I've got a basic html/php form, with jquery validation. I want the user to be able to click a link that says "preview", have fancybox load up, and then I'll present a preview of the data, which means combining elements. For instance, the user can choose the background of the iframe. Here is the basics of my form -
<form action="loggedin.php" enctype="multipart/form-data" id="message_form" method="post">
<h4>Who would you like to send a message to?</h4>
<input type="text" size="35" id="recipient" name="recipient" value="Enter Name">
<h4>Choose A Background: </h4>
<input type="radio" value="plain" class="stationery_radio" name="stationery_radio" checked />
<label for="plain">Plain</label>
.....
And this is the info I want in my fancybox:
<a class="fancybox" href="#preview_message">Click Here To Preview Your Form</a>
<div id="preview_message" style="display:none;">
<h2>To: <?php echo ($message_form['recipient']) ?></h2>
.....
But I can't use the POST, as I haven't really submitted the form yet. How can I sent the data to my fancybox where the user can look at it, and either submit the form or return to edit? Thanks for any help.
What I would do is to create another .php file (e.g. preview.php
) where you can (pre)submit the form via ajax. This file would basically echo
the POST
values of your form fields like $_POST['recipient']
, etc.
Additionally, within the same file (preview.php) you may have some links to either submit the actual form or close fancybox.
Here is an example of the preview.php file
<?php
function check_input($data){
// sanitize your inputs here
}
$field_01 = check_input($_POST['field_01']);
$field_02 = check_input($_POST['field_02']);
$field_03 = check_input($_POST['field_03']);
// ... etc
?>
<div style="width: 340px;">
<h3>This is the preview of the form</h3><br />
<p>Field 01 : <?php echo $field_01;?></p>
<p>Field 02 : <?php echo $field_02;?></p>
<p>Field 03 : <?php echo $field_03;?></p>
<a class="submit" href="javascript:;">submit</a>
<a class="closeFB" href="javascript:;">back to edit</a>
</div>
notice style="width: 340px;"
so fancybox will know what size of box to display (height
would be auto
)
Then in your main page, add the preview button
<a class="preview" data-fancybox-type="ajax" href="preview.php">Preview</a>
notice the data-fancybox-type="ajax"
attribute, which tells fancybox the type
of content.
Then the script to submit (preview) the form via ajax :
jQuery(document).ready(function ($) {
$('.preview').on("click", function (e) {
e.preventDefault();
$.ajax({
type: "POST",
cache: false,
url: this.href, // our preview file (preview.php)
data: $("#message_form").serializeArray(), // all the fields in your form (use the form's ID)
success: function (data) {
// show in fancybox the returned data
$.fancybox(data,{
modal : true, // optional (no close button, etc. see docs.)
afterShow: function(){
// bind click to "submit" and "close" buttons inside preview.php
$(".submit, .closeFB").on("click", function(event){
if( $(event.target).is(".submit") ){
$("#message_form").submit(); // submit the actual form
}
$.fancybox.close(); //close fancybox in any case
}); // on click
} // afterShow
}); // fancybox
} // success
}); // ajax
}); // on click
}); // ready
Of course, the DEMO at http://www.picssel.com/playground/jquery/postPreview_05Jun13.html.
NOTES:
- this is for fancybox v2.1.4+
.on()
requires jQuery v1.7+
You can use Jquery, to get the values, and put them into the fancy box...
A little like this...not quite, but you get the idea...
$('#preview_button').click(function(){
var msg = $('#recipient').val();
var bg = $('input:radio[name=stationary_radio]:checked').val();
$('h2#recipient').html(msg);
//and whatever you wanna do with the value of the bg
//probably apply some CSS on the fly to change the preview background?
$('#fancybox').show();
});
The fancybox show() is likely wrong, never used fancybox, so I dont know, but Im just using a generic, 'hidden div' show. I assume fancybox has its own API that is different, so just substitute...