keep user input in form after a submit

[moran1409]

hello all, i have a php form with multiple submits (one calculates price, one checks date and one submits the form and the data to mysql database)

when i hit calculate price, for example, the function works fine but all the fields are cleared and i would like for all the input to remain as the user sent.

here is part of the code (the form):

<form action="<?php echo $_SERVER['PHP_SELF'];?>" method="post">

<fieldset>
<legend ><span><a>video</span></a></legend>
<ol>
<li>
<label for="hover_camera">hover camera</label>
<input id="hover_camera" type="radio" name="hover_camera" value="yes" /><b>yes</b>
<input id="hover_camera" type="radio" name="hover_camera" value="no"  /><b>no</b>
</li>
<li>
<label for="video_photographers">video photographers</label>
<input id="video_photographers" type="text" name="video_photographers" maxlength="1" size="1"/>
</li>
<li>
<label for="video_edit">video edit</label>
<input id="video_edit" type="radio" name="video_edit" value="short" /><b>short</b>
<input id="video_edit" type="radio" name="video_edit" value="long" /><b>long</b>
</li>
<li>
<label for="video_clip">video clip</label>
     <select name="video_clip">
         <option value="no">no</option>
         <option value="regular">regular</option>
	 <option value="staged">staged</option>
      </select>
</li>
</ol>
</fieldset><br />

<fieldset align="right">  
    <legend><span><a>stills</span></a></legend> 
<ol>
<li>
<label for="stills">stills</label>
<input id="stills" type="text" name="stills" maxlength="1" size="1"  />
</li>
<li>
<label for="increase">increase amount</label>
<input id="increase" type="text" name="increase" maxlength="4" size="1" />
</li>
<li>
<label for="magnets">magnets</label>
<input id="magnets" type="text" name="magnets" maxlength="4" size="1" />
</ol>
</fieldset><br />

<fieldset align="right">  
    <legend><span><a>albums</span></a></legend> 
<ol>
<li>
<label for="digital_album">digital album</label>
<input id="digital_album" type="radio" name="digital_album" value="yes" /><b>yes</b>
<input id="digital_album" type="radio" name="digital_album" value="no" /><b>no</b>
</li>
<li>
<label for="photo_album">photo album</label>
<input id="photo_album" type="radio" name="photo_album" value="yes" /><b>yes</b>
<input id="photo_album" type="radio" name="photo_album" value="no" /><b>no</b>
</li>
<li>
<label for="small_digital_album">small digital album</label>
<input id="small_digital_album" type="radio" name="small_digital_album" value="yes" /><b>yes</b>
<input id="small_digital_album" type="radio" name="small_digital_album" value="no" /><b>no</b>	
</li>
</ol>
</fieldset><br />

<fieldset align="right">
<ol>
<li>
<label for="comments">comments</label>																																																																																																																				
<textarea id="comments" name="comments"></textarea><br /><br />
</li>
<li>
<label for="price">price</label>
 <td><input type="submit" id = "price" name="price" value="calculate price" /></td>
</li>
</ol>
</fieldset><br />


<fieldset align="right">  
    <legend><span><a>choose date</span></a></legend> 
<ol>
<li>



      <input type="submit" id="isavailable" name="isavailable" value="isavailable"  />
  </li>
  </ol>
  </fieldset>
  
  	<fieldset class="submit">
<ol>
<li>
<input class="submit" type="submit" id="submit" name="submit" value="done!" />    <input class="submit" type="reset" id="reset" name="reset" value="reset" />
</li>
</ol>
</fieldset>  
  
</form>

 

thanks for the help

[Pikachu2000]

It's called making a form 'sticky'. You basically check to see if the form field has a corresponding value present in the $_POST array, and if so, echo it as the fields value/use it as the indicator for checked/selected, depending on the field type. Here's an example I keep handy of a form with text field validation, that is sticky so the user can make any necessary corrections. Look it over and see how it works.

 

<?php
if( $_POST['submitted'] == 'yes' ) { //check for hidden field value to indicate form has been submitted
$errors = array(); // initialize an array to hold validation errors
$_POST = array_map('trim', $_POST); // trim all $_POST array values

if( !empty($_POST['name']) ) { // validate the name field
	if( !ctype_alpha($_POST['name']) ) {
		$errors[] = 'Name must be alphabetic characters only.'; // if name has non alpha chars, store error
	}
	if( strlen($_POST['name']) < 3 || strlen($_POST['name'] > 20) ) {
		$errors[] = 'Name must be from 3 to 20 characters.'; // if name has too many/few chars, store error
	}
} else {
	$errors[] = 'Name is a required field.'; // if name is empty, store error
}

if( !empty($_POST['number']) ) { // same validations as in name, above.
	if( !ctype_digit($_POST['number']) ) {
		$errors[] = 'Number must be numeric.';
	}
	if( strlen($_POST['number']) < 5 || strlen($_POST['number']) > 20 )  {
		$errors[] = 'Number must be from 5 to 20 digits. It is currently ' . strlen($_POST['number']) . ' digits';
	}
} else {
	$errors[] = 'Number is a required field.';
}

if( !empty($errors) ) {  // if the $errors array is not empty, display the errors to allow the user to correct them and resubmit the form
	echo "<font color=\"red\">The following errors were detected";
	echo implode("<br>\n", $errors)";
	echo '</font>';
}
}
?>
<form method="post">
Name (3-20 letters): <input type="text" name="name" value="<?php echo isset($_POST['name']) ? $_POST['name'] : ''; ?>"><br>
Number (5-10 numbers): <input type="text" name="number" value="<?php echo isset($_POST['number']) ? $_POST['number'] : ''; ?>"><br>
<input type="hidden" name="submitted" value="yes">
<input type="submit" name="submit" value="Submit">
</form>

[Mahngiel]

Pikachu's response is spot on.  However, as a budding developer myself, I feel compelled to inform you on other tools.  Sometimes even though your favorite tool is capable of pounding a nail into a board, it's better practice to just grab a hammer!

 

Though sticky forms will work, take a peek into AJAX.  The content is more dynamic, and allows the client's experience to be much for fruitful and pleasant.  If you're not afraid to expand your coding horizon, take a look [=http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/library/x-ajaxxml9/]here[/url], and you can see all the nifty ways that this little tool can help you develop your site.

 

Good luck!

[moran1409]

ajax is a good idea but i need an example without xml... have you got something like that?

[moran1409]

any ajax-php example?

[Mahngiel]

http://www.tizag.com/ajaxTutorial/