<fieldset> undefined?

[Ruberto]

I came across a bug while implementing my field copy script. On a particular form I kept getting an "undefined error". I also noticed that the values in the editable fields were all offset from the way they should have rendered (i.e. the bottom value in the top field). After some head scratching I discovered the deviant. It is the <fieldset></fieldset> tag. Javascript sees it as a form element but doesn't seem to know what it is. The element.type method returns "undefined". I cannot find anything about this in the JS documentation. Anybody know how to deal with this problem?

If I cannot find a way to trap out the errant object then I'll have no choice but to stop using <fieldset> in my forms.

Thanks!

Ruberto

[Twey]

On what browser?

[mburt]

element.type doesn't say what an element is. typeof element declares what it is, if type == null, it will obviously return an error.

[Twey]

If one has:

<input type="password" id="pass">

... then document.getElementById("pass").type is "password"

[mburt]

I think the OP got the wrong impression of the "type" attribute. He/she probably thought it was a method which returned a value of what type the element being tested was. Again, a simple error

[mburt]

By the way, there isn't any ways to dynamically change the "type" attribute, that I know of.

[Twey]

I think the OP got the wrong impression of the "type" attribute. He/she probably thought it was a method which returned a value of what type the element being tested was.

For form elements, it does.

Admittedly it's a property, not a method, but I don't think Ruberto has the wrong idea.

[jscheuer1]

Originally Posted by Ruberto

I came across a bug while implementing my field copy script. On a particular form I kept getting an "undefined error". I also noticed that the values in the editable fields were all offset from the way they should have rendered (i.e. the bottom value in the top field). After some head scratching I discovered the deviant. It is the <fieldset></fieldset> tag. Javascript sees it as a form element but doesn't seem to know what it is. The element.type method returns "undefined". I cannot find anything about this in the JS documentation. Anybody know how to deal with this problem?

If I cannot find a way to trap out the errant object then I'll have no choice but to stop using <fieldset> in my forms.

Thanks!

Ruberto

Well, you haven't specified where this comes up in the code but, there should be a relatively easy way around it. A fieldset has no type attribute but, some browsers might think that it does. So, you need to find a way to either skip it gracefully or to count it either for for what it is or as just something in the form. For example:

if (element.type||(element.tagName&&element.tagName.toLowerCase()=='fieldset'))

will return true if the element has a type attribute and/or is a fieldset. While:

if (element.type&&(element.tagName&&element.tagName.toLowerCase()!='fieldset'))

will return false for a fieldset even if the browser thinks it has a type attribute.

Other tests can be devised to deal with fieldsets in whatever way you decide that you need to.

[Twey]

I'd still like to know in what browser(s) this occurs.

[Ruberto]

The code is here in another thread:
http://www.dynamicdrive.com/forums/s...ad.php?t=17078

You'll need to put the code on a page with a form containing an equal number of hidden and editable form elements. Uncomment the line with //alert(widgetType) which you'll see in the new populateFields() function at the bottom of the posting. You may use this page for a test but it does not have the new populateFields() function.

http://frankentron.freezope.org/update.html

I guess it isn't necessary you can use that version the way it is but add some <fieldset> tags and add the line to popup the value of the widgetType variable.

The <fieldset> tag makes the script break in both Firefox and IE.

Twey is right I mistakenly wrote method when I should have said property.

I like John's idea for dealing with this problem, I'm gona give that a try.

Thanks everyone for the help and instruction. I'll let you know how it turns out later.