using hyperllinks to submit a form

[Alexander Ross]

I know that <a href="javascrip t:document.form name.submit();" > works for
this, but can you use a hyperlink to submit a form WITHOUT assigning the
form tags name attribute a value. The site I am currently working on is
supposed to be HTML 4 (w3c) complient, but according to the HTML validator
the name attribute has been depreciated and should no longer be used. I'm
not saying I agree with this, just that I have little choice in the matter.
Thoughts?

Alex

[Grant Wagner]

Re: using hyperllinks to submit a form

David Dorward wrote:
[color=blue]
> Alexander Ross wrote:
>[color=green]
> > I know that <a href="javascrip t:document.form name.submit();" > works[/color]
>
> For some definitions of "work" - http://tom.me.uk/scripting/submit.asp
>[color=green]
> > for
> > this, but can you use a hyperlink to submit a form WITHOUT assigning the
> > form tags name attribute a value. The site I am currently working on is
> > supposed to be HTML 4 (w3c) complient, but according to the HTML validator
> > the name attribute has been depreciated and should no longer be used.[/color]
>
> You can access it via the id attribute,
> document.getEle mentById('id_of _form').submit( ) - but removing the
> dependancy on JavaScript would be the better option (see the above URL).[/color]

The default document object in most browsers contain a list of form objects on
the page as a 0-indexed array. Using document.getEle mentById() is unnecessary.

<a href="#" onclick="docume nt.forms[0].submit();retur n false;">Submit</a> will
work just fine.

Although I agree, remove the dependancy on the link entirely and use a normal
<input type="submit" ...> with CSS to make it look like a link. Sure, in older
browsers it'll be a big ugly button, but in newer browsers it'll look like a
link, and in all browsers it should submit the form, regardless of JavaScript
support.

--
| Grant Wagner <gwagner@agrico reunited.com>

* Client-side Javascript and Netscape 4 DOM Reference available at:
*

http://devedge.netscape.com/library/manuals/2000/javascript/1.3/reference/frames.html

* Internet Explorer DOM Reference available at:
*

http://msdn.microsoft.com/workshop/author/dhtml/reference/dhtml_reference_entry.asp

* Netscape 6/7 DOM Reference available at:
* http://www.mozilla.org/docs/dom/domref/
* Tips for upgrading JavaScript for Netscape 6/7 and Mozilla
* http://www.mozilla.org/docs/web-deve...upgrade_2.html

[Lasse Reichstein Nielsen]

Re: using hyperllinks to submit a form

"Alexander Ross" <alexross@bleen .net> writes:
[color=blue]
> I know that <a href="javascrip t:document.form name.submit();" > works for
> this,[/color]

"this" == subject. (Putting vital parts of a message in the subject is
highly distracting).

Using the javascript: pseudo protocol is a bad idea. You should at least
use

<a href="nonJS.htm l"
onclick="docume nt.forms['formname'].submit()";retu rn false;">

where "nonJS.html " expains why you can't build a functional page
without javascrtip.

A better solution is to use asubmit button inside the form.
[color=blue]
> but can you use a hyperlink to submit a form WITHOUT assigning the
> form tags name attribute a value. The site I am currently working on is
> supposed to be HTML 4 (w3c) complient, but according to the HTML validator
> the name attribute has been depreciated and should no longer be used.[/color]

.... however, one should use the "id" attribute instead.

If that fails, you can index "document.forms " with integers too,
so the first form is "document.f orms[0]".

/L
--
Lasse Reichstein Nielsen - lrn@hotpop.com
Art D'HTML: <URL:http://www.infimum.dk/HTML/randomArtSplit. html>
'Faith without judgement merely degrades the spirit divine.'