Update fields based on select value

Submitted by ghensley_csuf on Fri, 03/16/2012 - 22:15

OK. I'm banging my head on this. I have a Select Box field with dynamic values based on a dept id table select. The whole table is pulled into the xml. The value/display are the first 2 fields, DEPTID and DESCR.

Now, what I want to do is update a hidden field with the DESCR field to post to the database (actually 3 fields, but let's keep it simple). I'm trying a onchange set value based on server data (again, the whole table is in the xml) but I cannot get the selected value. I can put a hard coded value in the xpath and it works. How do I get the current select value into my xpath?

xpaths I put into the "Value to set for field.." :

this works---
/mvc:eForm/mvc :D ata/PS_FR_DEPT_TBL/record[DEPTID='41406']/DESCR

this doesn't work----
/mvc:eForm/mvc :D ata/PS_FR_DEPT_TBL/record[DEPTID=/mvc:eForm/mvc :D ata/EF_TRAVEL_CLAIM/record/DEPTID]/DESCR

Thanks!

RE: Update fields based on select value

Hi ghensley_csuf,

When using the +?+?++based on server data+?+?+? option for an event, the value is determined from the server data when the page is rendered, not when the actual event fired. This means that you unfortunately won+?+?+?t be able to use this approach to achieve what you are trying to do, as the user won+?+?+?t yet have selected a value when this XPath is evaluated.

Instead I think you have a few different options to try and achieve this:

Create a partial page that contains 3 hidden fields (for each of the data you need to populate from the selected DEPTID value). Then alter your onchange event to make an AJAX submission to this new partial page. In the rules for the partial page you can retrieve the relevant database record, and then bind the values for the hidden fields to this data.
As all the fields are hidden, displaying the partial page on the main page shouldn+?+?+?t have any visual impact, and you should be able to configure the submission bindings for the values on the partial page as needed for your final action submission.
[/*]
Alternatively you could add an additional dynamic select box to your page for each of the extra values you wish to submit. As long as you make sure these select boxes are using the same repeating set of data (with just a different field bound to the data value as appropriate), you can then add a custom script onchange event to your main (DEPTID) select box with the following type of code:
document.getElementById(+?+?++descr_select+?+?+?).selectedIndex = document.getElementById(+?+?++deptid_select+?+?+?).selectedIndex;
As long as you apply the +?+?++hide+?+?+? class name to these extra select boxes, then they should not be visible on screen.
[/*]
Depending on what you are doing with the data, another option might be to only capture the DEPTID on the page, and then use a rule in your save controller to query the database to get the additional values for the selected record, which can then be stored and processed as needed.
[/*]
You could also do a full page refresh onchange of the dropdown, and then use the binding XPaths for the hidden fields to get the correct value based on the selected entry. This probably wouldn+?+?+?t provide the best user experience however.[/*]

I hope these different approaches make sense, and help you make some progress on this.
Let me know if you have any questions.

Regards,
Gerard

RE: Update fields based on select value

Gerard,

Thanks. That's what I was afraid of. I was able to do a partial page as you recommended. I put an update in the page load actions to update the hidden and display fields.

Gary