simple search using <select> box

[moondance]

I'd like to add a simple search to the php area of my site.

I have got this working, but i would like to add a select box so the user can define whether they want to search by keyword or by index (of a customer complaint).

I have:

<select name = "SearchType">
<option>Search by....</option>
<option name = "ID">ID</option>
<option name = "Keyword">Keyword</option>
</select>

But at the moment this is not functional - the default php retreival script is by keyword, and i don't know how to set a different search criteria depending on the option the user selected.

Thanks for your time.

[danswebs]

First, change the "named=" attribute of the options to "value=".

Once the user posts to a php page you will need to look for the http_post_vars (could also use get and get vars, but try to stay away from blanket var recognition). Find the one named "SearchType" and get its value. Then do a conditional statement based upon that value.

~Dan:

[moondance]

Is http_post_vars the same as $_POST - in this case...
$_POST['SearchType']
...?

And by conditional statement do you mean something along the lines of (if the above line is correct):

if ($_POST['SearchType'] = "ID" ){
---retreive using ID as criteria---
}

if ($_POST['SearchType'] = "Keyword"){
---retreive using Keyword as criteria----
}

Thanks

;)

[pyro]

$HTTP_POST_VARS was depreciated in favor of $_POST in PHP version 4.1.0. So, if you are using PHP 4.1.0 or later, use $_POST

Also, you need to give your <options> values, rather than names, like this:

<select name="SearchType">
<option>Search by....</option>
<option value="ID">ID</option>
<option value="Keyword">Keyword</option>
</select>

And then, you logic is a bit off with the if statement. You need to use a == when compairing items:

if ($_POST['SearchType'] == "ID" ){
#---retreive using ID as criteria---
}

if ($_POST['SearchType'] == "Keyword"){
#---retreive using Keyword as criteria----
}
else {
#what are you going to do if they leave the "SearchType" set to the original "Search by..." option?
}

[danswebs]

Thanks for pointing that out PYRO. $_POST is indeed the most up to date way to script this.

Anyone reading this can find out about this topic at:
http://us2.php.net/manual/en/reserved.variables.php#reserved.variables.post

Information on the rest of the PHP predefined variables can be found on the same page.

Cheers,
~Dan

[pyro]

No problem... :)