Echo 'selected' in html5 dropdown form using PHP - php

Question

I have a form that fetches user info into the $row variable so forms are populated if the row exists if the database, but then saves any new input through the $_POST global variable, in case the user makes a mistake elsewhere on the form. It all works great.
<label for="qualification2">Grade:</label>
<input type="text" name="qualification2" id="grade2" class="form-control"
value="<?php if(isset($_POST['qualification2'])) {
echo $_POST['qualification2'];
} else { echo ($row ['qualification2']); } ?>">
I would like to do similar using a selection dropdown box but the code doesn't seem to work the same with dropdown boxes and I wonder what I'm doing wrong or if this is even possible.
I've also tried echo from the $row variable but that doesn't work either
<?php if($row['qualMonth2'] == 'February') { echo ' selected'; } ?>
This is my code:
<select input type="text" name="qualMonth2" id="qualMonth2" value="Select Month">
<option value="January" <?php if(isset($_POST['qualMonth2']) == 'January') { echo ' selected'; } ?>>January</option>
<option value="February" <?php if(isset($_POST['qualMonth2']) == 'February') { echo ' selected'; } ?>>February</option>
<option value="March" <?php if(isset($_POST['qualMonth2']) == 'March') { echo ' selected'; } ?>>March</option>
<option value="April" <?php if(isset($_POST['qualMonth2']) == 'April') { echo ' selected'; } ?>>April</option>
<option value="May" <?php if(isset($_POST['qualMonth2']) == 'May') { echo ' selected'; } ?>>May</option>
<option value="June" <?php if(isset($_POST['qualMonth2']) == 'June') { echo ' selected'; } ?>>June</option>
<option value="July" <?php if(isset($_POST['qualMonth2']) == 'July') { echo ' selected'; } ?>>July</option>
<option value="August" <?php if(isset($_POST['qualMonth2']) == 'August') { echo ' selected'; } ?>>August</option>
<option value="September" <?php if(isset($_POST['qualMonth2']) == 'September') { echo ' selected'; } ?>>September</option>
<option value="October" <?php if(isset($_POST['qualMonth2']) == 'October') { echo ' selected'; } ?>>October</option>
<option value="November" <?php if(isset($_POST['qualMonth2']) == 'November') { echo ' selected'; } ?>>November</option>
<option value="December" <?php if(isset($_POST['qualMonth2']) == 'December') { echo ' selected'; } ?>>December</option>
</select>

Answer 1

isset validates to true or false based on if variable is set or not. You can't check the value just with isset.
Use a small utility function to check condition:
function checkSelected($value) {
if(isset($_POST['qualMonth2']) && $_POST['qualMonth2'] == $value) {
return true;
} else {
return false;
}
}
Your select element should be then:
<select input type="text" name="qualMonth2" id="qualMonth2" value="Select Month">
<option value="January" <?php echo checkSelected('January') ? 'selected':'' ?>>January</option>
<option value="February" <?php echo checkSelected('February') ? 'selected':'' ?>>February</option>
<option value="March" <?php echo checkSelected('March') ? 'selected':'' ?>>March</option>
<option value="April" <?php echo checkSelected('April') ? 'selected':'' ?>>April</option>
<option value="May" <?php echo checkSelected('May') ? 'selected':'' ?>>May</option>
<option value="June" <?php echo checkSelected('June') ? 'selected':'' ?>>June</option>
<option value="July" <?php echo checkSelected('July') ? 'selected':'' ?>>July</option>
<option value="August" <?php echo checkSelected('August') ? 'selected':'' ?>>August</option>
<option value="September" <?php echo checkSelected('September') ? 'selected':'' ?>>September</option>
<option value="October" <?php echo checkSelected('October') ? 'selected':'' ?>>October</option>
<option value="November" <?php echo checkSelected('November') ? 'selected':'' ?>>November</option>
<option value="December" <?php echo checkSelected('December') ? 'selected':'' ?>>December</option>
</select>

Answer 2

Lets look at what you wrote..
<option value="February" <?php if(isset($_POST['qualMonth2']) == 'February') { echo ' selected'; } ?>>February</option>
What you're saying is.. If there is a value set for qualMonth2 (true / false), compare that against a string..
So you're comparing true || false against a string.
isset($_POST['qualMonth2']) returns true // false.
So none will ever be selected.
Refactor it..
<?php
$month = "";
if(isset($_POST['qualification2'])){
$month = $_POST['qualification2'];
}
?>
Then use $month as the comparative value.
<option value="July" <?php if($month == 'July') { echo ' selected'; } ?>>July</option>

Answer 3

I prefer to perform these checks in Javascript (I prefer JQuery), I think it cleans up the code, but you could also simplify this greatly by using a loop with generated months.
Loop through 1-12 for output
<select input type="text" name="qualMonth2" id="qualMonth2" value="Select Month">
<?php
for($i=1; $i<=12; $i++) {
$dateObj = DateTime::createFromFormat('!m', $i);
$monthName = $dateObj->format('F');
echo "<value>" . $monthName . "</option>";
}
?>
</select>
This approach takes a DRY (Do not repeat) approach. If you need to modify something, you only need to modify 1 line of code versus 12.
Jquery for choosing value (defaults to January if $_POST['qualMonth2'] is not set):
<script>
$('#qualMonth2').val("<?php echo (isset($_POST['qualMonth2'])) ? $_POST['qualMonth2'] : 'January' ?>");
</script>
Take what you will from this answer, I just showed you two possibilities, you can certainly avoid Javascript by adding a check in the loop if you want.