JavaScript Functions › Form Field Functions

Form Field Functions

The following functions assist in adding data input fields to a form, whether in the Select section or the Criteria section:

• addCheckBoxField

  The addCheckBoxField function writes an <INPUT> tag of type=CHECKBOX to a form within a document. It begins by writing a <TR> tag into the web page so it must be called within the context of an HTML <TABLE> tag (that is, within the Criteria section of a web page).

  • Syntax

    addCheckBoxField(fieldName,label,initValue,default)
    

  • Parameters
    • fieldName—The name to assign to the check box, subsequently used in the query portion of request URLs and may be referenced using the ESP variable &Request.QueryString.Named.fieldName
    • label—The label to associate with this check box
    • initValue—The initial value to assign to this check box (YES | NO)
    • default—The default value to assign to this check box if the initial value is null, either YES or NO
  • Example

    addCheckBoxField("linenum", "Include line numbers", "YES", "YES");
    

• addField

  The addField function writes an <INPUT> tag of type=TEXT to a form within a document. It begins by writing a <TR> tag into the web page so it must be called within the context of an HTML <TABLE> tag (that is, within the Criteria section of a web page).

  • Syntax

    addField(fieldName,label,maxLength,size,initValue)
    

  • Parameters
    • fieldName—The name to assign to the field, subsequently used in the query portion of request URLs and may be referenced using the ESP variable &Request.QueryString.Named.fieldName
    • label—The label to associate with this field
    • maxLength—The maximum number of characters that may be typed in the field.
    • size—The visible width of the text input field
    • initValue—The initial value to assign to the text in this input field
  • Example

    addField("cmd", "Command text", 255, 30, sh users);
    

• addHiddenField

  The addHiddenField function writes an <INPUT> tag of type=HIDDEN to a form within a document. Hidden fields are useful for setting and maintaining state information.

  • Syntax

    addHiddenField(fieldName,initValue)
    

  • Parameters
    • fieldName—The name to assign to the field, subsequently used in the query portion of request URLs and may be referenced using the ESP variable &Request.QueryString.Named.fieldName
    • initValue—The initial value to assign to the hidden field
  • Example

    addHiddenField("mode","search");
    

• addPasswordField

  The addPasswordField function writes an <INPUT> tag of type=PASSWORD to a form within a document. It begins by writing a <TR> tag into the web page so it must be called within the context of an HTML <TABLE> tag (that is, within the Criteria section of a web page).

  • Syntax

    addPasswordField(fieldName,label,maxLength,size,initValue)
    

  • Parameters
    • fieldName—The name to assign to the field, subsequently used in the query portion of request URLs and may be referenced using the ESP variable &Request.QueryString.Named.fieldName
    • label—The label to associate with this field
    • maxLength—The maximum number of characters that may be typed in the field
    • size—The visible width of the input field
    • initValue—The initial value to assign to the text in this input field
  • Example

    addPasswordField("opw","Old password",8,8,"");
    

• addRadioButtonField

  The addRadioButtonField function writes an <INPUT> tag of type=RADIO to a form within a document. It begins by writing a <TR> tag into the web page so it must be called within the context of an HTML <TABLE> tag (that is, within the Criteria section of a web page).

  • Syntax

    addRadioButtonField(fieldName,label,value,initValue)
    

  • Parameters
    • fieldName—The name to assign to the field, subsequently used in the query portion of request URLs and may be referenced using the ESP variable &Request.QueryString.Named.fieldName
    • label—The label to associate with this field
    • value—The value to be assigned to the field when the radio button is checked
    • initValue—The value to specify if the radio button should be checked: CHECKED or null
  • Example

    addRadioButtonField("searchdir", "Forward", "FWD", "CHECKED");
    

• addTextArea

  The addTextArea function writes a <TEXTAREA> tag to a form within a document. It begins by writing a <TR> tag into the web page so it must be called within the context of an HTML <TABLE> tag (that is, within the Criteria section of a web page).

  • Syntax

    addTextArea(fieldName,label,rows,cols,initvalue)
    

  • Parameters
    • fieldName—The name to assign to the text area field, subsequently used in the query portion of request URLs and may be referenced using the ESP variable &Request.QueryString.Named.fieldName
    • label—The label to associate with this text area
    • rows—The number of editable lines to display
    • cols—The number of monofont characters to display in the width
    • initValue—The initial value to assign to the text in this text area field
  • Example

    addTextArea("address","Enter your address","4","","");
    

• buildList

  The buildList function writes a <SELECT> tag to a form within a document. A <SELECT> tag displays a drop-down single-select list or a scrollable multi-select list. It begins by writing a <TR> tag into the web page so it must be called within the context of an HTML <TABLE> tag (that is, within the Criteria section of a web page).

  • Syntax

    buildList(itemList, selList, fieldName, mode, noentry, label, valList, events, size)
    

  • Parameters
    • itemList—The full list of items to display in the selection list
    • selList—A list of the selected items (upon entry into the page).
    • fieldName—The name to assign to the text area field, subsequently used in the query portion of request URLs and may be referenced using the ESP variable &Request.QueryString.Named.fieldName
    • mode—Multi-select or single-select: multiple | single
    • noentry—What to display if the list contains no entries:
    • blank: display a blank line
    • noblank: do not display anything
    • string: display this string
    • label—The label to associate with this list
    • valList—A list of values to correspond with the itemList if the value for the items displayed in the list is different than their display text
    • events—A string of onEvent-type statements for event processing
    • size—For a multi-select list, the number of items to display
  • Example

    buildList("Pizza,Chinese,Hamburgers,Sandwich,Roast Lamb,Seafood","Pizza","food","single","","My favorite food is");
    

• newColumn

  Creates a new column within the Criteria section for the positioning of form fields and sets the alignment of the column. It begins by writing a [assign the value for TD in your book] tag into the web page so it must be called within the context of an HTML <TR> tag and must be called before adding any fields into the Criteria section.

  • Syntax

    newColumn(align)
    

  • Parameters
    • align—The alignment for data within the column: left | center | right
  • Example

    newColumn(left);