URLEncode

[mab]

I'm trying to use URLEncode to eliminate spaces when it pulls out a field name from a database that is displayed as a link. The link points to a file. Some of the files have spaces in their names. Here's my code. How can I utilize the urlEncode to take out the spaces from the <%=RS("FileName")%> in the code below?

<%
Set MyConn = Server.CreateObject("ADODB.Connection")
MyConn.Open "FILEDSN=C:\Program Files\Common Files\ODBC\Data Sources\jcaho.dsn"
%>
<%
SQL_query = "(SELECT * FROM JUpdate where ArticleType = 'JCAHO Update') "


Set RS = MyConn.Execute(SQL_query)

WHILE NOT RS.EOF
%>

<LI> <A HREF=<%=RS("FileName")%>> <%=RS("DateSubmit")%>: <%=RS("ArticleTitle")%> </A>
<%

RS.MoveNext
WEND

%>
<%
RS.Close
MyConn.Close

set RS=nothing
set MyConn=nothing



%>

Thanks!

[BlitzCraig]

URLEncode Method:
http://www.devguru.com/Technologies/...urlencode.html

Alternately, I suppose you could just do this:

Replace

<A HREF=<%=RS("FileName")%>>

with

<A HREF="<%=Replace(RS("FileName"), " ", "%20")%>">

[mab]

It worked. Thanks a bunch!

[MarcusJT]

I would have thought that your problem was not solved by the replacement of " " for "%20", but by putting the link url within quotes. Without them (as you previously had it), a link to "http://test.com/a big html file.htm" would come out as:
[CODE]
<A HREF=http://test.com/a big html file.htm>
[CODE]

The browser would interpret only the "http://test.com/a" but as the URL, and would interpret the remaining bits as individual valueless attributes of the A tag (just like in <OPTION SELECTED>, where SELECTED is a valueless attribute) which it doesn't understand and thus ignores.

<sidenote id=1>
Similar problems occur on OSes which have long filenames, Win9x and NT/2K/XP in particular.
</sidenote>

Although browsers do try to read attributes which are not wrapped in quote marks, this illustrates exactly the kind of problem that can arise in these cases. Thus, HTML code should be written by encapsulating every attribute value in quote marks, thereby avoiding this kind of issue. This is compulsory for valid XHTML/XML documents, and is probably true of the official HTML spec too, so you should make sure all your HTML code is conformant in order to avoid similar probelm in the future.

<sidenote id=1>
In fact, all valueless attributes (such as the <OPTION> example above) must be revised for XHTML conformance, for example <OPTION SELECTED> becomes <OPTION SELECTED="SELECTED">.
</sidenote>


M@rco

[BlitzCraig]

Originally posted by M@rco
I would have thought that your problem was not solved by the replacement of " " for "%20", but by putting the link url within quotes.

Actually, that line of code I put up there addresses both the %20 and the no quotes issue.

Better safe than sorry, I say. Which is why my code's always littered with copious quantities of Trim() statements...

Of course, whenever possible, I avoid spaces in filenames anyway, especially when there exist jokers like myself who used to put non-breaking spaces in filenames to protect them from the average user.

<geek mode="on">
Or worse, back in my college days, sticking files named "rm -rf" in someone else's directory on a Unix system. Quite humorous when the person attempting to look at the file typed in "more < rm -rf".
</geek>

[MarcusJT]

I suppose technically all links should be be URL encoded using Server.URLEncode (or escaped manually).


M@rco