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84
Creating Dynamic Check Boxes and Multiple-Selection
List Boxes
When an HTML form contains either a list of check boxes with the same name or a
multiple-selection list box (that is, where users can select multiple items from the
list), the user's entries are made available as a comma-delimited list with the selected
values. These lists can be very useful for a wide range of inputs.
Note
If the user does not select a check box or make a selection from a list box, no variable
is created. The
values. To correct this problem, make the form fields required, use Dynamic SQL, or
use
the "Ensuring that Variables Exist" and "Dynamic SQL" sections later in this chapter.
Check boxes
When you put a series of check boxes with the same name in an HTML form, the
variable that is created contains a comma-delimited list of values. The values can be
either numeric values or alphanumeric strings. These two types of values are treated
slightly differently.
Searching numeric values
Suppose you want a user to select one or more departments using check boxes. You
then query the database to retrieve detailed information on the selected
department(s). The code for a simple set of check boxes that lets the user select
departments looks like this:
<input type="checkbox"
<input type="checkbox"
<input type="checkbox"
<input type="checkbox"
</html>
cfinsert
to establish a default value for the form field. For more information, see
cfparam
name="SelectedDepts"
value="1">
Training<br>
name="SelectedDepts"
value="2">
Marketing<br>
name="SelectedDepts"
value="3">
HR<br>
name="SelectedDepts"
value="4">
Sales<br>
and
tags do not work correctly if there are no
cfupdate
Chapter 6 Making Variables Dynamic
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