PHP post two values in one field, one of which is hidden - php

Question

Is there a way that I can post two values at the same time from a single field in a table but hide one from the user?
I would like the following form to post the values ID and reason_name when it is submitted but have the user only be able to see (and edit in the text box) the reason_name.
<form name="add_positioning" method="post" action="<?php echo $_SERVER['PHP_SELF']; ?>">
<table border="1" class="autoTable_pos">
<tr>
<td>Positioning</td><td> </td></tr>
<?
$sql= "SELECT * FROM gradeReason WHERE reason_userID = $user_id AND category = 'positioning' AND current = 1";
$result = mysqli_query($mysqli,$sql) or die(mysqli_error($mysqli));
while($row = mysqli_fetch_array($result)){?>
<tr>
<td>
<input type="text" name="reason[]" size="25" value="<? echo $row['reason_name']; ?>"/>
</td>
<td>
<input type="button" value="Delete" class="delRow_pos"/>
</td>
</tr>
<?
}
?>
<tr>
<td>
<input type="text" name="reason[]" size="25"/>
</td>
<td>
<input type="button" value="Delete" class="delRow_pos"/>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="right">
<input type="submit" value="Save" name="save_reasons"/>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</form>
The form POST action so far (basic echo at the moment for my own sanity to check that it posts the values correctly, which it does...)
if(isset($_POST['save_reasons'])) {
foreach($_POST['reason'] as $item) {
echo $item.'<br/>';
}
}
This table displays the values that are held in a database but enables the user to add more values by dynamically adding a new row (using JQUERY I haven't included) to the table when they type in an empty one at the bottom and also allows them to edit or delete existing values.
For each value posted I intend to check if the ID value is empty, if it is it means that it is a new value and enter a new record into the database, if it isn't update the existing record in the database with the corresponding ID. I don't have a problem writing that bit, I just can't think how to get the ID value posted as well as the reason_name while keeping ID hidden from the user.

Answer 1

Add the ID to the name attribute of the Text boxes of the reasons loaded from the DB. Leave the other Text boxes added using JQ without the ID.
E.g.
Text box which shows the existing reason loaded from the DB
<input type="text" name="reason[][ID]" size="25"/>
Text box added with JQ
<input type="text" name="reason[]" size="25"/>
Then once you submit the form you get you will get the following array.
array
'reason' =>
array
0 =>
array
14 => string 'VAL1' (length=4)
1 => string 'VAL2' (length=5)
By checking for an array in the each element in the "reason" array, you can differentiate two type of Text Boxes.
Here is the complete code I have tested.
<?PHP
//var_dump($_POST);
foreach($_POST['reason'] as $item=>$value)
{
if(is_array($value)){
foreach($value as $ID=>$reason)
{
echo "Existing Reason : ".$ID." - ".$reason."<br>";
}
}
else{
echo "New Reason : ".$item." - ".$value.'<br/>';
}
}
?>
<form action="" method="POST">
<input type="text" name="reason[][14]" size="25" value="aaaa"/>
<input type="text" name="reason[]" size="25" value="bbbbb"/>
<input name="" type="submit">
</form>

Answer 2

Assuming the id is at $row['reason_id'] I think you want:
$i = 0;
while($row = mysqli_fetch_array($result)){?>
<tr>
<td>
<input type="hidden" name="reason_id[<? echo $i; ?>]" size="25" value="<? echo $row['reason_id']; ?>"/>
<input type="text" name="reason[<? echo $i; ?>]" size="25" value="<? echo $row['reason_name']; ?>"/>
</td>
<td>
<input type="button" value="Delete" class="delRow_pos"/></td></tr>
<? $i++ } ?>
This way you can later
if(isset($_POST['save_reasons'])) {
foreach($_POST['reason'] as $key => $item) {
$id = $_POST['reason_id'][$key];
echo $id . " " . $item.'<br/>';
}
}