dynamically change display

[CcXD]

Howdy yall!

 

Ok so this is whats happening: I have a Drop down box, in which i have several options (Documet, Sketch, etc).  What im doing right now is reloading the page whenever the user clicks on the submit button, and when the page reloads, show a table with all the info.  The code is working and all, but i would like it so that everytime the drop down box changes, the table fills itself.

 

For this i guess a more direct way to put it:

-How to detect when a dropdown box changes, and alter contents in the website (like populating a text field) accordingly.

 

Here's my WORKING code.

<?php
//load this part at the beginning
if ($action==""){
echo "<b>Edit Project Document Record</b></p>\r\n";

//  Select project document types (excluding "ALL") for the dropdown
// Form Start
echo "<form action=\"EditProjDoc.php\" method=\"post\">\r\n";
echo "<table border=\"0\" cellpadding=\"5\" width=$dblcol12_w>\r\n";
// Create drop-down menu of document types 
echo "<tr><td width=$dblcol1_w><p>Select Document Type:</td>\r\n";
// Doc Types Drop Down

// Hidden Action Var
echo "<p><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"action\" value=\"SELECTDOCS\"></p>\r\n";

// Submit Button
echo "<tr><td></td><td><p><input type=\"submit\" name=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\"></p></td></tr></table>\r\n";

echo "</form></p>\r\n";
echo "<hr>";
ret_mpc_lnk();

//if user already pressed submit button, load this part instead.
}  elseif ($action == "SELECTDOCS") {

// POST variables
$doc_type = $_POST['doc_type'];
$project = $_SESSION['project'];

		if	{ //form start
		// Create list menu of project names 
		echo "<form action=\"EditProjDoc.php\" method=\"post\">\r\n";
		echo "<table border=\"0\" cellpadding=\"5\" width=800><tr><td width=250 valign=top><b>Select Document(s) to Edit/Delete:</b></br>\r\n";

		// Display List

		//hidden action
		echo "<p><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"action\" value=\"EDITDOCS\"></p>\r\n";

		// Submit Button
		echo "<tr><td></td><td><p><input type=\"submit\" name=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\"> </p></td></tr></table>\r\n";
		echo "</form>";
	}

}	
echo "<hr>";
///////////////////////////////////////////
		// after selecting the document to be edited, reload this section instead//
///////////////////////////////////////////
} elseif ($action == "EDITDOCS") {

$doc_index_array = $_POST['doc_index'];	
$num_docs = count($doc_index_array);

	if ($number == 0) {
		echo "<b>No Records Found</b></b>\r\n";
	} else {	
		echo "<b>Edit/Delete Project Document(s) - Enter Changes or Select \"Delete Record\" to Delete</b></p>\r\n";
		echo "<form action=\"EditProjDoc.php\" method=\"post\">\r\n";
		echo "<table border=\"0\" cellpadding=\"5\" width=600>\r\n";

		///////////////////////////////////////////
		// MAIN FOR LOOP TO LIST ALL DOC SELECTED //
		///////////////////////////////////////////

		//////////////////////////
		// END OF MAIN FOR LOOP //
		//////////////////////////			

		// hidden vars to pass
		echo "<p><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"action\" value=\"ADDTODB\"></p>\r\n";
		echo "<p><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"num_docs\" value=\"$num_docs\"></p>\r\n";		

		// Submit Button
		echo "<table border=\"0\" cellpadding=\"5\" width=600><tr><td width=300></td><td width=300><input type=\"submit\" name=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\"></td></tr></table>\r\n";
	}

	echo "</form>";
	echo "</table>\r\n";	
	echo "<hr>";		
}

//AFter editing the entries, and clicking on the "add to DB" button, reload only this part	
} elseif ($action == "ADDTODB") {
			//////////////////////////
		// write data to database loop //
		//////////////////////////

		//return to home page
}

 

i really hate loading and reloading the same page over and over again, its anoying and takes time from the browser and user. 

[BlueSkyIS]

i typically use the Javascript onChange action to submit the form. something like

 

<SELECT NAME='option1' onChange='this.form.submit();'>

[discomatt]

You want to use javascript and either pull data from an invisible iframe or use AJAX.

 

Plenty of tutorials on google.

[CcXD]

thanks i guess i need to learn some javascript then....

[CcXD]

ok now that i can use onChange function, is the information still sent via POST?

[BlueSkyIS]

it submits the form. whatever method the form is using is what will be used. if the form is a POST form, it will post.

[discomatt]

No, unless it is submitted... submitting the page will cause the page to refresh though...

 

Your best bet is to trigger a javascript function on a fake submit button that pulls and parses information from the form and appends it to the url when requesting a php script via AJAX (REMEMBER TO SANITIZE IF REQUIRED). You can then parse the _GET variables as if it had been a form posted