Develop Reference

How do I trigger a JavaScript confirm box without using a click event?

I'm working on an application that handles complaints. The user can't "close" the complaint (i.e. mark it as completed) until a batch of conditions are met. Previously, once every condition had been met, a "Close the Complaint" button would appear, but I've been asked instead to generate a confirmation window (asking, "Are you ready to close this complaint?") that would pop up as the user saves the last necessary item.
No problem, I figured. I set up JavaScript to generate the confirm window, and added attributes to the save buttons (when all of the other conditions for closure have been met) on any of the items that might be the final item necessary for closure. Except...
Once they click to save the record, they at least want to do that, whether they're ready to close the complaint or not. But currently, if they confirm "Yes," the record is saved and the complaint is closed, while if they confirm "No," then the complaint isn't closed, but neither is the record saved.
I'm working in vb.net, using Visual Studio 2008, and what I'd like to find is a way to trigger the confirm window after the record is saved (in the ItemInserted sub for the DetailsView). That way, it could get the confirmation and close or not, but the record would be saved either way.
Every bit of advice I can find uses button clicks to generate JavaScript confirm windows; does anybody know another way to do it?
EDIT (adding a bit more background):
The way I originally approached it was to make two identical save buttons. One is the ordinary button that saves the record ("ibInsert"), and the other ("ibInsertAndClose") saves, then closes the record. When the DetailsView databinds in Insert mode, I check the "ready for closure" status, then set the visibility of the buttons.
If ReadyToClose() Then
Dim ibInsertAndClose As ImageButton = CType(dvResponseDetail.FindControl("ibInsertAndClose"), ImageButton)
Dim ibInsert As ImageButton = CType(dvResponseDetail.FindControl("ibInsert"), ImageButton)
If Not ibInsert Is Nothing AndAlso Not ibInsertAndClose Is Nothing Then
ibInsert.Visible = False
ibInsertAndClose.Visible = True
ibInsertAndClose.Attributes.Add("onclick", "javascript: return confirm(""\nAre you ready to close this Complaint?"")")
End If
End If

Sounds like on click event you should save the record regardless then, once the save operation is complete, use a callback function to display the confirm dialog. Here's an example using setTimeout() instead of an actual save operation.
var closureConditionsMet = true;
document.getElementById('closureRecord').addEventListener('click', function() {
//the user clicked the record, so let's save it
simulateSaveRecord(function() {
if (closureConditionsMet) {
confirm('Are you ready to close this complaint?') ? console.log('After save user clicked "OK"') : console.log('After save user clicked "Cancel"');
} else {
console.log('Record saved but cloure conditions have not been met');
}
});
});
function simulateSaveRecord(callback) {
console.log('Waiting a few seconds for \'save\'');
setTimeout(function() {
callback();
}, 3000);
}
<div id="closureRecord">Pretend this is the closure record
</div>

If you are able to get the return from your JavaScript confirm() and you are able to save the record, it sounds like you have everything you need but you just need some guidance on the workflow?
Here's some pseudo-code (since I don't do .NET)
function saveRecord() 'saves the record
'database code here
end function
function closeComplaint() 'closes the complaint
'database code here
end function
function saveButtonClick() 'call this when the save button is clicked
saveRecord() 'fires no matter what the response is
dim alertConfirmedTrue = ??? 'response from JavaScript confirm() function
if alertConfirmedTrue
then closeComplaint() 'only called if response is "ok"
end function

Re-implementing Javascript prompt() dialog using modal

I'm tasked with replacing a Javascript prompt call with a custom function that uses a fancy Javascript-activated modal dialog.
The function is called once and expects a string back, with the input from the user. I cannot control how the function is called (it's an external library.)
Making the modal and getting input is easy. How do I return the input to the caller of my custom prompt function after the user clicks the Submit/OK button?
jQuery is fine.

The browser implementation for prompt() is implemented in a way that is not possible to replicate with user-level Javascript running on the page. You have to use callback functions. And if it were possible, there would already be a ready made solution that you should use.
What I am saying is that the user of your code cannot have this:
var result = customPrompt(...);
Rather they must have something in the lines of this:
customPrompt({
...
ok: function() {
//when user clicked ok
},
cancel: function() {
//when user clicked cancel
}
});
//Code continues to run here and doesn't wait for the user to click ok or cancel

This is how you can get the user's input into the same function as your modal launcher so you can handle it.
<input type="text" id="user-input" />
OK
function handlePrompt(launchModal){
if(launchModal){
// Code to Launch Modal
}else{
var userInput = $("#user-input").val();
// Do what you want with the input.
}
}

How to logout during onbeforeunload/onunload using Javascript

<script type="text/javascript">
window.onbeforeunload=before;
window.onunload=after;
function before(evt)
{
var message="If you continue, your session will be logged out!";
if(typeof evt=="undefined"){
evt=window.event;
}
if(evt){
evt.returnValue=message;
}
}
function after()
{
var flex=document.${application}||window.${application};
flex.unloadMethod(); //calls the flex class containing the "unloadMethod()" which
//calls the logout.jsp that does the actually dropping of credentials
}
</script>
So this is my thought:
When the user clicks back, refresh, or closes the window, the standard onbeforeunload pop-up box will appear along with the text located in my message variable. Then, if the user hits Cancel, the onunload event won't be executed and the user will stay on the current page. But if the user hits Okay, then the onunload event should fire off, which then executes my logoff classes.
This is what's happening:
The pop-up appears when needed and the Cancel button also works. But if the user clicks Okay, it seems like the onunload event fires off too quickly for my logoff classes to execute, because it never logs them off.
I know that my logout classes work because if I just call my flex.unloadMethod in the onbeforeunload, it logs them off.
I've researched this for a week now and it seems that I'm close but I'm putting something in the wrong place. If you have any examples or advice, it would be appreciated.

So, I've figured out some issues with my question with the help of Sunil D. The onunload event fires too quickly for my event to be triggered, so I've decided not to include a warning message, but just log the user off all together using the onbeforeunload event:
<script type="text/javascript">
window.onbeforeunload=before;
window.onunload=after;
function before(evt)
{
var flex=document.${application}||window.${application};
flex.unloadMethod(); //calls the flex class containing the "unloadMethod()" which
//calls the logout.jsp that does the actually dropping of credentials
}
function after(evt)
{
}
</script>

How to capture when a user is leaving ASP.Net page unexpectedly

I need to prompt a user when they are leaving my ASP.Net page unexpectedly with a message to ask if they are sure they want to leave. A post back or when the save button is clicked should not fire the warning. There are a bunch of articles covering this but I am brand new to this and appear to have got my wires crossed.
The recommended way appears to be to use the window.onbeforeunload event but behaves unexpectedly for me. This is fired when the page loads as opposed to when the page unloads.
<script language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript">
window.onbeforeunload = confirmExit;
function confirmExit() {
return "You have attempted to leave this page. If you have made any changes to the fields without clicking the Save button, your changes will be lost. Are you sure you want to exit this page?";
}
</script>
If I use the JQuery implementation it fires when the page unloads but the problem is it fires before the code behind is executed. So I cannot set a variable on the client saying don’t fire the event this time as it is a post back or a Save.
$(window).bind('beforeunload', function () {
return 'Are you sure you want to leave?';
});
Can anyone point me in the correct direction as I know I am making basic mistakes/miss-understanding?
Edit:
So I am nearly there:
var prompt = true;
$('a').live('click', function () {
//if click does not require a prompt set to false
prompt = false;
});
$(window).bind("beforeunload", function () {
if (prompt) {
//reset our prompt variable
prompt = false;
//prompt
return true;
}
})
Except the problem is in the above code I need to be able to differentiate between the clicks but I haven't been able to figure that out yet i.e. I am missing a condition here "//if click does not require a prompt set to false".
Any ideas?
Thanks,
Michael

You can try using this:
$(window).unload(function(){
alert('Message');
});

In case people are interested this is the roundabout solution to my problem. How to tell if a page unload in ASP is a PostBack

Intercept selection in window.onbeforeunload dialog

in my web application if the user leaves the current page without having saved changes in the form a pop up window is opened to alert him about that.
For the pop up I use some scripts code injected from codebehind (C#):
var Confirm = true;
window.onbeforeunload = confirmClose;
function confirmClose()
{
if (!Confirm) return;
if(/*CHECK CHANGE CONDITION IS TRUE*/)
{ return " + WARN_message + "; }
}
I would need to intercept whether the user click on cancel or ok button.
I tried like:
var button_pressed = window.onbeforeunload = confirmClose;
But it returns always true.
How can get which button was pressed?
Thanks

Not possible. There is no event associated with the buttons.
What you might be able to do was to see if the user came back by setting a value or perhaps a cookie in the page in the onbeforeunload and test if it is there after some time has passed
but see the duplicate Way to know if user clicked Cancel on a Javascript onbeforeunload Dialog?