Posted by Shank on 12/09/06 14:39

"Jukka K. Korpela" <jkorpela@cs.tut.fi> wrote in message
news:ldceh.2227$JY2.1122@reader1.news.saunalahti.fi...
> Scripsit Shank:
>
>> My intention is to have the user click a checkbox for each product he
>> wants. If I use a text box like the following and enter a 1 for each
>> product, submit, no problem.
>> The user gets the products he wants.
>> <input name="qty" type="text" value="0">
>
> Using a text box might actually be a better option, especially since it
> allows the user to order several copies of a product. Whether the text box
> should be initialized to "0" or to an empty string is debatable. I'd vote
> for the empty string (value="", which is the default), since it makes it
> easier to the user to review his order.
>
> Why would you use a checkbox? Admittedly it is faster when using the
> mouse, since you can click on the box (if you can - many people suffer
> from motoric disabilities that make it difficult to hit such a small box),
> as opposite to clicking on a field and pressing "1". On the other hand,
> people who fill out a form efficiently, using the keyboard only, using the
> tab key to move to the next field, have no essential difference between
> the two ways.
>
>> However, if I use the following checkbox code, and assuming the user
>> checks 4 products half way down the page, he will get the first 4
>> products in the recordset. If he clicks 1 checkbox, he will always
>> get the first product, not the product he chose.
>> <input name="qty" type="checkbox" value="1">
>
> Most probably you have named the elements wrongly. The checkboxes need to
> have unique names. If you post the URL, probably someone will tell what's
> wrong there.
>
>> Back to basics... what is the fundamental differnce between the text
>> box and checkbox?
>
> On fundamental difference is that if a checkbox has not been checked, it
> does not contribute anything to the form data set. A text box always
> contributes at least the string consisting of its name and the equals
> sign.
>
> --
> Jukka K. Korpela ("Yucca")
> http://www.cs.tut.fi/~jkorpela/
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I prefer the checkbox because the user can only select one of each item and
it's considerably faster. When I submit the form using checboxes or text
boxes, there's a considerable difference. The text boxes deliver a comma
delimination for each occurance. The checkboxes only offer comma
delimination for each checkbox that is selected. At this point, I'm assuming
that's the difference between the two and it cannot be changed.
thanks

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