Keep value when form is resubmitted several times

[alexisb]

My php page has 3 dynamic drop-downs reading data from a MySQL db with select statements like this <select name="VehicleYear1" onchange="this.form.submit()">;. The drop-downs are all working fine, however, the first time the drop-down submits to the same page, I lose the $numcars value that I need to keep resubmitting to the form. All 3 drop-downs are contained within the same form.
<form action="selectpagetest2.php" method="post" name="SelectVehicle">
<input type="hidden" name="NumberofVehicles" value="<?=$numcars?>">
<?
$numcars=$_POST['NumOfCars2Quote'];
?>

I've tried many different ways (if, case, etc) to keep that initial value but I keep losing it when the drop-down submits to the form. It works if I just plug $numcars with a value like "ten" ($numcars = "ten" but not if I try to do the assignment based on the value (NumOfCars2Quote) passed from the previous page. If I could somehow set that value the first time the page opens and then set it as a constant so it can't change every time the form is resubmitted, that would be great.

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Alexis

 

[sleipnir214]

Whenever I need to keep data intact between runs of PHP scripts, I use session variables.

With session variables, when your script regenerates the form, it can pre-set the values of the dropdowns using "SELECTED" attributes in the appropriate places.


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[alexisb]

Thanks, sleipnir214, but the problem isn't with the drop-downs. I used SELECTED along with the MySQL data to build that logic. The problem is that when a user selects from the drop-down, the form is regenerated and I lose a value sent from a previous page. For example, if the value "two" is sent from the previous page, I see it the first time the second page loads. But as soon as I select a value from the first drop-down, the page is resubmitted to itself and that value goes away. I want to set that value so it is not lost each time the second page is resubmitted. I hope this makes sense.
Alexis

 

[sleipnir214]

I'm not sure, but I think the answer is still "session variables".


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[trollacious]

Are you setting the NumOfCars2Quote form element each time, too? If not, then that could be your problem.

To antagonize me, a friend of mine once said, "The computer is doing EXACTLY what you've programmed it to do." And she was right!

Lee

 

[alexisb]

Thanks, everyone. I asked a friend to look at this for me as I was getting very frustrated. It turns out that the statement "$numcars=$_POST['NumOfCars2Quote'];" should have been at the top of the page, and not inside the form statement, which was being submitted each time. I looked at this for two days and couldn't figure out what I did wrong and it was this simple thing that I would NEVER have realized. I don't know why I put that line so far down - normally I do not do this.
Thanks to you all for your help.
Regards,
Alexis