php/drop down menu - HTML Forums

Jupitertrooper · 05-10-2008, 11:43 PM

I am creating a drop down menu using php and html. When the user selects the drop down item and clicks go, I want the page to go to the link I put in the options.

I think it will work though I cant be sure because I get this message when I try using the drop down menu(I am using Uniform Server)

Forbidden You don't have permission to access /< on this server.
What does that mean? Anyway, here is my code:

<?php
$s=$_POST["option"];
?>
<html>
<title>Dropdown Test</title>
<form method="post" action="<?php $s ?>">
<select name="option">
<option value="option1.html">
Option1
</option>
<option value="option2.html">
Option2
</option>
<option value="option3.html">
Option 3
</option>
<option value="option4.html">
Option4
</option>
</select>
<input type="submit" value="GO">
</form>
</html>

So would this work? I know the dropdown part is right, just making the GO take the user to the file that is selected is my problem.

Horus_Kol · 05-11-2008, 01:57 AM

you're mixing up the serverside with clientside here...

when you first request the form, there is no POST data, and so $s is initialised to null (actually, you should be seeing an error about an undefined index if you have STRICT error messages set)

so, the form action is set to '' - which is wrong, as you can see...

You could use a javascript to do this:

HTML Code:

<script type="text/javascript">
  function submit_form()
  {
    var file_select = document.getElementById('file_select');

    if (file_select.selectedIndex > -1) {
      var test_form = document.getElementById('dropdown_test_form');

      test_form.action = file_select.options[file_select.selectedIndex].value;

      test_form.submit();
    }
  }
</script>

<form id="dropdown_test_form" method="post" action="option1.html">
  <select name="option" id="file_select">
    <option value="option1.html">
      Option1
    </option>
    
    <option value="option2.html">
      Option2
    </option>  
  </select>
</form>

Jupitertrooper · 05-11-2008, 12:13 PM

ok, thanks, I thought it would work with PHP but I guess I was wrong.

Horus_Kol · 05-11-2008, 06:49 PM

well - PHP only runs on the server after a request... so it can't detect changes on the client until after the next request.