Question

I’m creating a form using html form controls and javascript to help streamline some processes at work. I’ve temporarily put the form online here.

In one section of the form, I have a text box associated with a radio button. The other radio buttons in the section display their values properly when the “Display” button is hit at the bottom of the page, but the radio button with the text box does not. It seems that I’m not correctly assigning the value of the text box to the value of the radio button. What am I doing wrong?

Here’s the javascript:

<script LANGUAGE="JavaScript" type="text/javascript">

function display() {
  for (var i=0; i < document.form2.paymenttype.length; i++)
   {
   if (document.form2.paymenttype[i].checked)
      {
      var radio_paymenttype_val = document.form2.paymenttype[i].value;
      }
   }

  for (var i=0; i < document.form2.contracts.length; i++)
   {
   if (document.form2.contracts[i].checked)
      {
      var radio_contracts_val = document.form2.contracts[i].value;
      }
   }

  DispWin = window.open('','NewWin', 'toolbar=no,status=no,scrollbars=yes,width=800,height=600')

  message = "<h2>Royalty Advance Payment Letter</h2>";
  message += "<hr />";
  message += "<span STYLE=\'font-family: Garamond\'>";
  message += "<p>" + document.form2.agentfirstname.value + "&nbsp;" + document.form2.agentlastname.value + "<br />";
  message += document.form2.agencyname.value + "<br />";
  message += document.form2.agentaddress1.value + "<br />";
  message += document.form2.agentaddress2.value + "<br />";
  message += document.form2.agentcity.value + ",&nbsp;" + document.form2.agentstate.value + "&nbsp;" + document.form2.agentzip.value + "<br />";
  message += document.form2.agentcountry.value + "<br />";
  message += "</p>";
  message += "<p>Dear&nbsp;" + document.form2.agentfirstname.value + ",</p>";
  message += "<p>Please find enclosed a check in the amount of&nbsp;$";
  message += document.form2.paymentamount.value + "&nbsp;representing the amount due upon&nbsp;";
  message += radio_paymenttype_val + "&nbsp;";
  message += document.form2.authorfirstname.value + "&nbsp;";
  message += document.form2.authorlastname.value + "'s&nbsp;<em>";
  message += document.form2.booktitle.value + "</em>.";
  message += radio_contracts_val + "</p>";
  message += "<p>Regards,<br /><br /><br /><br />My Name<br />Associate Editor</p>";
  message += "</span>";

  DispWin.document.write(message);
}
</script>

And here’s the HTML for that section:

  <div class="required">
    <fieldset>

    <legend>Payment Type:</legend>
      <label for="payment_sig" class="labelRadio"><input type="radio" name="paymenttype" id="payment_sig" class="inputRadio" value="signature for" /> Signature</label>
      <label for="payment_danda" class="labelRadio"><input type="radio" name="paymenttype" id="payment_danda" class="inputRadio" value="delivery and acceptance of" /> Delivery & Acceptance</label>
      <label for="payment_pub" class="labelRadio"><input type="radio" name="paymenttype" id="payment_pub" class="inputRadio" value="publication of" /> Publication</label>
      <label for="payment_pbpub" class="labelRadio"><input type="radio" name="paymenttype" id="payment_pbpub" class="inputRadio" value="paperback publication of" /> Paperback Publication</label>

      <label for="payment_otherlabel" class="labelRadio"><input type="radio" name="paymenttype" id="payment_otherlabel" class="inputRadio" onclick="this.form.payment_other.focus()" onfocus="this.form.payment_other.focus()" value="" checked="checked"  /> Other:</label>
      <input type="text" name="payment_other" id="payment_other" class="inputText" value="" />
      <small>Remember, this text will be in the middle of a sentence. This text should always end in "of" or "for."</small>
    </fieldset>
  </div>

Answer 1

Could you simply set a onblur() for the payment_other to set the radio option’s value?

<input type="text" name="payment_other" id="payment_other" class="inputText" value="" onblur="document.getElementById('payment_otherlabel').value=this.value;" />

Then if it is ever set, it will automatically copy the value into the radio option. Then when your Display() function is called, I would think the value would be set.

(Realized I missed the semi-colon at the end of the onblur=”” statement.)
Have you tried this yet?