This is a general 'how do you do it if you do it' question about web application design.
Here is the scenario. Web Form: ----------------------------------------- ORDER HEADER Order No: 0010 Order Date: 15/08/2004 Customer: ______ <LOOKUP CUSTOMER> Customer Name: ? ----------------------------------------- So the user has entered a new order date and requests the <LOOKUP CUSTOMER> button to search the 1,000,000 customers in the database. (Note, I picked a cool million deliberately to stop the 'just use a combo' suggestions) The customer is found and selected. The user is returned to this form in exactly the same 'state' they left it. ie with the date entered as 15/08/2004, except their customer code is now filled in. As is the Customer name. ----------------------------------------- ORDER HEADER Order No: 0010 Order Date: 15/08/2004 Customer: ABC123 <LOOKUP CUSTOMER> Customer Name: ABC Inc. ----------------------------------------- This example gets more complex if you consider that once the user reaches the lookup, they might find no customer there and need to ADD a customer, taking them to a new 'stack' level. > Order Entry (1/2 complete) -> Lookup Customer --> Add Customer as not found in lookup --> Return to lookup Customer -> Select newly added customer from list > Order Entry Form re-populated with new customer code and description as well as original 1/2 complete fields. Ways to do this: 1. Some sort of 'stack' where the state is maintained in a 'level' of the stack with all the form values from the web page. The user goes off and searches on the next level of the 'stack' and once sorted, pulls (or is it pops) the stack back to the previous 'level' and re-populates the form. 2. Something else. 3. Can't be done. Don't go there! I'm all ears, unless I hear otherwise, I'll probably write the 'stack'technology. TIA Stuart Guthrie --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
