"saving" textarea content so it appears on page refresh

[janelange]

Is it possible to store the value of a textarea (i.e. what's written in it) or other form elements so that they do not "disappear" if the page is refreshed?

Thanks,
Jane L.

 

[stormbind]

You can save it to document.cookie

In it's most basic form:

function save(){
document.cookie = forms[0].myTextarea.value;
}

window.onunload = save;

You can load the data by inversing the syntax.

--Glen

Memoria mihi benigna erit qui eam perscribam

 

[janelange]

Thanks for the input.

I don't know if this is out of the scope of this forum, but do you think there might be a way to implement this using a combination of JS and PHP? I'm not sure I want to go with cookies.

Jane

 

[stormbind]

You can submit data to the server by a number of common gateway interface mechanisms (i.e. QUERY_STRING, POST_DATA, PATH_INFO) but I don't think these will work with a page refresh.

--Glen

Memoria mihi benigna erit qui eam perscribam

 

[bclt]

Me neither believe that query string will work at refreshing the page.]

But with refresh you could redirect the use to the same page, adding the query strings.
If the textarea is empty, it will remain empty, else its value will be the retrieved string.


-bclt

 

[BillyRayPreachersSon]

Jane,

The only way to do what you have asked over a page refresh, with any degree of cross-browser compatibility, is using cookies (with a solution like the one Glen gave).

As you are refreshing the page, not submitting a form, then PHP / form code will be useless.

This, of course, assumes you meant "refresh" instead of "submit" (i.e. the user presses their refresh button). This also assumes that their browser will support the onunload or onbeforeunload events. If they do not, there isn't really any way you will manage this.

Dan

[tt]D'ya think I got where I am today because I dress like Peter Pan here?[/tt]