use of smarty... found a lot for like asp and stuff, but nothing for use with smarty.

 

Any help on this is greatly appreciated. I dont know Javascript or Ajax very well at all...

[whizard]

You would need to store all the countries in one table and have another table for all the states/territories/provinces. The state table would have a column which held the ID of the country which that particular state belongs to.

 

Then to do the updating of the select box, check out this link (This is quite similar to, though not exactly what you want):

http://w3schools.com/ajax/ajax_database.asp

 

(of course, I'm assuming you know how to write a PHP script to get the stuff out of a DB, since the example there is ASP)

[radar]

I do know how to work with databases with PHP thats the easy party...

 

Though after following the link you provided, i am still at a loss because it made absolutely no sense to me.  I've done one thing with ajax before and that was an inline editor (prebuilt system), and javascript ive done very minimal things with and even those were prebuilt systems...

[whizard]

Try this this is the AJAX script for exactly what you want to do:

http://www.dhtmlgoodies.com/scripts/ajax-chained-select/ajax-chained-select.html

 

I would try to explain but I am not very AJAX-smart.

 

Go here to actually download the script:

http://www.dhtmlgoodies.com/index.html?page=ajax (scroll down to "chained select boxes")

 

HTH

Dan

[radar]

sweet now i have to find a list of all the countries, and a list of all the states/provinces in each of those countries lol..  god will it ever end!

 

 

[radar]

Okay so here is my new need (it never ends)...

 

Okay Im sure ajax or javascript is still the answer here..  but i didnt find any state/province lists for any other country than United States and I really don't want to create it.

 

So I need to figure out how to modify: http://www.dhtmlgoodies.com/index.html?whichScript=ajax_chained_select

 

so that, if the country select box is United States, then show a combo box of the US states otherwise show a text box...

 

any help appreciated.

 

-- Radar

[radar]

I started doing some reading through my javascript book (i dont have on for ajax yet) and started going through some of the projects the book gives me and i figured this out!

 

Im sure it could be done better but this works great.

 

I wanted to share it with everyone, in case someone else might be looking for this exact same thing.

 

my initial JS code

<script type="text/javascript">
<!--
// If you have PHP you can set the post values like this
//var postState = '<?= $_POST["state"] ?>';
//var postCountry = '<?= $_POST["country"] ?>';
var postState = '';
var postCountry = '';

// State table
//
// To edit the list, just delete a line or add a line. Order is important.
// The order displayed here is the order it appears on the drop down.
//
var state = '\
US:AK:Alaska|\
US:AL:Alabama|\
US:AR:Arkansas|\
US:AS:American Samoa|\
US:AZ:Arizona|\
US:CA:California|\
US:CO:Colorado|\
US:CT:Connecticut|\
US:DC:D.C.|\
US:DE:Delaware|\
US:FL:Florida|\
US:FM:Micronesia|\
US:GA:Georgia|\
US:GU:Guam|\
US:HI:Hawaii|\
US:IA:Iowa|\
US:ID:Idaho|\
US:IL:Illinois|\
US:IN:Indiana|\
US:KS:Kansas|\
US:KY:Kentucky|\
US:LA:Louisiana|\
US:MA:Massachusetts|\
US:MD:Maryland|\
US:ME:Maine|\
US:MH:Marshall Islands|\
US:MI:Michigan|\
US:MN:Minnesota|\
US:MO:Missouri|\
US:MP:Marianas|\
US:MS:Mississippi|\
US:MT:Montana|\
US:NC:North Carolina|\
US:ND:North Dakota|\
US:NE:Nebraska|\
US:NH:New Hampshire|\
US:NJ:New Jersey|\
US:NM:New Mexico|\
US:NV:Nevada|\
US:NY:New York|\
US:OH:Ohio|\
US:OK:Oklahoma|\
US:OR:Oregon|\
US:PA:Pennsylvania|\
US:PR:Puerto Rico|\
US:PW:Palau|\
US:RI:Rhode Island|\
US:SC:South Carolina|\
US:SD:South Dakota|\
US:TN:Tennessee|\
US:TX:Texas|\
US:UT:Utah|\
US:VA:Virginia|\
US:VI:Virgin Islands|\
US:VT:Vermont|\
US:WA:Washington|\
US:WI:Wisconsin|\
US:WV:West Virginia|\
US:WY:Wyoming|\
US:AA:Military Americas|\
US:AE:Military Europe/ME/Canada|\
US:AP:Military Pacific|\
CA:AB:Alberta|\
CA:MB:Manitoba|\
CA:AB:Alberta|\
CA:BC:British Columbia|\
CA:MB:Manitoba|\
CA:NB:New Brunswick|\
CA:NL:Newfoundland and Labrador|\
CA:NS:Nova Scotia|\
CA:NT:Northwest Territories|\
CA:NU:Nunavut|\
CA:ON:Ontario|\
CA:PE:Prince Edward Island|\
CA:QC:Quebec|\
CA:SK:Saskatchewan|\
CA:YT:Yukon Territory|\
AU:AAT:Australian Antarctic Territory|\
AU:ACT:Australian Capital Territory|\
AU:NT:Northern Territory|\
AU:NSW:New South Wales|\
AU:QLD:Queensland|\
AU:SA:South Australia|\
AU:TAS:Tasmania|\
AU:VIC:Victoria|\
AU:WA:Western Australia|\
BR:AC:Acre|\
BR:AL:Alagoas|\
BR:AM:Amazonas|\
BR:AP:Amapa|\
BR:BA:Baia|\
BR:CE:Ceara|\
BR:DF:Distrito Federal|\
BR:ES:Espirito Santo|\
BR:FN:Fernando de Noronha|\
BR:GO:Goias|\
BR:MA:Maranhao|\
BR:MG:Minas Gerais|\
BR:MS:Mato Grosso do Sul|\
BR:MT:Mato Grosso|\
BR:PA:Para|\
BR:PB:Paraiba|\
BR:PE:Pernambuco|\
BR:PI:Piaui|\
BR:PR:Parana|\
BR:RJ:Rio de Janeiro|\
BR:RN:Rio Grande do Norte|\
BR:RO:Rondonia|\
BR:RR:Roraima|\
BR:RS:Rio Grande do Sul|\
BR:SC:Santa Catarina|\
BR:SE:Sergipe|\
BR:SP:Sao Paulo|\
BR:TO:Tocatins|\
NL:DR:Drente|\
NL:FL:Flevoland|\
NL:FR:Friesland|\
NL:GL:Gelderland|\
NL:GR:Groningen|\
NL:LB:Limburg|\
NL:NB:Noord Brabant|\
NL:NH:Noord Holland|\
NL:OV:Overijssel|\
NL:UT:Utrecht|\
NL:ZH:Zuid Holland|\
NL:ZL:Zeeland|\
UK:AVON:Avon|\
UK:BEDS:Bedfordshire|\
UK:BERKS:Berkshire|\
UK:BUCKS:Buckinghamshire|\
UK:CAMBS:Cambridgeshire|\
UK:CHESH:Cheshire|\
UK:CLEVE:Cleveland|\
UK:CORN:Cornwall|\
UK:CUMB:Cumbria|\
UK:DERBY:Derbyshire|\
UK:DEVON:Devon|\
UK:DORSET:Dorset|\
UK:DURHAM:Durham|\
UK:ESSEX:Essex|\
UK:GLOUS:Gloucestershire|\
UK:GLONDON:Greater London|\
UK:GMANCH:Greater Manchester|\
UK:HANTS:Hampshire|\
UK:HERWOR:Hereford & Worcestershire|\
UK:HERTS:Hertfordshire|\
UK:HUMBER:Humberside|\
UK:IOM:Isle of Man|\
UK:IOW:Isle of Wight|\
UK:KENT:Kent|\
UK:LANCS:Lancashire|\
UK:LEICS:Leicestershire|\
UK:LINCS:Lincolnshire|\
UK:MERSEY:Merseyside|\
UK:NORF:Norfolk|\
UK:NHANTS:Northamptonshire|\
UK:NTHUMB:Northumberland|\
UK:NOTTS:Nottinghamshire|\
UK:OXON:Oxfordshire|\
UK:SHROPS:Shropshire|\
UK:SOM:Somerset|\
UK:STAFFS:Staffordshire|\
UK:SUFF:Suffolk|\
UK:SURREY:Surrey|\
UK:SUSS:Sussex|\
UK:WARKS:Warwickshire|\
UK:WMID:West Midlands|\
UK:WILTS:Wiltshire|\
UK:YORK:Yorkshire|\
EI:CO ANTRIM:County Antrim|\
EI:CO ARMAGH:County Armagh|\
EI:CO DOWN:County Down|\
EI:CO FERMANAGH:County Fermanagh|\
EI:CO DERRY:County Londonderry|\
EI:CO TYRONE:County Tyrone|\
EI:CO CAVAN:County Cavan|\
EI:CO DONEGAL:County Donegal|\
EI:CO MONAGHAN:County Monaghan|\
EI:CO DUBLIN:County Dublin|\
EI:CO CARLOW:County Carlow|\
EI:CO KILDARE:County Kildare|\
EI:CO KILKENNY:County Kilkenny|\
EI:CO LAOIS:County Laois|\
EI:CO LONGFORD:County Longford|\
EI:CO LOUTH:County Louth|\
EI:CO MEATH:County Meath|\
EI:CO OFFALY:County Offaly|\
EI:CO WESTMEATH:County Westmeath|\
EI:CO WEXFORD:County Wexford|\
EI:CO WICKLOW:County Wicklow|\
EI:CO GALWAY:County Galway|\
EI:CO MAYO:County Mayo|\
EI:CO LEITRIM:County Leitrim|\
EI:CO ROSCOMMON:County Roscommon|\
EI:CO SLIGO:County Sligo|\
EI:CO CLARE:County Clare|\
EI:CO CORK:County Cork|\
EI:CO KERRY:County Kerry|\
EI:CO LIMERICK:County Limerick|\
EI:CO TIPPERARY:County Tipperary|\
EI:CO WATERFORD:County Waterford|\
';

// Country data table
//
// To edit the list, just delete a line or add a line. Order is important.
// The order displayed here is the order it appears on the drop down.
//
var country = '\
AF:Afghanistan|\
AL:Albania|\
DZ:Algeria|\
AS:American Samoa|\
AD:Andorra|\
AO:Angola|\
AI:Anguilla|\
AQ:Antarctica|\
AG:Antigua and Barbuda|\
AR:Argentina|\
AM:Armenia|\
AW:Aruba|\
AU:Australia|\
AT:Austria|\
AZ:Azerbaijan|\
AP:Azores|\
BS:Bahamas|\
BH:Bahrain|\
BD:Bangladesh|\
BB:Barbados|\
BY:Belarus|\
BE:Belgium|\
BZ:Belize|\
BJ:Benin|\
BM:Bermuda|\
BT:Bhutan|\
BO:Bolivia|\
BA:Bosnia And Herzegowina|\
XB:Bosnia-Herzegovina|\
BW:Botswana|\
BV:Bouvet Island|\
BR:Brazil|\
IO:British Indian Ocean Territory|\
VG:British Virgin Islands|\
BN:Brunei Darussalam|\
BG:Bulgaria|\
BF:Burkina Faso|\
BI:Burundi|\
KH:Cambodia|\
CM:Cameroon|\
CA:Canada|\
CV:Cape Verde|\
KY:Cayman Islands|\
CF:Central African Republic|\
TD:Chad|\
CL:Chile|\
CN:China|\
CX:Christmas Island|\
CC:Cocos (Keeling) Islands|\
CO:Colombia|\
KM:Comoros|\
CG:Congo|\
CD:Congo, The Democratic Republic O|\
CK:Cook Islands|\
XE:Corsica|\
CR:Costa Rica|\
CI:Cote d` Ivoire (Ivory Coast)|\
HR:Croatia|\
CU:Cuba|\
CY:Cyprus|\
CZ:Czech Republic|\
DK:Denmark|\
DJ:Djibouti|\
DM:Dominica|\
DO:Dominican Republic|\
TP:East Timor|\
EC:Ecuador|\
EG:Egypt|\
SV:El Salvador|\
GQ:Equatorial Guinea|\
ER:Eritrea|\
EE:Estonia|\
ET:Ethiopia|\
FK:Falkland Islands (Malvinas)|\
FO:Faroe Islands|\
FJ:Fiji|\
FI:Finland|\
FR:France (Includes Monaco)|\
FX:France, Metropolitan|\
GF:French Guiana|\
PF:French Polynesia|\
TA:French Polynesia (Tahiti)|\
TF:French Southern Territories|\
GA:Gabon|\
GM:Gambia|\
GE:Georgia|\
DE:Germany|\
GH:Ghana|\
GI:Gibraltar|\
GR:Greece|\
GL:Greenland|\
GD:Grenada|\
GP:Guadeloupe|\
GU:Guam|\
GT:Guatemala|\
GN:Guinea|\
GW:Guinea-Bissau|\
GY:Guyana|\
HT:Haiti|\
HM:Heard And Mc Donald Islands|\
VA:Holy See (Vatican City State)|\
HN:Honduras|\
HK:Hong Kong|\
HU:Hungary|\
IS:Iceland|\
IN:India|\
ID:Indonesia|\
IR:Iran|\
IQ:Iraq|\
IE:Ireland|\
EI:Ireland (Eire)|\
IL:Israel|\
IT:Italy|\
JM:Jamaica|\
JP:Japan|\
JO:Jordan|\
KZ:Kazakhstan|\
KE:Kenya|\
KI:Kiribati|\
KP:Korea, Democratic People\'S Repub|\
KW:Kuwait|\
KG:Kyrgyzstan|\
LA:Laos|\
LV:Latvia|\
LB:Lebanon|\
LS:Lesotho|\
LR:Liberia|\
LY:Libya|\
LI:Liechtenstein|\
LT:Lithuania|\
LU:Luxembourg|\
MO:Macao|\
MK:Macedonia|\
MG:Madagascar|\
ME:Madeira Islands|\
MW:Malawi|\
MY:Malaysia|\
MV:Maldives|\
ML:Mali|\
MT:Malta|\
MH:Marshall Islands|\
MQ:Martinique|\
MR:Mauritania|\
MU:Mauritius|\
YT:Mayotte|\
MX:Mexico|\
FM:Micronesia, Federated States Of|\
MD:Moldova, Republic Of|\
MC:Monaco|\
MN:Mongolia|\
MS:Montserrat|\
MA:Morocco|\
MZ:Mozambique|\
MM:Myanmar (Burma)|\
NA:Namibia|\
NR:Nauru|\
NP:Nepal|\
NL:Netherlands|\
AN:Netherlands Antilles|\
NC:New Caledonia|\
NZ:New Zealand|\
NI:Nicaragua|\
NE:Niger|\
NG:Nigeria|\
NU:Niue|\
NF:Norfolk Island|\
MP:Northern Mariana Islands|\
NO:Norway|\
OM:Oman|\
PK:Pakistan|\
PW:Palau|\
PS:Palestinian Territory, Occupied|\
PA:Panama|\
PG:Papua New Guinea|\
PY:Paraguay|\
PE:Peru|\
PH:Philippines|\
PN:Pitcairn|\
PL:Poland|\
PT:Portugal|\
PR:Puerto Rico|\
QA:Qatar|\
RE:Reunion|\
RO:Romania|\
RU:Russian Federation|\
RW:Rwanda|\
KN:Saint Kitts And Nevis|\
SM:San Marino|\
ST:Sao Tome and Principe|\
SA:Saudi Arabia|\
SN:Senegal|\
XS:Serbia-Montenegro|\
SC:Seychelles|\
SL:Sierra Leone|\
SG:Singapore|\
SK:Slovak Republic|\
SI:Slovenia|\
SB:Solomon Islands|\
SO:Somalia|\
ZA:South Africa|\
GS:South Georgia And The South Sand|\
KR:South Korea|\
ES:Spain|\
LK:Sri Lanka|\
NV:St. Christopher and Nevis|\
SH:St. Helena|\
LC:St. Lucia|\
PM:St. Pierre and Miquelon|\
VC:St. Vincent and the Grenadines|\
SD:Sudan|\
SR:Suriname|\
SJ:Svalbard And Jan Mayen Islands|\
SZ:Swaziland|\
SE:Sweden|\
CH:Switzerland|\
SY:Syrian Arab Republic|\
TW:Taiwan|\
TJ:Tajikistan|\
TZ:Tanzania|\
TH:Thailand|\
TG:Togo|\
TK:Tokelau|\
TO:Tonga|\
TT:Trinidad and Tobago|\
XU:Tristan da Cunha|\
TN:Tunisia|\
TR:Turkey|\
TM:Turkmenistan|\
TC:Turks and Caicos Islands|\
TV:Tuvalu|\
UG:Uganda|\
UA:Ukraine|\
AE:United Arab Emirates|\
UK:United Kingdom|\
GB:Great Britain|\
US:United States|\
UM:United States Minor Outlying Isl|\
UY:Uruguay|\
UZ:Uzbekistan|\
VU:Vanuatu|\
XV:Vatican City|\
VE:Venezuela|\
VN:Vietnam|\
VI:Virgin Islands (U.S.)|\
WF:Wallis and Furuna Islands|\
EH:Western Sahara|\
WS:Western Samoa|\
YE:Yemen|\
YU:Yugoslavia|\
ZR:Zaire|\
ZM:Zambia|\
ZW:Zimbabwe|\
';

function TrimString(sInString) {
  if ( sInString ) {
    sInString = sInString.replace( /^\s+/g, "" );// strip leading
    return sInString.replace( /\s+$/g, "" );// strip trailing
  }
}

// Populates the country selected with the counties from the country list
function populateCountry(defaultCountry) {
  if ( postCountry != '' ) {
    defaultCountry = postCountry;
  }
  var countryLineArray = country.split('|');  // Split into lines
  var selObj = document.getElementById('countrySelect');
  selObj.options[0] = new Option('Select Country','');
  selObj.selectedIndex = 0;
  for (var loop = 0; loop < countryLineArray.length; loop++) {
    lineArray = countryLineArray[loop].split(':');
    countryCode  = TrimString(lineArray[0]);
    countryName  = TrimString(lineArray[1]);
    if ( countryCode != '' ) {
      selObj.options[loop + 1] = new Option(countryName, countryCode);
    }
    if ( defaultCountry == countryCode ) {
      selObj.selectedIndex = loop + 1;
    }
  }
}

function populateState() {
  var selObj = document.getElementById('stateSelect');
  var foundState = false;
  // Empty options just in case new drop down is shorter
  if ( selObj.type == 'select-one' ) {
    for (var i = 0; i < selObj.options.length; i++) {
      selObj.options[i] = null;
    }
    selObj.options.length=null;
    selObj.options[0] = new Option('Select State','');
    selObj.selectedIndex = 0;
  }
  // Populate the drop down with states from the selected country
  var stateLineArray = state.split("|");  // Split into lines
  var optionCntr = 1;
  for (var loop = 0; loop < stateLineArray.length; loop++) {
    lineArray = stateLineArray[loop].split(":");
    countryCode  = TrimString(lineArray[0]);
    stateCode    = TrimString(lineArray[1]);
    stateName    = TrimString(lineArray[2]);
  if (document.getElementById('countrySelect').value == countryCode && countryCode != '' ) {
    // If it's a input element, change it to a select
      if ( selObj.type == 'text' ) {
        parentObj = document.getElementById('stateSelect').parentNode;
        parentObj.removeChild(selObj);
        var inputSel = document.createElement("SELECT");
        inputSel.setAttribute("name","state");
        inputSel.setAttribute("id","stateSelect");
        parentObj.appendChild(inputSel) ;
        selObj = document.getElementById('stateSelect');
        selObj.options[0] = new Option('Select State','');
        selObj.selectedIndex = 0;
      }
      if ( stateCode != '' ) {
        selObj.options[optionCntr] = new Option(stateName, stateCode);
      }
      // See if it's selected from a previous post
      if ( stateCode == postState && countryCode == postCountry ) {
        selObj.selectedIndex = optionCntr;
      }
      foundState = true;
      optionCntr++
    }
  }
  // If the country has no states, change the select to a text box
  if ( ! foundState ) {
    parentObj = document.getElementById('stateSelect').parentNode;
    parentObj.removeChild(selObj);
  // Create the Input Field
    var inputEl = document.createElement("INPUT");
    inputEl.setAttribute("id", "stateSelect");
    inputEl.setAttribute("type", "text");
    inputEl.setAttribute("name", "state");
    inputEl.setAttribute("size", 20);
    inputEl.setAttribute("value", postState);
    parentObj.appendChild(inputEl) ;
  }
}

function initCountry(country) {
  populateCountry(country);
  populateState();
}
//-->
</script>

 

That is the bulk of all the code... 

 

here is what goes into your html..

 

<select id='countrySelect' name='country' onchange='populateState()'>
        </select>

<select id='stateSelect' name='state'>
        </select>
        <script type="text/javascript"> initCountry('US'); </script>

 

This is setup so that if within the JS the selected country doesnt have any states defined, it shows a text box.  It doesnt reload at all, and seems to work well for me

 

Thanks for all the help everyone has put into this, and I hope this can help someone else..

[discomatt]

Oooo drama drama