There are a number of things that you need to understand about HTTP
and request types (GET/POST), most of which cannot be explained in a
discussion thread like this... you will need to research them.

POST requests do not append all form information in the URL as GET
requests do. I want to clarify that it does not make a difference if
the form parameters are hidden fields, since this appears to be the
main aspect that's bothering you. This form uses a POST request and
that is the reason why you don't see all the values appended to the
URL. It's not because of the hidden fields. You should do the
following:

1. Take a look at this thread which provides a useful discussion on
the subject of scraping - http://tinyurl.com/crj792
2. Download and install Fiddler v2 and use it to plug into and analyze
your HTTP request as the browser submits information from the first
page to the second and so on. You will realize that it provides you
with a list of parameters that are submitted on the request and that
is what you need to replicate.
3. Find out what the Javascript function "submitReportRequest" does on
your page. It is possible that it modifies the form values.
4. None of the hidden fields appear to transmit or upload a file. The
value field is transmitted as a string. However, there may be other
fields that we have not seen here, so investigate this.
5. Use POST requests if you don't want the full form information to be
visible in the URL/address bar.

You should follow these steps and get back to us if you need more
information or assistance. Hope this info is helpful !

Reply via email to