> I have a drop down list with all fifty states. very common. I conjured
> up a way to store the value when you return to edit the form, but there
> most be an easier way either in html, or in php. Here is what I
> currently have.
>
> <select name="state">
> <option value="AL"{$stateselected['AL']}>Alabama</option>
> <option value="AK"{$stateselected['AK']}>Alaska</option>
> <option value="AZ"{$stateselected['AZ']}>Arizona</option>
> .
> </select>
>
> $stateselected['$state'] is an array that stores the state that was
> selected on the prior form. is there an easier way, to have a default
> state picked out of this drop down list.???
A trick I picked up from someone on this list:
<?php
$$state = ' selected="true"';
print <<<END
<select name="state">
<option value="AL"$AL>Alabama</option>
<option value="AK"$AK>Alaska</option>
<option value="AZ"$AZ>Arizona</option>
<!-- . . . -->
</select>
END;
?>
That's it! If $state is set to 'AZ', then the $$state line creates a
variable called $AZ, and sets its value to ' selected="true"'. Running
the code produces this HTML:
<select name="state">
<option value="AL">Alabama</option>
<option value="AK">Alaska</option>
<option value="AZ" selected="true">Arizona</option>
<!-- . . . -->
</select>
This solution might be considered ugly for several reasons:
* all sorts of warnings are thrown, one for each unset state variable
* it's entirely un-obvious to the casual code-reviewer what's going
on. So it requires more documentation.
* you run the risk of stepping on pre-existing variables.
However, the upside, namely, eliminating a *ton* of code, is attractive
enough to me that I use this for most select boxes I do.
Joel
--
[ joel boonstra | [EMAIL PROTECTED] ]
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