Re: [IUG] Resource name search doesn't work in Firefox...

[Bob Duncan <duncanr at lafayette dot edu>]

At 01:25 PM 3/24/2009, Paul wrote:
> Can someone tell me what is wrong with my code causing Firefox to 
> not execute a ERM Resource name search correctly, while IE does it 
> fine? Here's the code on the srchhelp_e.html page or goto 
> http://bibliotech.memphis.edu/search/e


Couple of things going on.

(1)  When you use an image to submit a form using HTTP GET, the 
coordinates of the image are passed to the server with the submitted 
data (see submit.x= and submit.y= in the result URL).  For reasons I 
don't understand, IE sticks them after the query 
(SEARCH=[searchTerms]) and FF sticks them before the query:

> http://bibliotech.memphis.edu/search/y?SEARCH=d&submit.x=74&submit.y=16 (IE)
> http://bibliotech.memphis.edu/search/y?submit.x=29&submit.y=10&submit=Submit&SEARCH=d 
> (FF)

...but with the way this particular form is coded, the WebPAC wants 
the query right after http://bibliotech.memphis.edu/search/y? , so 
the search fails in FF.

There are probably a host of ways to fix this;  easiest is to make 
the submit input type="submit", but since your other search forms use 
an image to submit, the first one that comes to my brain is to move 
the search input form element so that it comes before the submit 
input in the code.

(2)  You can add onsubmit="this.submit();return false;" to the form 
element; this will strip out the image coordinates from the result 
URL and the search will work, but it won't help if the user has 
Javascript disabled and I have no idea what ill effects it might have.

(3)  You're using your srchhelp_e.html page and the search/e command 
link for a y search.  This can cause other issues, not the least of 
which is if a user performs a successful search and then clicks the 
"Another Search" button, they'll get search/y, which currently looks 
kinda nasty and doesn't work.  And if they do a Dewey/local number 
search, and click the "Another Search" button, they'll get your 
database search page (because your Dewey search index is e).  I'd be 
inclined to customize srchhelp_y.html for your resource search, 
copying the form code from another srchhelp page to use as the basis 
of the resource search.  (And restore your srchhelp_e to be a Dewey 
search page.)


Bob Duncan


~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
Robert E. Duncan
Systems Librarian
Editor of IT Communications
Lafayette College
Easton, PA  18042
duncanr at lafayette dot edu
http://library.lafayette.edu/




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