Question

javascript element.focus does not work with IE6 and dropdown list box

Asked by: RosalindP

Hi:
I have a simple data entry form which I have inherited from another programmer and I added several fields to it.  When I set the tabindex, the fields were not tabbed to in the order proscribed.  After some pondering I realized that the problem was nesting tables.
To solve the problem I wrote a little javascript setFocus function which I accessed from the clientside onblur.  This solved the problem until I got to the dropdown list boxes that I added.  The first ddl is selected, but the second one is skipped.  This only happens in IE6.  IE7 is fine.  I do not need to check for other browsers.  Does anyone know what the workaround for IE6 is?  Relevant code is below.  I am using .net framework 3.5 and Visual Studio 2008.

Thank you.

javascript function
        function setFocus(field) {
            document.getElementById(field).select; 
            document.getElementById(field).focus();
        }
 
HTML
This is contained within a table.
         <tr>
                                    <td class="ObservationLabelBold" style="text-align: right; white-space: nowrap;">
                                        <asp:Label ID="lblDied" runat="server" Text="Died from Illness:"></asp:Label>
                                    </td>
                                    <td>
                                        <asp:RadioButtonList ID="rbDied" runat="server" RepeatDirection="Horizontal" CssClass="ObsRadioButton"
                                            Height="16px" TabIndex="10" onblur="setFocus('ddlLHJSpecies');">
                                            <asp:ListItem Value="1">Yes</asp:ListItem>
                                            <asp:ListItem Value="2">No</asp:ListItem>
                                            <asp:ListItem Value="9">DK</asp:ListItem>
                                            <asp:ListItem Value="8">NA</asp:ListItem>
                                        </asp:RadioButtonList>
                                    </td>
                                </tr>
                                <tr>
                                    <td style="text-align: right; white-space: nowrap;">
                                        <asp:Label ID="lbLHJSp" CssClass="ObservationLabelBold" runat="server" 
                                            Text="LHJ Species/Organism:" TabIndex="0"></asp:Label>
                                    </td>
                                    <td style="white-space: nowrap;">
                                        <asp:DropDownList ID="ddlLHJSpecies" runat="server" Width="176px" TabIndex="11" CssClass="ObservationText"
                                        onblur="tieTextBox(this,'ddlLHJSpecies','txtSpOther','Other');setFocus('ddlLHJSerogroup');">
                                        </asp:DropDownList>
                                    </td>
                                    <td >
                                    <asp:TextBox id="txtSpOther" runat="server" Width="100%" TextMode="SingleLine"
                                            CssClass="ObsReadOnlyAppSet ObservationText" MaxLength="100" 
                                            Enabled="False" TabIndex="-1"></asp:TextBox>
                                    </td>
                                </tr>
                                <tr>
                                    <td style="text-align:right; white-space: nowrap;">
                                        <asp:Label ID="lbLHJSero" CssClass="ObservationLabelBold" runat="server" 
                                            Text="LHJ Serotype/Serogroup:" TabIndex="-1"></asp:Label>
                                    </td>
                                    <td style="white-space: nowrap;">
                                        <asp:DropDownList ID="ddlLHJSerogroup" runat="server" Width="176px" TabIndex="12"
                                            CssClass="ObservationText"  
                                            onblur="tieTextBox(this,'ddlLHJSerogroup','txtSeroOther','Other');setFocus('txtLHJNotification')">
                                        </asp:DropDownList>
                                    </td>
                                     <td >
                                    <asp:TextBox id="txtSeroOther" runat="server" Width="100%" TextMode="SingleLine"
                                            CssClass="ObsReadOnlyAppSet ObservationText" MaxLength="100" 
                                             Enabled="False" TabIndex="-1"></asp:TextBox>
                                    </td>
</tr>

                                  
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Asked On
2009-08-04 at 18:34:38ID24626758
Tags

javascript

,

focus()

,

IE6

,

dropdown list box

Topics

JavaScript

,

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)

,

Internet Explorer Web Browser

Participating Experts
2
Points
300
Comments
10

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Answers

 

by: quincydudePosted on 2009-08-04 at 18:50:50ID: 25019687

hm....
what is document.getElementById(field).select; ?
do u mean
document.getElementById(field).select();?

 

by: quincydudePosted on 2009-08-04 at 18:53:40ID: 25019696

and the select element do not support select()
it may cause error

 

by: RosalindPPosted on 2009-08-04 at 18:57:41ID: 25019713

I tried adding that from an example I saw on experts, thinking it might help with the IE6 problem.  The line is not needed for IE7; it does not cause any errors.  Delete the line.

 

by: mplungjanPosted on 2009-08-05 at 00:36:30ID: 25020900

perhaps

onblur="setTimeout('setFocus(\'ddlLHJSpecies\'),10)">

or
onclick="setTimeout('setFocus(\'ddlLHJSpecies\'),10)">

 

by: RosalindPPosted on 2009-08-05 at 09:22:35ID: 25025167

I added the line onblur="setTimeout('setFocus(\'ddlLHJSpecies\'),10)">
the onclick event is not appropriate here.  I get a syntax error which highlights the tabindex.  Somehow I think the error has to do with the new code.  So I added an ' after the sefFocus function to close the single quotes.  That did not help either.  Is there code that perhaps I could put in my setFocus function what would say  if IE7 do this else do that.?

 

by: RosalindPPosted on 2009-08-05 at 10:48:27ID: 25026091

mplungjan thank you for your help.  With your idea on setTimer and adding code that checked for IE version I was able to solve the problem.

Javascript:


function setFocus(field) {
if (/MSIE (\d+\.\d+);/.test(navigator.userAgent)) { //test for MSIE x.x;
var ieversion = new Number(RegExp.$1) // capture x.x portion and store as a number
if (ieversion >= 7) document.getElementById(field).focus();
else if (ieversion >= 6) setTimeout(document.getElementById(field).focus(), 10);
else setTimeout(document.getElementById(field).focus(), 10);
}
}

HTML Code.  I have bolded the changes.


<tr>
<td class="ObservationLabelBold" style="text-align: right; white-space: nowrap;">
<asp:Label ID="lblDied" runat="server" Text="Died from Illness:"></asp:Label>
</td>
<td>
<asp:RadioButtonList ID="rbDied" runat="server" RepeatDirection="Horizontal" CssClass="ObsRadioButton"
Height="16px" TabIndex="10" onblur="setFocus('ddlLHJSpecies');">
<asp:ListItem Value="1">Yes</asp:ListItem>
<asp:ListItem Value="2">No</asp:ListItem>
<asp:ListItem Value="9">DK</asp:ListItem>
<asp:ListItem Value="8">NA</asp:ListItem>
</asp:RadioButtonList>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: right; white-space: nowrap;">
<asp:Label ID="lbLHJSp" CssClass="ObservationLabelBold" runat="server"
Text="LHJ Species/Organism:" TabIndex="0"></asp:Label>
</td>
<td style="white-space: nowrap;">
<asp:DropDownList ID="ddlLHJSpecies" runat="server" Width="176px" TabIndex="11" CssClass="ObservationText"
onblur="tieTextBox(this,'ddlLHJSpecies','txtSpOther','Other');">
</asp:DropDownList>
</td>
<td > 
<asp:TextBox id="txtSpOther" runat="server" Width="100%" TextMode="SingleLine"
CssClass="ObsReadOnlyAppSet ObservationText" MaxLength="100"
Enabled="False" TabIndex="-1" onblur="setFocus('ddlLHJSerogroup');"></asp:TextBox>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align:right; white-space: nowrap;">
<asp:Label ID="lbLHJSero" CssClass="ObservationLabelBold" runat="server"
Text="LHJ Serotype/Serogroup:" TabIndex="-1"></asp:Label>
</td>
<td style="white-space: nowrap;">
<asp:DropDownList ID="ddlLHJSerogroup" runat="server" Width="176px" TabIndex="12"
CssClass="ObservationText"
onblur="tieTextBox(this,'ddlLHJSerogroup','txtSeroOther','Other');">
</asp:DropDownList>
</td>
<td > 
<asp:TextBox id="txtSeroOther" runat="server" Width="100%" TextMode="SingleLine"
CssClass="ObsReadOnlyAppSet ObservationText" MaxLength="100"
Enabled="False" TabIndex="-1" onblur="setFocus('txtLHJNotification');"></asp:TextBox>
</td>
</tr>

 

by: mplungjanPosted on 2009-08-05 at 23:37:04ID: 25030612

Erm, I would say the difference between
onBlur="setFocus()" plus in setFocus use setTimeout to focus
and
onBlur="settimeout('setFocus()'" plus in setFocus use focus
is nill. So did I not actually answer this question?

 

by: RosalindPPosted on 2009-08-06 at 09:35:08ID: 25035366

mplungjan:

Well, no you did not answer the question because you did not address the issue between IE6 and IE7.  Your setTimer did get me thinking in the correct direction which is why I awarded you some points.  The setTimer did not work with IE7.
Rosalind

 

by: mplungjanPosted on 2009-08-07 at 00:19:01ID: 25040470

You are saying this does not work in all browsers? I am sure it does not hurt to use the timeout in other browsers than IE6 as long as you do it correctly


function setFocus(field) {
   setTimeout('document.getElementById("'+field+'").focus()', 10);
}

 

by: mplungjanPosted on 2009-08-07 at 00:19:55ID: 25040474

PS: I did not notice the points. Thanks

20120131-EE-VQP-002

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