if you name the checkbox fields with all the same names that look like this
( MyFormElement[] ) then it will act as an array.
then on the next page. find out if the array count is greater then zero, if
so, generate hidden elements with the value of the MyFormElement[] in a
name/value manner.
Jim Lucas
- Original Message -
From: Erik Price [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: PHP (E-mail) [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Friday, February 01, 2002 12:42 PM
Subject: [PHP] adding hidden form values to array
In my system, a user can query a database which is populated with the
names of image files. The form is submitted, and the page recalls
itself but displays all matching results. In each matching result is a
checkbox form field, with the primary key of the file as the value (I'm
using MySQL). At the bottom of the list of matching results is a new
submit button -- the idea is to allow the user to check off which image
files they want and hit the new submit button to add those image files'
primary keys to a queue. The user can then choose done, and move on
(what happens to the queue is irrelevant to my question), or more
files, to start the process all over again with new search criteria,
but preserve the queue so that in effect they can keep adding to the
queue.
It seems the best way to do this is to initialize an array, like
$queue[], and set the value of each checkbox as
$queue['primary_key'] (of course, using the image's real primary_key
number, not the word 'primary_key'). That way, for each checked image
file, I can add the value to the array. If the user needs to do a new
search for files but keep the queue intact, the array can be passed
along as a hidden form field as the page calls itself all over again.
My question: does this seem like a workable scheme? I was hoping to get
some insight before writing the whole thing -- can an array be passed as
a hidden form variable without listing every index in the array? I'd
like to keep all of this processing in PHP without storing temporary
data in MySQL, which is why I have this setup with all the hidden form
field passing.
Epilogue: Once the user has selected the images they want, they
continue to a new page where each image is listed (I'd use explode() to
extract the selections from the array and print them to the screen) and
they confirm that this is the selection they want. If so, then they hit
submit and the list of primary keys is finally stored in MySQL into a
TEXT field or something. (That's the less elegant, but easier way to do
it -- a harder way, but much better way, is to store the many-to-many
relationship into a foreign key table, but I'm still pondering whether
or not to go this route...)
Thanks!
Erik
Erik Price
Web Developer Temp
Media Lab, H.H. Brown
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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