Use RegEx and .replace to substitute text with user input? - javascript

I'm new to jQuery and stumbled on the concept of RegEx with .replace to make nifty text replacements.
In my form, I have some checkboxes that trigger text to appear in a textarea. There are also some user input areas as fields.
How can I use this jQuery to substitute a portion of text in certain checkboxes with the user input, but not in others? I figure using an if/else argument to trigger the RegEx and replace is key, but I don't know how to incorporate the rest?
Here is a mockup of my form:
<div style="width: 500px;"><br>
Static options:<br>
<label id="_comLine100"><input id="comLine100" name="comLines" type="checkbox"> OPTION1 </label> <br>
<label id="_comLine101"><input id="comLine101" name="comLines" type="checkbox"> OPTION2 </label> <br>
Options which can be modified by user text:<br>
<label id="_comLine102"><input id="comLine102" name="comLines" type="checkbox"> OPTION3 </label> <br>
<label id="_comLine103"><input id="comLine103" name="comLines" type="checkbox"> OPTION4</label> <br>
</div>
<br>
<input id="usrinput1" size="50" placeholder="Enter something to replace the word Text">
<br><br>
<form>
<input onclick="javascript:this.form.outPut2.focus();this.form.outPut2.select();"
value="Select all" type="button">
EDIT Here is my new script, based on suggestions below:
$(document).ready(function(){
var comLines = {
comLine100: 'Text for option1 \n',
comLine101: 'Text for option2 \n',
comLine102: 'Text for option3 \n',
comLine103: 'Text for option4 \n'
};
var mytextbox = document.getElementById('outPut2');
var chosenComm = null;
var Inputs = document.getElementsByName("comLines");
for (var i = 0; i < Inputs.length; i++) {
Inputs[i].onchange = function() {
chosenComm = this;
printComment();
};
}
function printComment(){
if(chosenComm !== null){
var chxbox=chosenComm.id;
var uinput = document.getElementById('usrinput1');
if(uinput.value!=="" && (chxbox=="comLine102" || chxbox=="comLine103")){
mytextbox.value += comLines[chosenComm.id].replace(/Text/, $('#usrinput1').val()) + "\n";
// resets the radio box values after output is displayed
chosenComm.checked = false;
// resets these variables to the null state
chosenComm = null;
}
else {
mytextbox.value += comLines[chosenComm.id] + "\n";
// resets the radio box values after output is displayed
chosenComm.checked = false;
// resets these variables to the null state
chosenComm = null;
}
}
}
});
See my JSfiddle : http://jsfiddle.net/bENAY/2/
Now works as I wanted. Thanks to Eric S for the explanations and guidance!

The simple answer is replace:
mytextbox.value += comLines[chosenComm.id] + "\n";
with
mytextbox.value += comLines[chosenComm.id].replace(/Text/, $('#usrinput1').val()) + "\n";
The replace call looks for the regex in the slashes and replaces the match with the value after the comma.
$('#usrinput1').val() is using jQuery to find the dom element with ID of usrinput1 and then getting the value of it (since it's an input, it gets whatever the user has entered).
The more complete answer would mention that you probably should embrace jQuery more:
Replace the window.onload call with a $(document).ready(function(){...}) call.
Consider replacing the document.getElementById with $('#outPut2')
Consider replacing the document.getElementsByName with $(input[name=commLines]) or adding a class of comm-lines to all of those items and using $(.comm-lines)
Consider using jQuery's on function to bind the event handlers for both the inline button handlers (use a passed in function to the on call) and the Inputs[i].onchange calls.
Sorry if this sounds overly judgmental, just trying to suggest a more standard and less error-prone solution.
Still requires some tweaking, but something along the lines of this:
$('.comm-lines').on('change', printComment);
Also, I'm sure this is just a simplified example of what you're trying to accomplish, but you might consider using links or buttons instead of checkboxes. Your use of checkboxes doesn't really follow the expected experience your users have learned when using checkboxes on the web. A link more closely matches the experience most users know, and so provides less surprise to them. (Less surprise means happier users, less learning on their part and more usage.)

Related

Replace input value by variable and

I'm trying to make a sort of questionnaire/quiz in javascript for my website. The questionnaire is spread on 5 pages, each page has a question. I want to use the GET method so the URL of each page looks something like that:
(I must keep the GET method because I want to use for something else).
First question: http://website.com/quiz/first?q=1
Second question: http://website.com/quiz/second?q=133
Third question: http://website.com/quiz/third?q=133
Fourth question: http://website.com/quiz/fourth?q=1332
Fifth question: http://website.com/quiz/fifth?q=13324
The user lands on the first page --> get a radio input form --> checks one --> gets redirected to the second page --> etc...
The ?q= is a variable containing the answers, for example ?q=133 means the user picked the following answers:
In the first question, he checked the radio input of the value 1
In the second question, he checked the radio input of the value 3
In the third question, he checked the radio input of the value 3
(so 133 means the user check the 1 for the first question, 3 for the second, 3 for the third.)
I managed to make the variables work:
answPre: gets the previous answer from the form GET (?q=1).
answCurrent: gets the radio input checked from the current page.
urlVal: an combination of the two (answPre+answCurrent)
so I'd like urlVal to be the value that gets transferred from a page to the other.
But I don't want to have both urlVal and the "q" value (name of checked radio) in the url.
What's the right thing to do?
can I hide the "q" value from the URL?
or can I "overwrite" the q value and put instead urlVal?
I'm lost and would appreciate any help, thanks for your help and your time!
function displayRadioValue() {
// var pageURL = window.location.href;
var fakeURL="website.com/quiz/first?q=1"
var answPre = fakeURL.substr(fakeURL.lastIndexOf('=') + 1); //get the previous page's answer.
//get the current page's answer
var ele = document.getElementsByName('q');
for(j = 0; j < ele.length; j++) {
if(ele[j].checked)
var answCurrent= document.getElementById("demo2").innerHTML = ele[j].value;
}
var array = [answPre,answCurrent]; //combine answPre + answNew
var urlVal = "";
var i;
for (i = 0; i < array.length; i++) {
urlVal += array[i];
}
document.getElementById("demo1").innerHTML = answPre;
document.getElementById("demo3").innerHTML = urlVal;
//document.getElementById("fquiz").submit();// Form submission
}
<html>
<body>
<h2>second.html</h2>
<b>answPre: </b><span id="demo1"></span><br>
<b>answCurrent: </b><span id="demo2"></span><br>
<b>urlVal: </b><span id="demo3"></span><br>
<!-- <b>final answNew: </b><span id="demo4"></span><br> -->
<hr>
<form id="fquiz" method="GET" action="third.html">
<p>Who are you going with?</p>
<input type="radio" name="q" value="1" id="yes"
onClick="javascript: displayRadioValue()">Solo<br>
<input type="radio" name="q" value="2" id="no"
onClick="javascript: displayRadioValue()">Couple<br>
<input type="radio" name="q" value="3" id="no"
onClick="javascript: displayRadioValue()">Family with kids<br>
<input type="radio" name="q" value="4" id="no"
onClick="javascript: displayRadioValue()">Group of friends<br>
<p>(then it takes you to third.html with hopefully this url: ../third.html?q=XX where XX is urlVal)
</form>
</body>
</html>
I've made a few changes to your code to modernize it a bit.
I moved the binding of the event handlers to the JavaScript from the HTML. Generally speaking I like to keep my HTML about the structure and the JavaScript about the behavior.
I added code to grab the step from the URL in addition to the previous answers.
I used querySelector to retrieve the selected radio button, using the :checked pseudo-selector.
I used join('') on the array of answers to make it easier to read.
In the HTML, I used <p> elements for everything that needed to be in one line, rather than tacking a <br> at the end of each line. That's just a personal preference.
I wrapped the radio buttons and their text in <label> elements. This helps in accessibility and to give a larger target for people to click on (clicking on the entire label checks the radio, rather than just the radio itself).
I also changed the name of the URL parameter to urlVal rather than q, but I'm not sure I understood that part of your question. I'm not using the form submission process at all with this code, relying instead on changing the location directly...
Do note that running the code here on Stack Overflow won't redirect correctly, since of course there's nothing at example.com/quiz/second listening, and Stack Snippets are sandboxed anyway. You'll need to adjust the code for your specific use in any case.
// Use JavaScript to attach event handlers to HTML elements.
document.querySelectorAll('input[name="q"]').forEach(el => el.addEventListener('click', displayRadioValue));
function displayRadioValue() {
// var pageURL = window.location.href;
var fakeURL = "example.com/quiz/first?q=1"
var step = fakeURL.substring(fakeURL.lastIndexOf('/') + 1, fakeURL.indexOf('?'));
var answPre = fakeURL.substr(fakeURL.lastIndexOf('=') + 1); //get the previous page's answer.
//get the current page's answer
// The :checked pseudo-class makes it easier to find the checked radio button
var el = document.querySelector('input[name="q"]:checked');
var answCurrent = document.getElementById("demo2").innerHTML = el.value;
var array = [answPre, answCurrent]; //combine answPre + answNew
// The join method is easier to use than looping.
var urlVal = array.join('');
document.getElementById("demo1").innerHTML = answPre;
document.getElementById("demo3").innerHTML = urlVal;
switch (step) {
case 'first': step = 'second'; break;
case 'second': step = 'third'; break;
case 'third': step = 'final'; break;
default: return;
}
location.href = `example.com/quix/${step}?urlVal=${urlVal}`;
}
.form-group { margin: 0; }
<h2>second.html</h2>
<!-- <br> is a presentational element; better just to split up lines with paragraphs -->
<p class="form-group"><b>answPre: </b><span id="demo1"></span></p>
<p class="form-group"><b>answCurrent: </b><span id="demo2"></span></p>
<p class="form-group"><b>urlVal: </b><span id="demo3"></span></p>
<!-- <p class="form-group"><b>final answNew: </b><span id="demo4"></span></p> -->
<hr>
<form id="fquiz" method="GET" action="third.html">
<p>Who are you going with?</p>
<!-- <br> is a presentational element; better just to split up lines with paragraphs -->
<!-- Always use <label> elements to label form fields -->
<!-- IDs must be unique to a document. They did not appear relevant here. -->
<p class="form-group"><label><input type="radio" name="q" value="1">Solo</label></p>
<p class="form-group"><label><input type="radio" name="q" value="2">Couple</label></p>
<p class="form-group"><label><input type="radio" name="q" value="3">Family with kids</label></p>
<p class="form-group"><label><input type="radio" name="q" value="4">Group of friends</label></p>
<p>(then it takes you to third.html with hopefully this url: ../third.html?q=XX where XX is urlVal)</p>
</form>

How do you return data from javascript into a html form?

I was wondering if anyone can help? What I am trying to do is retrieve the word count from javascript code into a form and then pass it into php along with the rest of the form which will check that the word count is a certain length or else it won't be submitted.
The javascript is as follows.
counter = function() {
var value = $('#msg').val();
if (value.length == 0) {
$('#wordCount').html(0);
$('#totalChars').html(0);
$('#charCount').html(0);
$('#charCountNoSpace').html(0);
return;
}
var regex = /\s+/gi;
var wordCount = value.trim().replace(regex, ' ').split(' ').length;
var totalChars = value.length;
var charCount = value.trim().length;
var charCountNoSpace = value.replace(regex, '').length;
$('#wordCount').html(wordCount);
$('#totalChars').html(totalChars);
$('#charCount').html(charCount);
$('#charCountNoSpace').html(charCountNoSpace);
};
$(document).ready(function() {
$('#count').click(counter);
$('#msg').change(counter);
$('#msg').keydown(counter);
$('#msg').keypress(counter);
$('#msg').keyup(counter);
$('#msg').blur(counter);
$('#msg').focus(counter);
});
My problem is returning wordCount into a hidden field in a form. I am not too good with javascript and am not sure how to modify this code to make it work. The rest I can figure out but am stuck here. Thank you for your help, it is greatly appreciated.
$('#wordCount').val(wordCount);
$('#totalChars').val(totalChars);
$('#charCount').val(charCount);
$('#charCountNoSpace').val(charCountNoSpace);
Use .val() instead of .html(), because .val() refers to the value of an input field.
Your HTML inside the form should include a hidden input field:
<input type="hidden" id="word_count" name="word_count" value="0" />
Then inside your JS:
$('#word_count').val(wordCount);
All together embedded inside your function:
counter = function() {
var value = $('#msg').val();
if (value.length == 0) {
$('#wordCount').html(0);
$('#totalChars').html(0);
$('#charCount').html(0);
$('#charCountNoSpace').html(0);
return;
}
var regex = /\s+/gi;
var wordCount = value.trim().replace(regex, ' ').split(' ').length;
var totalChars = value.length;
var charCount = value.trim().length;
var charCountNoSpace = value.replace(regex, '').length;
$('#wordCount').html(wordCount);
$('#word_count').val(wordCount);
$('#totalChars').html(totalChars);
$('#charCount').html(charCount);
$('#charCountNoSpace').html(charCountNoSpace);
};
$(document).ready(function() {
$('#count').click(counter);
$('#msg').change(counter);
$('#msg').keydown(counter);
$('#msg').keypress(counter);
$('#msg').keyup(counter);
$('#msg').blur(counter);
$('#msg').focus(counter);
});
If you have INPUT fields in your form, use val()
$('#wordCount').val(wordCount)
That would work for a field like this:
Be aware that there's a difference between "id" and "class". jQuery allows you to select elements based on their properties. The "id" property gets selected with "#", just like you'd do it in CSS. So make sure you have that "id='wordCount'" defined in your hidden field.
Have a look at this http://www.hscripts.com/scripts/JavaScript/word-count.php
There are plenty of examples online, just google "javascript count words in textbox"
Some imporntant notes:
A very long string with no spaces is still 1 word so don't forget to set the max length for fields
If you are doing this as a sort of validation be aware of the fact that you can not trust a form field because it can be easily manipulated, so don't forget to check the word count on the server side after the form is submitted.
The Code that you are showing is not just javascript it also includes jquery, please make sure you included jquery
<script src = "http://code.jquery.com/jquery-1.11.1.min.js"></script>
$('#field').val('asdf'); //Sets Value of a input type="text"
$('#field').html('sadf'); //Sets the html of a div
Using javascript you use either value for a input or innerHtml for a div or other text based element
document.getElementById('field').value = 'asdfsadf';
document.getElementById('field').innerHtml= 'asdfsadf';
Also instead of using a form submit consider using jquery $.ajax(there is nothing wrong with form submits but there are benefits to knowing jquery as well such as you came make async requests
http://api.jquery.com/jquery.ajax/
You will want to use a hidden field such as the following and have it in the form
<form id="myform" action='posttome.php'>
<input type="hidden" id="wordCount"/>
<input type="submit" value="sbumit"> //Submits Form
</form>
Then set its value by using of of three methods, a an elements html, an elements value, or a javascript variable $('#wordCount').val()
$('#wordCount').val($('#wordCountSoruceDiv').html()); // Sets the value to another divs html
$('#wordCount').val($('#wordCountSourceInput').val()); // Sets the value to another inputs value
$('#wordCount').val(wordCountVariable); // Sets the value to a variable

Selecting and changing an appended HTML input tag in Jquery

I have an issue I cannot solve through research/Google. I successfully appended the following input boxes to my HTML/JQuery project. They all appear as intended on the web page.
for (i = 0; i < max; i++) {
var id = myUniqueIDs[i];
$("#targetedDiv").append(myUniqueIDs[i] + ': <input id = "' + id + '" type = "text" class = "findOutputs" readonly/>');
}
Later on in my code, after some user interaction, I try to write some info into the input boxes. They cannot be written into by the user (they are readonly). I know I can write into a read only input box via Jquery because it is done elsewhere in my project. However it just isn't working.
for (i = 0; i < max; i++) {
var y = getY(); // the returned variable is confirmed correct via debugging
var id = myUniqueIDs[i]; // again, confirmed correct
$('#' + id).val(y); // does not work
}
When I put var test = $("#targetedDiv").html(); in my code it I can see that test is
uniqueID1: <input id="uniqueID1" class="findOutputs" readonly="" type="text">
uniqueID2: <input id="uniqueID2" class="findOutputs" readonly="" type="text">
uniqueID3: <input id="uniqueID3" class="findOutputs" readonly="" type="text">
So I honestly have no idea what the issue is. Is there something illegal with $('#' + id).val(y);?
Can you not select an appended tag in Jquery? Can someone point out what I am missing here?
The issue is definitely with the selection because I tried var test = $("#targetedDiv").html(); AFTER the part where I change the value and there is no difference on the variable test as when it was done before the second loop, so $('#' + id).val(y); (or other suggestions in answers) is having no effect.
Musa answered the question in the comments.
"If the ids contain special characters you'll have to escape them."
My (real) IDs contained a space.

Naming Lots of Input Checkboxes with a Counter

This is a pretty straightforward question, but I wasn't able to find the answer to it.
Is it possible to do something like this with JavaScript and HTML? So below the names of the checkboxes in order would be 1, 2, 3, 4
<input type="checkbox" name=counter()>
<input type="checkbox" name=counter()>
<input type="checkbox" name=counter()>
<input type="checkbox" name=counter()>
function counter() {
i++;
return i;
}
No, but yes in a different way. Don't include the name attribute (or set the value as ""), and put this code after your checkboxes:
<script type="text/javascript">
var chx = document.getElementsByTagName("input");
for (var i = 0; i < chx.length; i++) {
var cur = chx[i];
if (cur.type === "checkbox") {
cur.name = "checkbox" + i;
}
}
</script>
DEMO: http://jsfiddle.net/bLRLA/
The checkboxes' names will be in the format "checkbox#". This starts counting at 0. If you want to start the names with 1 instead (like you did say), use cur.name = "checkbox" + i + 1;.
Another option for getting the checkboxes is using:
var chx = document.querySelectorAll('input[type="checkbox"]');
With this, you don't have to check the .type inside the for loop.
In either case, it's probably better not to use document, and instead use some more specific container of these elements, so that not all checkboxes are targeted/modified...unless that's exactly what you want.
In the demo, I added extra code so that when you click on the checkbox, it will alert its name, just to prove it's being set properly. That code obviously isn't necessary for what you need....just the code above.
This code could be run immediately after the checkboxes, at the end of the <body>, or in window.onload.
You can get a nodeList of all inputs on the page and then loop through them adding the loop index to whatever the common name string you want for those that have a type of "checkbox". In the following example I have used Array.forEach and Function.call to treat the array like nodeList as an array, to make looping simple.
<input type="checkbox" />
<input type="checkbox" />
<input type="checkbox" />
<input type="checkbox" />
var inputs = document.getElementsByTagName("input");
Array.prototype.forEach.call(inputs, function (input, index) {
if (input.type === "checkbox") {
inputs.name = "box" + index;
}
});
on jsfiddle
Finally, though this has been demonstrated as possible, I think you need to be asking yourself the question "why would I do it this way?". Perhaps there is a better alternative available to you.
Since you're most probably processing the form server-side. you can possibly not bother altering the form markup client-side. For example, simple changing your form markup to the following will do the trick:
<input type="checkbox" value="One" name=counter[]>
<input type="checkbox" value="Two" name=counter[]>
<input type="checkbox" value="Tre" name=counter[]>
<input type="checkbox" value="For" name=counter[]>
Then, for example, using PHP server-side:
<?php
if ( isset( $_REQUEST['counter'] ) ) {
print_r( $_REQUEST['counter'] );
}
?>
I think you're better off creating the elements in code. add a script tag in replace of your controls and use something like this (create a containing div, I've specified one named container in my code below)
for(int i = 0; i < 4; i ++){
var el = document.createElement('input');
el.setAttribute('name', 'chk' + i.toString());
document.getElementById('container').appendChild(el);
}

Unable to remove form elements while using element.parentNode.removeChild(element)

I have a form that will submit to a Google search appliance, forming a query string "q".
In the form I have radio buttons and a hidden element; the radio buttons contain options for sites to select; the hidden element contains multiple sites that will allow the user to select multiple site searches.
<input type="radio" id="site_search" name="as_sitesearch" value="www.mycompany.com" checked>Current site<br />
<input type="radio" id="site_search" name="as_sitesearch" value="archive.mycompany.com">Archive site<br />
<input type="radio" id="site_search" name="as_sitesearch" value="">Both sites<br />
<input type="hidden" id="as_oqOption" name="as_oq" value="www.mycompany.com archive.mycompany.com">
This is the Javascript I wrote that will remove the radio element or the hidden element exclusively (one of them can exist in the form submittal):
// IF THE USER CHECKED "BOTH SITES", YOU WILL HAVE TO WIPE OUT THE VALUE OF as_sitesearch TO ALLOW FOR PASSING OF as_oq FOR GOOGLE ENGINE
if (form.elements['as_sitesearch'][0].value.length == 0) {
var goodbyeElement = document.getElementById('site_search');
goodbyeElement.parentNode.removeChild(goodbyeElement);
} else {
var goodbyeElement = document.getElementById('as_oqOption');
goodbyeElement.parentNode.removeChild(goodbyeElement);
}
However, when the form is submitted, "q" winds up obtaining both radio and hidden elements no matter what radio option I click.
Not sure why this is happening as I followed the guides in the DOM tutorial sites I have read on how to remove a form element prior to submittal. Any ideas?
Thanks
Following code may help you:
(form.as_sitesearch[2].checked){
for(var k=0; k<form.as_sitesearch.length;k++){
form.as_sitesearch[k].parentNode.removeChild(form.as_sitesearch[k])
}
}
else{
var goodbyeElement = document.getElementById('as_oqOption');
goodbyeElement.parentNode.removeChild(goodbyeElement);
}
You should call it on form submit. here form is document.form[index];
Got it! Apparently form.elements will always fail because of the grouping, so don't use it..
// IF THE USER CHECKED "BOTH SITES", YOU WILL HAVE TO WIPE OUT THE VALUE OF as_sitesearch TO ALLOW FOR PASSING OF as_oq FOR GOOGLE ENGINE
if (document.getElementById('site_search3').checked) {
for (var i = 1; i <= 3; i++) {
eval('var goodbyeElement = document.getElementById("site_search' + i + '");');
goodbyeElement.parentNode.removeChild(goodbyeElement);
}
} else {
var goodbyeElement = document.getElementById('as_oqOption');
goodbyeElement.parentNode.removeChild(goodbyeElement);
}

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