Radio *argh* Buttons and variables?

[yduk]

Hey,

I've got an online form with text fields for user details and then radio buttons for answers to questions. Now, if the user misses something It refreshes the form and point out what is missing. NOW, at the moment I can keep the information the user previously inputted in the text boxes by putting the value of the text box to:

value="<?php echo $first_name; ?>"

Now how do I get it to remember what was selected in a radio group? Do you know what I mean? It's very frustrating for users to have to re answer everything just because they may have missed one thing.

Cheers,
Chris

[Mr. Brownstone]

You can make a Radio Button “checked” by inserting the following parameter:

<input type="radio" name="myradiobutton" value="selected1" checked="checked" />
<input type="radio" name="myradiobutton" value="selected2" />

This also applies for Check Boxes. (type="checkbox")

Now when you do a form request for “myradiobutton”, the value “selected1” or “selected2” will be returned depending on which button was checked.

[yduk]

Ok but the value field is already taken:

<td><div align="center"> Before 9am 
					 <input type="radio" name="CallYou" value="before 9am">
					 </div></td>
					 <td><div align="center">9-12 noon 
					 <input type="radio" name="CallYou" value="9-12 noon">
					 </div></td>
					 <td><div align="center">12-5pm 
					 <input type="radio" name="CallYou" value="12-5pm">
					 </div></td>
					 <td><div align="center">5-9pm 
					 <input type="radio" name="CallYou" value="5-9pm">
</div></td>

So where am I meant to put it?

This is how I have the text field:

<input name="first_name" type="text" id="first_name" value="<?php echo $first_name; ?>">

Can't see where it goes m8.

[Mr. Brownstone]

I hope this makes sense:

<?php

    $BeforeNine = '';
    $Morning = '';
    $Afternoon = '';
    $Evening = '';

    if ( $CallYou == "before 9am" ) {
        $BeforeNine = ' checked="checked"';
    }

    if ( $CallYou == "9-12 noon" ) {
        $Morning = ' checked="checked"';
    }

    if ( $CallYou == "12-5pm" ) {
        $Afternoon = ' checked="checked"';
    }

    if ( $CallYou == "5-9pm" ) {
        $Evening = ' checked="checked"';
    }

?>

<td>
    <div align="center">
        Before 9am
        <input type="radio" name="CallYou" value="before 9am"<?php echo $BeforeNine ?>>
    </div>
</td>
<td>
    <div align="center">
        9-12 noon 
        <input type="radio" name="CallYou" value="9-12 noon"<?php echo $Morning ?>>
    </div>
</td>
<td>
    <div align="center">
        12-5pm 
        <input type="radio" name="CallYou" value="12-5pm"<?php echo $Afternoon ?>>
    </div>
</td>
<td>
    <div align="center">
        5-9pm 
        <input type="radio" name="CallYou" value="5-9pm"<?php echo $Evening ?>>
    </div>
</td>

<?php

    // . . . blah blah


?>

[yduk]

Worked a treat

Cheers!

[tahjah]

You could also place the if conditional in the input tag. It makes it easy to add or replicate the input boxes with regular expressions.

 
<input type="radio" name="myradiobutton" value="selected1" <?php if ($_POST['myradiobutton'] == "selected1") echo 'checked="checked"'; ?> /> 
<input type="radio" name="myradiobutton" value="selected2" <?php if ($_POST['myradiobutton'] == "selected2") echo 'checked="checked"'; ?> />

If you wanted to set one as the default, then add || $_POST['myradiobutton'] == "" to the conditional, so it will be selected the first time through if you use postbacks. You can also modify this for checkboxes by checking if the value exists in the string.

[yduk]

One more question, how would you use this method for a List/Menu with the following code:

<select name="MostImportant">
	   <option value="Extra Income">Extra Income</option>
	   <option value="Financial Freedom">Financial Freedom</option>
</select>

I tried using the same as the radio button method, but it didn't work.

[Mr. Brownstone]

Use selected="selected" to set an <option>. For example:

<?php

$ExtraIncome = '';
$FinancialFreedom = '';

if ( $MostImportant == 'Extra Income' ) {
    $ExtraIncome = ' selected="selected"';
}

if ( $MostImportant == 'Financial Freedom' ) {
    $FinancialFreedom = ' selected="selected"';
}

?>

<select name="MostImportant">
       <option value="Extra Income"<?php echo $ExtraIncome ?>>Extra Income</option>
       <option value="Financial Freedom"<?php echo $FinancialFreedom ?>>Financial Freedom</option>
</select>