I am stuck in implementing the following:
- User starts typing in a textbox.
- The javascript on page captures the first character typed, validates that it is an english alphabet (a-z,A-Z) and converts it to lowercase (if necessary).
- Make an XMLHttp request based on the input (i.e. if first input character is a, get a.xml, if b get b.xml and so on).
I know how to do the last part (make the xmlhttp request) but am kind of stuck on how to capture the first character and validate it (in a way that works on all browsers). Please guide. Thanks.
Clarification: This is to create a Google Suggest like autoplete-drop-down menu without the need for server side programs.
I am stuck in implementing the following:
- User starts typing in a textbox.
- The javascript on page captures the first character typed, validates that it is an english alphabet (a-z,A-Z) and converts it to lowercase (if necessary).
- Make an XMLHttp request based on the input (i.e. if first input character is a, get a.xml, if b get b.xml and so on).
I know how to do the last part (make the xmlhttp request) but am kind of stuck on how to capture the first character and validate it (in a way that works on all browsers). Please guide. Thanks.
Clarification: This is to create a Google Suggest like autoplete-drop-down menu without the need for server side programs.
Share Improve this question edited Jul 4, 2010 at 9:03 Justin Johnson 31.3k7 gold badges66 silver badges89 bronze badges asked Feb 15, 2010 at 18:59 SamSam 1,3885 gold badges16 silver badges30 bronze badges 1- What's the application? This example seems a little abstract and contrived. – Dustman Commented Feb 15, 2010 at 19:04
2 Answers
Reset to default 3Something like this should work:
HTML:
<input type="text" id="myField" />
And in JS:
window.onload = function() {
document.getElementById('myField').onkeyup = function() {
// Validate that the first letter is A-Za-z and capture it
var letter = this.value.match(/^([A-Za-z])/);
// If a letter was found
if(letter !== null) {
// Change it to lowercase and update the value
letter = letter[0].toLowerCase();
this.value = letter + this.value.substring(1);
// Do the request
}
}
}
My vanilla-JS skills are a bit rusty but this should do the trick. Just for the heck of it, here's the same using jQuery:
$(function() {
$('#myField').keyup(function() {
var letter = $(this).val().match(/^([A-Za-z])/);
// If a letter was found
if(letter !== null) {
// Change it to lowercase and update the value
letter = letter[0].toLowerCase();
$(this).val(letter + $(this).val().substring(1);
// Do the request
}
});
});
What part of the problem do you not know how to do? Here's an approach that you can follow. Very likely to need adjustments, but a good starting point
if our text field's id is 'txt'
document.getElementByID('txt').onkeypress = function(e) {
var textInField = this.value;
if (textInField.length == 1) {
var firstChar = textInField.charAt(0);
if (/[a-zA-Z]/.test(firstChar)) {
sendXHR(textInField.value.toLowerCase())
}
} else {
// What do you do if there is one or more chars???
}
}
Note that the other answers here mention onchange, that doesn't fire until the focus leaves the field, which I don't think is what you want