I went looking for a category to post an idea about an alarm clock ringtone and found one eventually. The search would have been easier if the Halfbakery 'new' idea page list of idea categories linked to the pages where those categories reside.

Assuming all gracious Halfbakers post their ideas after diligent searching and fair measure to avoid redundant posting, linking as described would provide an opportunity to quickly scan the intended target page and get an overview of others' thoughts on the subject.
-- dpsyplc, Jul 25 2004

all catagories. http://www.halfbake...:t=All_20Categories
[2 fries shy of a happy meal, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

Category Pull Down Menus http://www.halfbake...pull_20down_20menus
Another approach, same sort of idea. By [jkling]. [dpsyplc, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

An Example of a Website with Pull-down Menus http://ancestry.com
The behavior of these pull-down menus is similar to what [jkling] is suggesting in the link above. I'd like to see the ideas in that category. [dpsyplc, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

An HTML generated drop-down list, its members from a database http://www.designpl....php?page=1&c_id=26
[dpsyplc, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

Bookmark this veiw kindly provided by Sartep, no Krelnik (I think) [link]
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Jul 26 2004


I search for similar ideas prior to posting. Many times an idea can span categories so picking the right one can also help add definition to a new post.
-- phoenix, Jul 26 2004


I find the subject area links at the bottom of the page very useful!
-- po, Jul 26 2004


The described suggestion is technically impossible, given the limitations of HTML interactive elements. Or am I overlooking something here?
-- jutta, Jul 26 2004


Thanks, [2 f s o a h m], for displaying all the category links on a page. I generally do a search for several descriptive terms and if I see an idea that is close to what I have in mind, I select <new> from the 'idea:' links at left and thereby create my own post under the aegis of the idea I find by search. The category of my new idea defaults to the category of the idea page I last left. Of course, if the _exact_ idea exists on my search target page, I can leave the idea alone and just annotate someone else's original if I choose.

I assume, [jutta], the behavior of your category heads renders them as unsearchable code. If I recall, you chose to avoid incorporating java or other scripted languages on the Halfbakery.
-- dpsyplc, Jul 27 2004


You mean "JavaScript". Java is a different, compiled, language.

Right now, you click on a category name in a scrolled list in order to select it. If clicking on category names did something else, how would you select them?

Is there some other site that does what you want and that you could point me to for a demo?
-- jutta, Jul 27 2004


I can't think of a pure HTML way to do it. Which proves nothing, but I can't.
-- half, Jul 27 2004


I wish I understood the proposal.
-- bristolz, Jul 27 2004


As I read it (after a few attempts), the proposal is to be able to click on a category from the dropdown list and see the ideas in that category. Then, presumably, one could read the ideas and by their nature determine whether they'd chosen the proper category. Someone will no doubt correct me if I guessed incorrectly.

Personally, I scroll through, pick a category that looks close and move on. If I don't like it later, I change it.
-- half, Jul 27 2004


Check the <link> to ancestry.com I've placed above, and you'll get the simple view of what I'm suggesting, [jutta]. Note that when you select "Where did they live?:" and choose a country, the secondary drop-down menu lists the states, provinces, or other divisions of that country.

Your idea categories are not so segemented, but a quick view of idea titles would be helpful when scanning the page contents. I haven't your experience, but a great many great ideas exist on the Halfbakery and I forget they're even here.

BTW: You're right, I should have been more specific in my choice of programming language to reference.
-- dpsyplc, Jul 27 2004


The referenced site appears to be using javascript.
-- half, Jul 27 2004


Yes, it is. I put up a <link> to an HTML drop-down list populated dynamically from a database. Once more, called by script, this time: visual basic.
-- dpsyplc, Jul 27 2004


(I mention that it uses javascript because Jutta has mentioned several times in the past that she's not interested in employing any client side script. Though, I don't qualify in any way to speak for her. Dynamic population and manipulation of dropdowns is accomplishable in several ways. All I can think of use client side scripting of some sort or round trips to the server to fake it.)

I've only done web stuff for IE clients using ASP on the server side. In that environment, one could implement this, sort of, with a pure HTML client page. Put two submit buttons in the form with the same name property, say "btnSubmit", but different value properties, e.g. "PostNew" and "ViewExisting" . When submitted, the value of the btnSubmit received will be the one associated with the button that caused the submit. The server side could determine a course of action based on which of the buttons was clicked: view items in the selected category or post the contents as a new idea.

Awkward, to say the least, but if someone put a gun to my head and said "make it happen without client side scripting"...

Of course, any of this assumes that I understood the idea correctly in the first place which I may not, since the whole dynamic dropdown thing wasn't part of my understanding.
-- half, Jul 28 2004



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