Using a combo box to select links 2

[Georgews]

I am trying to use a combo box to select links. e.g. select New York and the NY page opens. I have the combo in a left frame and want the page o open in the main frame. Have tried the FAQ's to no avail. Any help appreciated. Thanks

 

[MichiganRon]

Okay, here you go:

frameset.html

<frameset cols=&quot;25%,75%&quot;>
	<frame src=&quot;frame1.html&quot; name=&quot;frame1&quot;>
	<frame src=&quot;frame2.html&quot; name=&quot;frame2&quot;>
</frameset>

frame1.html

<select name=&quot;DropDownGrp&quot;

onchange="parent.frame2.location.href=this.value"

>
	<option value=&quot;frame2.html&quot;> Home 
	<option value=&quot;[URL unfurl="true"]http://www.lycos.com&quot;>www.lycos.com[/URL]
	<option value=&quot;[URL unfurl="true"]http://www.google.com&quot;>www.google.com[/URL]
	<option value=&quot;[URL unfurl="true"]http://www.yahoo.com&quot;>www.yahoo.com[/URL]
</select>

frame2.html can contain whatever you want.

The "magic" is in blue. Any questions?

-Ron

We all play from the same deck of cards, it's how we play the hand we are dealt which makes us who we are. -Me

murof siht edisni kcuts m'I - PLEH

 

[Georgews]

Thanks Darksahdeau - I can see how this is to work. Couple of questions - I have put the combo in a form as it's the only way I can see how at the mo - is this correct? It does get populated by the option value code OK.
In the Onchange line I assume the "this.value" is the name of the page in the site? Simiarly with t address of the option values? Do I use ///folder.filemname for references within the site?
I am using frontpage xp at the moment to build the site.
Cheers

 

[MichiganRon]

Yes, the proper way to do this would be to put the

<select>

within a form, although it should work without it.

this.value

means "the value of this control". The value of a dropdown box is determined by the value property of whichever "option" is currently selected.

You'll just have to test the syntax with regards to local files. You should be able to use relative paths in this instance. Ex:

<option value=&quot;/testfolder/frame2.html&quot;> Home

I'm not sure how much control FrontPage will give you over the underlying code. I generally don't recommend using that product as it often incorporates a lot of proprietary code. It's a good place to start, if you're just doing a home page. But, if you're planning on developing professionally I'd recommend that you switch to something else.

Personally, I prefer to code everything by hand. Others prefer a WYSIWYG editor similar to FrontPage. For the hand coders, I use HTML-Kit (

http://www.chami.com).

For WYSIWYG, I've seen many people recommend Dreamweaver MX (

http://www.macromedia.com).

Generally speaking, you'll pay more for a WYSIWYG editor whereas text editors are usually free.

Either way, if you plan on designing professionally I'd move away from FrontPage.

Good luck,
-Ron

We all play from the same deck of cards, it's how we play the hand we are dealt which makes us who we are. -Me

murof siht edisni kcuts m'I - PLEH

 

[Georgews]

Thanks again Darkshadeau - I am using frontpage because I have it - I am thinking about just coding the whole thing by hand. I have used FP to build sites in the past but it has its limitations. Have also used Dreamweaver which gives more flexibility. I use something called EasyHTML (a freebie) when trying to write code. I will have a lookk at HTML-Kit. I will try a form with only the combo in it at see how the code goes with that.
Thanks for all your help
Cheers
George

 

[WartookMan]

&quot;...Yes, the proper way to do this would be to put the <select> within a form, although it should work without it...&quot;.

This is certainly the case for any browser which is &quot;relaxed&quot; - such as Internet Explorer. Netscape 4.x however, won't even consider displaying INPUT boxes or SELECT elements if they are not defined within <form>...</form> tags. IMHO - It's HTML best practice to always include the FORM tags.

Textpad (

http://www.textpad.com)

provides color highlighting of tags and includes a whole heap of &quot;plug-ins&quot; for other languages as well - ASP, LotusScript, ...

Pete.


Web Developer / Aptrix CMS (LWWCM) Specialist
w:

http://www.lclimited.co.uk/

e: Pete.Raleigh(at)lclimited.co.uk