DROPDOWN BOX creation…need help
the_shark said 1 year, 1 month ago:
Brand new to this…i have lots of great ideas for what i want to do…but i cant get through step 1…so thats where i will start.
How do i create a dropdown box?
So for example…lets say on my homepage i want a dropdown box in the middle of the screen.
When nothing has been selected yet…i want it to say “SELECT YOUR STATE”
Then…when you click the dropdown box i want it to list all the US states in alpha order.
So my question(s):
- How do i set up my excel file to import?
- Do i create a separate worksheet for every state, label the tab as that state, then create a table within that state?
- Do i list all states on one worksheet in one table?
- Then, which widget do i use to create a dropdown box?
Eventually…when you select a state it will then take you to that state’s specific page with information…but i can’t get to that point if i can’t create the dropdown box.
APPRECIATE ANY AND ALL HELP OR INFORMATION!!!
Thank you so incredibly much!
adamr said 1 year, 1 month ago:
@the_shark
Yes, it is possible to create a dropdown using Easy Database. You may want to check out this thread at:
http://support.godaddy.com/groups/easy-database-for-websites/forum/topic/drop-down-search-box/
Importing Data into Data Tables with Easy Database for Websites
Hope that helps!
-Adam
bcb said 1 year, 1 month ago:
@the_shark
Hello. Adam linked some good resources for how to make dropdowns and do imports, but I wanted to walk your through how I would approach this.
1) Create a data table with a column for state name, and then any additional information. You can do this either through the data tables tab in the application, or Excel. If using Excel use a single worksheet, and make sure the first line is the header names. Then you can follow the import steps that adamr linked to.
ex: State,Capitol,Population,Description,Flag
Colorado,Denver,5116796,…,<urltoflagimage>
…
2) Now create a “Search & Filter” widget for your table.
a) On the right under “Search Fields”, check your State column. This changes searching to just the state column instead of all columns.
b) Under the “Instructions” textbox, click the field for your state column. This will popup a properties dialog and allow you to change it to a dropdown. Change “Field Type” to “Dropdown”. Since you are using states you can choose “Import Options from predefined lists” and choose the one for states. Otherwise you can add them manually or use a lookup table. Unfortunately we do not allow modifying the first blank option in the dropdown lists, but you could change the “Field Label” to be “Choose your state”.
c) Depending on how you want your data displayed change it to list view or grid view.
d) Save your widget
3) Now when you use the widget, either through preview or by embedding it on your website, you will see a dropdown with all the states. When you click the search button it will return just the state was selected.
I hope that helps. If you have any further questions, please ask.
Regards,
Brad B.
Easy Database Developer
the_shark said 1 year, 1 month ago:
ok thanks…i am getting there…but what if i want to take it further. so here’s what im doing.
what i want (or eventually to happen) is to have a dropdown box on my homepage. the dropdown box will read Select State when not clicked yet. when you click it you can select one of the 50 states.
THEN…after clicking that state and submitting…it will take you to that states own website (which obviously i dont have built yet)
so you select the state KENTUCKY in the dropdown box…click submit
it then takes you to KY’s page
once on KY’s page i then want to have the following headers show:
January 2012
February 2012
March 2012
April 2012
and so on through 2012
THEN…under each header i want the following…and the actual TITLE will be a hyperlink to another page:
January 2012
1/15/12 Tour De Brad Paducah, KY
1/22/12 Bike Ride for Strokes Mayfield, KY
February 2012
None
March 2012
3/16/12 Ride the River Paducah, KY
i want the ride name to then be a hyperlink to that ride’s specific page (which i dont have built yet)
does this help clarify what im trying to do?
go to http://www.bikeride.com
basically i am going to emulate that websites concept…but obviously add a new twist on it as i get things up and running. for now…i need the capability to have those features
the_shark said 1 year, 1 month ago:
wonderful instructions…i have built my first dropdown box…the $100 question now…to enter the additional information i need to show up on each state’s page…do i create a separate worksheet for every state…and list my information for each state there…or do i load it all into one and do it like that?
im the type to think i probably need a separate page for each state…then as i determine new rides…i can just go to that state and add my predetermined pieces of information
then…i go to my first states tab…and hyperlink to each states page correct?
bcb said 1 year, 1 month ago:
You will want to input all data on a single worksheet. The import tool, as well as the Excel add-in, only work with a single worksheet. You don’t need a separate worksheet for each state, since you will have a column that specifies which state the row is for.
I imagine your data would look something like this:
STATE,DATE,TYPE,LOCATION,EVENT
Colorado,Apr 29,Touring,Fruita,Redrock Canyons Tour ( 6 days)
Colorado,May 13-Jun 22,Touring,Grand Junction,Whiterock Canyons Tour (6 Arizona,May 5,Special,Scottsdale,Ride for the Children
….
Regards,
Brad B.
Easy Database Developer
the_shark said 1 year, 1 month ago:
will it duplicate the states in the dropdown box though if i have them listed more than once?
the_shark said 1 year, 1 month ago:
i’m so close to getting it all figured out. if you go to my site
select my dropdown box…i wanted to test and see what would happen if i added two rides to alabama. the dropdown box now shows TWO alabama options. how do i make it show only ONE alabama option but have all the rides for alabama on one page/selection?
bcb said 1 year ago:
@the_shark
I didn’t see what you were referring to. Maybe you changed your site? Anyways the only reason I can think of the Alabama state showing up more than once in the dropdown is that you are trying to use a lookup table? The lookup table feature does not remove duplicates.
You would either create a separate table to use as your state lookup table that contains just the state names, or you set the options for the dropdown manually. There is a predefined states list that you can use that would help you populate the list.
Let me know if you need any further assistance.
Regards,
Brad B.
Easy Database Developer
4 min expected wait time