Create Pulldown Menus for Month/Day/Year in HTA

**Andy Dingley** · Dec 29 '06, 04:35 PM

Re: Create Pulldown Menus for Month/Day/Year in HTA

Highlander wrote:

Consider the following HTA:

I'd rather not. You posted it to c.i.w.a.h where it's off-topic
because:

It's a HTA (spawn of pure evil) rather than HTML
It's a HTML, thus not suitable for "web" use, as opposed to M$'s little
play-nice-with-everyone sandpit.
It uses VBScript so it's IE-restricted
The HTML is a bit poor
The CSS is a bit poor

The script works fine, but I'm wondering if there's any way to
dynamically populate the pulldown lists with all the months of the
year, days of the month, etc. - rather than have to list each one out
like this:

HTML isn't a programming language, it's fundamentally a static text
markup language. So stick static things into it statically.

If you want to generate this programmaticall y (probably overkill for
days and months, but the principle isn't bad) then do it with some
server-side program that's _external_ to the HTML document itself (and
it's only a line or two of ASP, even ASP/VBScript).

Embedding executables into static documents is only sensible if you're
deliberately trying to obfuscate things, or you're drawing Hilbert
curves.

**McKirahan** · Dec 29 '06, 04:45 PM

Re: Create Pulldown Menus for Month/Day/Year in HTA

"Highlander " <tron9901@msn.c omwrote in message
news:1167406316 .195202.84900@k 21g2000cwa.goog legroups.com...

Hello all. Consider the following HTA:

[snip]

>
The script works fine, but I'm wondering if there's any way to
dynamically populate the pulldown lists with all the months of the
year, days of the month, etc. - rather than have to list each one out
like this:
>
<option value="1">1</option>
<option value="2">2</option>
<option value="3">3</option>
<option value="4">4</option>
etc.
etc.
etc.
>
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Will this help? This cuts the code size in half.

<html>
<head>
<title>Date Pulldowns</title>
<HTA:APPLICATIO N
ID="HTAUI"
APPLICATIONNAME ="Date Pulldowns"
SCROLL="no"
SINGLEINSTANCE= "yes"
WINDOWSTATE="ma ximized">
<script type="text/vbscript">
Option Explicit
'*
Const cOPT = "<option value='?'>?</option>"
'*
Dim fromMDY(2)
Dim toMDY(2)
Dim optMDY(2)
optMDY(0) = "<option value='0'></option>"
optMDY(1) = "<option value='0'></option>"
optMDY(2) = "<option value='0'></option>"
Dim i
'*
For i = 1 To 12
optMDY(0) = optMDY(0) & vbCrLf & Replace(cOPT,"? ",i)
Next
For i = 1 To 31
optMDY(1) = optMDY(1) & vbCrLf & Replace(cOPT,"? ",i)
Next
For i = Year(Date)+1 To Year(Date)-4 Step -1
optMDY(2) = optMDY(2) & vbCrLf & Replace(cOPT,"? ",i)
Next

Sub Selected(What)
Select Case What
Case "FromMonth"
fromMDY(0) = FromMonth.Value
Case "FromDay"
fromMDY(1) = FromDay.Value
Case "FromYear"
fromMDY(2) = FromYear.Value
Case "ToMonth"
toMDY(0) = ToMonth.Value
Case "ToDay"
toMDY(1) = ToDay.Value
Case "ToYear"
toMDY(2) = ToYear.Value
End Select
End Sub

Sub DisplayDates()
MsgBox "From:" & vbTab & Join(fromMDY,"/") & vbCrlf _
& "To:" & vbTab & Join(toMDY,"/")
End Sub

Sub Window_Onload()
self.Focus()
self.ResizeTo 400,200
self.MoveTo 400,150
End Sub
</script>
</head>
<body style="font:6 pt arial; color:white;
filter:progid:D XImageTransform .Microsoft.Grad ient
(GradientType=1 , StartColorStr=' #000000', EndColorStr='#0 000FF')">
<font face="serif" size="4">
  &nb sp;     
<b>From:</b>
  &nb sp;     &nb sp;  
  &nb sp;     &nb sp;  
  
<b>To:</b>
<br>
<select id="FromMonth" onChange="Selec ted('FromMonth' )">
<script type="text/vbscript">
document.write( optMDY(0))
</script>
</select>

<select id="FromDay" onChange="Selec ted('FromDay')" >
<script type="text/vbscript">
document.write( optMDY(1))
</script>
</select>

<select id="FromYear" onChange="Selec ted('FromYear') ">
<script type="text/vbscript">
document.write( optMDY(2))
</script>
</select>

  

<select id="ToMonth" onChange="Selec ted('ToMonth')" >
<script type="text/vbscript">
document.write( optMDY(0))
</script>
</select>

<select id="ToDay" onChange="Selec ted('ToDay')">
<script type="text/vbscript">
document.write( optMDY(1))
</script>
</select>

<select id="ToYear" onChange="Selec ted('ToYear')">
<script type="text/vbscript">
document.write( optMDY(2))
</script>
</select>

<br><br>
<input type="button" value="Display Dates" onClick="Displa yDates()">
</body>
</html>

There's no such tag as <align="left" >
(it's the default alignment anyway)
and you use of  
for spacing is not recommended;
consider using a <table>.

Also, you may want to use 2-digit months and days.

**McKirahan** · Dec 29 '06, 04:55 PM

Re: Create Pulldown Menus for Month/Day/Year in HTA

"Andy Dingley" <dingbat@codesm iths.comwrote in message
news:1167409590 .018789.296780@ k21g2000cwa.goo glegroups.com.. .

>
Highlander wrote:
>

Consider the following HTA:

>
I'd rather not. You posted it to c.i.w.a.h where it's off-topic
because:
>
It's a HTA (spawn of pure evil) rather than HTML

Huh?

It's a HTML, thus not suitable for "web" use, as opposed to M$'s little
play-nice-with-everyone sandpit.

HTA's are (primarily) meant to run locally.

It uses VBScript so it's IE-restricted

So, this is a VBScript newsgroup.

The HTML is a bit poor

Agreed.

The CSS is a bit poor

Agreed.

>
>

The script works fine, but I'm wondering if there's any way to
dynamically populate the pulldown lists with all the months of the
year, days of the month, etc. - rather than have to list each one out
like this:

>
HTML isn't a programming language, it's fundamentally a static text
markup language. So stick static things into it statically.

VBScript is the programming language.

If you want to generate this programmaticall y (probably overkill for
days and months, but the principle isn't bad) then do it with some
server-side program that's _external_ to the HTML document itself (and
it's only a line or two of ASP, even ASP/VBScript).

HTA's are not an ASP topic.

Embedding executables into static documents is only sensible if you're
deliberately trying to obfuscate things, or you're drawing Hilbert
curves.

Huh? What does this have to do with anything?

**Sherm Pendley** · Dec 29 '06, 06:15 PM

Re: Create Pulldown Menus for Month/Day/Year in HTA

"McKirahan" <News@McKirahan .comwrites:

"Andy Dingley" <dingbat@codesm iths.comwrote in message
news:1167409590 .018789.296780@ k21g2000cwa.goo glegroups.com.. .
>

>It uses VBScript so it's IE-restricted

>
So, this is a VBScript newsgroup.

What part of comp.infosystem s.www.authoring.HTML, or alt.HTML do you not
understand?

You cross-posted this to three groups; one of them is relevant, the others
are not. Followups set.

>HTML isn't a programming language, it's fundamentally a static text
>markup language. So stick static things into it statically.

>
VBScript is the programming language.

You posted to two different HTML groups also.

sherm--

--
Web Hosting by West Virginians, for West Virginians: http://wv-www.net
Cocoa programming in Perl: http://camelbones.sourceforge.net

**Highlander** · Dec 29 '06, 08:15 PM

Re: Create Pulldown Menus for Month/Day/Year in HTA

McKirahan,

Thanks for your suggestions!

Andy Dingley wrote:

Highlander wrote:

Consider the following HTA:

>
I'd rather not. You posted it to c.i.w.a.h where it's off-topic

Sherm Pendley wrote:

You cross-posted this to three groups; one of them is relevant, the others
are not. Followups set.

....

Off-topic? Not relevant?

A search in comp.infosystem s.www.authoring.html for the word "HTA":
39 results

A search in alt.html for the word "HTA":
70 results

Furthermore, a "date picker" pulldown menu of Month/Day/Year selections
is a *very* common element on websites; so it stands to reason that
HTML related newsgroups (such as these two that I posted to) just might
have info on this type of dropdown.

**Ayush** · Dec 29 '06, 08:55 PM

Re: Create Pulldown Menus for Month/Day/Year in HTA

Replied to [Highlander]s message :

Hello all. Consider the following HTA:
>
<html>
<head>
<title>Date Pulldowns</title>
<HTA:APPLICATIO N
ID="HTAUI"
APPLICATIONNAME ="Date Pulldowns"
SCROLL="no"
SINGLEINSTANCE= "yes"
WINDOWSTATE="ma ximized">
</head>

I am not very good at VBs so i made this in Js. Insert this at top of your VBS script
tag :

There is a variable named elementNames.. The syntax is like :
"ID of element|LengthA ndValueOptions, ID|LengthAndVal ue etc.etc...

<script language="JScri pt">
window.onload=M akee
elementNames="F romDaySelection |31,FromMonthSe lection|12,ToMo nthSelection|12 ,ToDaySelection |31"

function Makee(){
eN=elementNames .split(",");num m=new Array()
for(indX=0;indX <eN.length;indX ++){
numm[indX]=parseInt(eN[indX].substring(eN[indX].length-2,eN[indX].length))
eN[indX]=document.getEl ementById(eN[indX].substring(0,eN[indX].length-3));
}
for(aIx=0;aIx<e N.length;aIx++) {
con = document.create Element("option ");
eN[aIx].options.add(co n);
for(aIxx=1;aIxx <(numm[aIx]+1);aIxx++){
cTion = document.create Element("option ");
eN[aIx].options.add(cT ion);
cTion.innerText = aIxx;
cTion.value = aIxx;
}}}
</script>

**Harlan Messinger** · Dec 29 '06, 09:45 PM

Re: Create Pulldown Menus for Month/Day/Year in HTA

Highlander wrote:

McKirahan,
>
Thanks for your suggestions!
>
Andy Dingley wrote:

>Highlander wrote:

>>Consider the following HTA:

>I'd rather not. You posted it to c.i.w.a.h where it's off-topic

>
Sherm Pendley wrote:

>You cross-posted this to three groups; one of them is relevant, the others
>are not. Followups set.

>
...
>
Off-topic? Not relevant?
>
A search in comp.infosystem s.www.authoring.html for the word "HTA":
39 results

A topic of discussion doesn't become on-topic in a newsgroup because
people may mention it in passing while discussing something that is on
topic, or because other people have already raised it in off-topic postings.

HTA is for running apps on local computers. C.i.w.a.h is about authoring
HTML for the Web. They're mutually exclusive.

A search in alt.html for the word "HTA":
70 results

Alt.html is about anything HTML related, so I don't see any problem with
bringing up the topic there. OMMV (others' mileage may vary).

>
Furthermore, a "date picker" pulldown menu of Month/Day/Year selections
is a *very* common element on websites;

but not as an HTA.

so it stands to reason that
HTML related newsgroups (such as these two that I posted to) just might
have info on this type of dropdown.

People in a wine newsgroup might know something about cheese, but ask a
cheese-related question in a cheese newsgroup and leave the wine
newsgroup for people to discuss wine. Otherwise the point of having
separate newsgroups for so many topics is kind of defeated.

It's one thing if there isn't *any* obvious newsgroup to post a question
in, or if a newsgroup specific to the subject exists but has no traffic
other than spammers. But this isn't one of those situations. Frankly, I
would think that one of the microsoft.* newsgroups related to
"inetexplor er" would be the best bet.

**Ayush** · Dec 29 '06, 10:25 PM

Re: Create Pulldown Menus for Month/Day/Year in HTA

Replied to [Harlan Messinger] :

Can you tell me which server are you using to subscribe to this NG ?

â†’ Ayush

**mayayana** · Dec 30 '06, 05:35 PM

Re: Create Pulldown Menus for Month/Day/Year in HTA

It's not clear whether you've got your
answer yet, in all this confusion. :)

So just in case....
In addition to McKirihan's method of
looping through pre-existing options, you
can also load them and clear them dynamically.

It's awkward because it's non-intuitive.
The DOM treats an option as an object, so you have
to "create" them and add them to a SELECT::

Dim Opt

Set Opt = document.create Element("OPTION ")
Opt.text = '-- text of option here.
Opt.value = '-- hidden value here.
FromMonthSelect ion.add Opt
Set Opt = Nothing

To clear options just use:

FromMonthSelect ion.length = 0

VK · Dec 30 '06, 08:45 PM

Re: Create Pulldown Menus for Month/Day/Year in HTA

Harlan Messinger wrote:

HTA is for running apps on local computers.

"HTML Applications (HTAs)"
see also
<http://msdn.microsoft. com/workshop/author/hta/overview/htaoverview.asp #Deployment>

C.i.w.a.h is about authoring
HTML for the Web. They're mutually exclusive.

from c.i.w.a.h. charter:
"This newsgroup covers discussion of HyperText Markup Language (HTML)
as it relates to web page authoring. Possible subjects include HTML
editors, formatting tricks, and current and proposed HTML standards."

see also <http://www.stack.nl/~boris/HTML/ciwahfaq.html>

If you don't like the charter of some Usenet group then simply don't
participate in such group or state your private opinion as a _private_
one, like "despite of what the charter says I consider... etc."

Alt.html is about anything HTML related, so I don't see any problem with
bringing up the topic there. OMMV (others' mileage may vary).

As well as c.i.w.a.h. But the group description says "Use
comp.infosystem s.www.authoring.html instead."
<http://groups.google.c om/group/alt.html/aboutThe reason why no one
follows this advise is clear from reading just a few "friendly and
useful" crap sh** posts as in this thread.

Furthermore, a "date picker" pulldown menu of Month/Day/Year selections
is a *very* common element on websites;

Here I would contest OP: it is a common *programmed widget* so it is in
direct relations with client-side programming rather than with HTML
markup. This way JavaScript, JScript and VBScript groups are the most
relevant for the question.

<snip crap>

**Dr J R Stockton** · Dec 30 '06, 09:25 PM

Re: Create Pulldown Menus for Month/Day/Year in HTA

In microsoft.publi c.scripting.vbs cript message <1167406316.195 202.84900@
k21g2000cwa.goo glegroups.com>, Fri, 29 Dec 2006 07:31:56, Highlander
<tron9901@msn.c omposted:

>The script works fine, but I'm wondering if there's any way to
>dynamically populate the pulldown lists with all the months of the
>year, days of the month, etc. - rather than have to list each one out

>Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Well, you could read the news:c.l.j FAQ on the subject of dates.

Your job is done using javascript in my js-date6.htm#YMD, including only
offering the right number of days for the selected month. There is also
code for year-week-day numbering, using standard weeks.

But you should consider whether all likely users will have scripting
enabled.

FU set.

--
(c) John Stockton, Surrey, UK. ?@merlyn.demon. co.uk Turnpike v6.05 IE 6
news:comp.lang. javascript FAQ <URL:http://www.jibbering.c om/faq/index.html>.
<URL:http://www.merlyn.demo n.co.uk/js-index.htmjscr maths, dates, sources.
<URL:http://www.merlyn.demo n.co.uk/TP/BP/Delphi/jscr/&c, FAQ items, links.

**Dan** · Dec 30 '06, 09:55 PM

Re: Create Pulldown Menus for Month/Day/Year in HTA

Highlander wrote:

Furthermore, a "date picker" pulldown menu of Month/Day/Year selections
is a *very* common element on websites; so it stands to reason that
HTML related newsgroups (such as these two that I posted to) just might
have info on this type of dropdown.

And it's perfectly possible to create one in standard HTML, without any
need for all of that HTA / VBScript fecal matter.

--
Dan

**Sherm Pendley** · Dec 30 '06, 10:25 PM

Re: Create Pulldown Menus for Month/Day/Year in HTA

"VK" <schools_ring@y ahoo.comwrites:

Harlan Messinger wrote:

>HTA is for running apps on local computers.

>
"HTML Applications (HTAs)"
see also
<http://msdn.microsoft. com/workshop/author/hta/overview/htaoverview.asp #Deployment>
>

>C.i.w.a.h is about authoring
>HTML for the Web. They're mutually exclusive.

>
from c.i.w.a.h. charter:
"This newsgroup covers discussion of HyperText Markup Language (HTML)
as it relates to web page authoring. Possible subjects include HTML
editors, formatting tricks, and current and proposed HTML standards."

The key point there is "as it relates to web page authoring". The entire
comp.infosystem s.www.* hierarchy is meant for discussion of (surprise) the
WWW itself. Many technologies upon which the WWW is based - HTML, GIF and
JPEG images, etc. - are also used in other contexts. That does not make
discussion of those other contexts relevant to the c.i.w.* groups.

Although they use some of the same technologies, HTAs are not web pages. Not
even MS claims that they are - the very first paragraph of the link you gave
above states quite clearly that they are not:

The power to build HTML Applications (HTAs) brings Microsoft Internet
Explorer 5 to the fore as a viable Microsoft Windows development platform.
HTAs are full-fledged applications.

There you go, right from the horse's mouth - HTA are applications for MS
Windows, not web pages. The very next sentence reinforces that point:

These applications are trusted and display only the menus, icons,
toolbars, and title information that the Web developer creates.

HTAs and web pages are, despite their common use of HTML as a display format,
built around entirely different sets of assumptions. I would think it common
sense to ask one's question in a group where everyone is reading from the
same play book. HTA and web page authors are very clearly not doing that.

Granted, there is a substantial amount of overlap, and I for one would not
take issue with any question regarding standard HTML being posted here,
regardless of whether it was being used in a web page or in an HTA. But the
OP's question concerning VBScript was very clearly off-topic for this group.

sherm--

--
Web Hosting by West Virginians, for West Virginians: http://wv-www.net
Cocoa programming in Perl: http://camelbones.sourceforge.net

VK · Dec 31 '06, 01:05 AM

Re: Create Pulldown Menus for Month/Day/Year in HTA

Sherm Pendley wrote:

from c.i.w.a.h. charter:
"This newsgroup covers discussion of HyperText Markup Language (HTML)
as it relates to web page authoring. Possible subjects include HTML
editors, formatting tricks, and current and proposed HTML standards."

>
The key point there is "as it relates to web page authoring".

Right: "web page authoring", not "authoring for the Web" or so. You may
want to refresh in your memory the definition of a "web page" /
"webpage". If you don't have any printed dictionary handy right at this
second, <http://en.wikipedia.or g/wiki/Webpagemay go for a temporary
source.

The entire
comp.infosystem s.www.* hierarchy is meant for discussion of (surprise) the
WWW itself.

Abstract questions like "WWW itself" should be discussed IMO on
comp.infosystem s.www.misc or similar. What is allowed to discuss at
<comp.infosyste ms.www.authorin g.htmlis defined in the newsgroup
charter.

Many technologies upon which the WWW is based - HTML, GIF and
JPEG images, etc. - are also used in other contexts. That does not make
discussion of those other contexts relevant to the c.i.w.* groups.

"This newsgroup covers discussion of HyperText Markup Language (HTML)
as it relates to web page authoring. Possible subjects include HTML
editors, formatting tricks, and current and proposed HTML standards."

As long as the question fits in here it should be welcome.

Although they use some of the same technologies, HTAs are not web pages. Not
even MS claims that they are - the very first paragraph of the link you gave
above states quite clearly that they are not:

Did you see a single HTA page in your life? HTA 99% _is_ the same HTML
document but with .hta extension. There can be a complicated HTA
perfectly validating through W3C Validator as say HTML 4.01 Strict

There you go, right from the horse's mouth - HTA are applications for MS
Windows, not web pages. The very next sentence reinforces that point:

See the previous comment.
I just love people who don't learn other things - but they know that
all these things a terribly wrong - just because there can be only one
thing which is right, and this is the thing they already know about.

Create Pulldown Menus for Month/Day/Year in HTA

Create Pulldown Menus for Month/Day/Year in HTA

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