Unescape Not Working

egquen2000 · 02-02-2004, 12:55 AM

Hi,

I've put up a form on my website that is supposed to pass the entered values from one page to a new page that opens and show the data exactly as typed on the new page. I'm using a javascript that I got from another javascript site that i have modified to fit my needs. For some reason, any spaces that are input into the form are still being displayed on the next page as "+" signs. For example, if I input "New York," it will show up on the new page as "New+York." How do I fix this problem? There is already coding in place that uses the unescape function, but it still won't display properly. Could someone please have a look at my webpage to see if they can figure out the problem? It's at melaniestype.com/serviceagreement.html. The output form is at melaniestype.com/serviceagreementoutput.html. I'd appreciate a quick response. Thanks.

egquen2000 · 02-02-2004, 01:28 AM

</script>
</HEAD>



<BODY link=forestgreen vlink=forestgreen><nobanner>

<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript">

<!-- Begin
requiredclientname = unescape(params["requiredclientname"]);
requiredclientID = unescape(params["requiredclientID"]);

When I say

document.write("Client name is " + requiredclientname + ".");

for example, it prints wrong.

Willy Duitt · 02-02-2004, 02:40 AM

Here's a quick fix:

Code:

requiredclientname = unescape(params["requiredclientname"]).replace(/\+/g, " ");

.....Willy

egquen2000 · 02-02-2004, 02:45 AM

Oh, thank you so much! Finally works.

But how does that code actually work? What's with the front and back slashes? Sorry if I sound like, duh, cause I'm new to this whole thing.

glenngv · 02-02-2004, 02:47 AM

You should unescape the name also:

params[unescape(nameVal[0].replace(/\+/g, " "))]=unescape(nameVal[1].replace(/\+/g, " "));

See this thread for the issues in parsing querystrings.

Willy Duitt · 02-02-2004, 03:07 AM

It's a regular expression and since I am still struggling with them,
I am not qualified to offer a substantive explanation. But, I'll try.

The forward slashes / are the wrapper.
The backslash \ escapes the reserved +
And the g indicates it is to be global. (replace all instances of)

Liorean has a good tutorial on regular expressions
but I do not have the link handy.

Furthermore, Glenns solution is much better

Not only will the pairs name be covered, you won't
need to add the .replace(...) to all of your values.

.....Willy

egquen2000 · 02-02-2004, 03:20 AM

Thanks a lot, you guys. I had already used your idea, Willy, before Glenn had a chance to post, and I don't really understand how your code works, Glenn. I follow it kind of, but I don't understand the namVal or the brackets with [0] and [1] following namVal. Would "namVal" go in place of the names I have, i.e. "requiredclientname"...? Could you explain that code to me, Glenn, in basic terms?

glenngv · 02-02-2004, 03:35 AM

Maybe this is clearer...

var name, value, nameVal;
for (var i=0; i<pairs.length; i++) {
nameVal = pairs[i].split('='); //returns an array with 2 items
name = unescape(nameVal[0].replace(/\+/g, " ")); //unescape item 1 from the array and replace +'s with spaces
value = unescape(nameVal[1].replace(/\+/g, " ")); //unescape item 2 from the array and replace +'s with spaces
params[name] = value; //put the name-value in "hash array"
}

and then you access the names like these:

var requiredclientname = params["requiredclientname"];
var requiredclientID = params["requiredclientID"];

Read the links I posted for more comprehensive discussion on this topic.

egquen2000 · 02-02-2004, 03:59 AM

Thanks, Glenn

That IS a lot clearer. Boy, this site is a very big help. I had been trying my best to fix the problem myself to no avail. I'm glad you guys were there to help. Thanks again. Take care