Managing multiple forms with submit buttons

[sd_javascript]

Hello and Good Morning.

I'm working on a project where I have several forms each containing submit buttons.

At the moment, I've defined all the submit buttons with name="Action" and when any given button is clicked, the formHandler.asp page only runs a segment of code if, for example, Action = "Save User". Here's a visual of what I mean:

<form name="form1" id="form1" method="post" action="formHandler.asp">
     <input type="submit" name="Action" value="Save User" />
</form>
<form name="form2" id="form2" method="post" action="formHandler.asp">
     <input type="submit" name="Action" value="Save Category" />
</form>

Dim Action
Action = Request.Form("Action")

If Action = "Save User" Then
    Do stuff here
End If
If Action = "Save Category" Then
    Do stuff here
End If 

SO, I'm wondering if there's another way I can do this. How do I call a function when a button is clicked/form is submitted instead of the above example? The reason I want to do it differently is because I want to use input type="image" instead and I can't give that a value.

[sd_javascript]

I've actually found a way to do this:

Instead of calling a function for each form that is submitted, I've come to learn that the values passed from input type="image" are the x and y coordinates. Having said that, if the button is not pressed, the coordinate = "".

Each time I submit a form I can check to see which of the button's values are not an empty string and do the code needed.

Here's a visual representation:
note: I also ran into a problem where I had 2 buttons per form (update, delete). This is also fixed with this code

<form name="form1" id="form1" method="post" action="formHandler.asp">
    <input type="image" src="imgs/pic1.gif" name="saveUser" id="saveUser" />
    <input type="image" src="imgs/pic2.gif" name="deleteUser" id="deleteUser" />
</form>
<form name="form2" id="form2" method="post" action="formHandler.asp">
    <input type="image" src="imgs/pic3.gif" name="saveCategory" id="saveCategory" />
    <input type="image" src="imgs/pic4.gif" name="deleteCategory" id="deleteCategory" />
</form>

Dim userSave, userDelete
'The .x gets the value of the x coordinate
userSave = Request.Form("userSave.x")
userDelete = Request.Form("userDelete.x")

If userSave <> "" Then
     Response.Write "User Saved"
End If
If userDelete <> "" Then
     Response.Write "User Deleted"
End If 

So, regardless of how many buttons and forms I have, I can also see which button is pressed.

[awasson]

That coordinate idea is pretty cool but what if someone fills in a field and then pushes the enter button to submit the form. Are you able to trap the information to determine which form was submitted?

I always use a hidden action input or when I'm doing a catalog a hidden id input to keep things simple. Checking the action or id on the server side the way you outlined in your post keeps it easy. I use Select Case statements to determine how the flow of the program will proceed depending on action. ie:

SELECT CASE action
     CASE "insert":
         'Code to insert a record
     CASE "update":
         'Code to update a record
     CASE "delete":
         'Delete the record
     CASE else:
         'A default action in case the page is opened without an action variable...
END SELECT

[sd_javascript]

Yes that's also a great idea however the main problem I was having was that I don't want regular buttons but instead want images for buttons.

The way I described above with the coordinates would work in the exact same way as a regular form as far as obtaining the information from the input fields is concerned. it's a simple Request.Form("inputName").

I will say that I do enjoy the Case statement. I find it nice and neat and it's great for situations where you're checking if the same variable is defined differently.

Thanks!

[awasson]

Do you want images for fields or just to submit the forms?

<input type="image" src="image.gif" alt="Submit button">

[sd_javascript]

Sorry, in my first example I left out the text input fields. But yes, I was just looking for the image submit button.

[awasson]

Sorry, in my first example I left out the text input fields. But yes, I was just looking for the image submit button.

Oh, ok... Did you try the <input type="image" src="some-image.gif" alt="submit"> method?