IA: Drop-Down Form Field Lose

• Microsoft Internet Assistant for Word, versions 1.0z, 2.0z
• Microsoft Word for Windows 95 version 7.0
• Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 6.0a, 6.0c

SYMPTOMS

The <Option Selected> item in a drop-down list is not preserved when opened into Word. When you open the form in Internet Assistant, <Option Selected> is ignored, and the first item in the list is displayed as the selected item. When you save the document as HTML, the <Option Selected> tag is changed to the <Option> tag.

For example, the following list shows "grapes" as the default list item. When opened into Word, "apples" will appear as the default. The drawback to this is that the order of drop-down list items is lost during round-trip conversions.

   <form>
   <p>Select a fruit:
   <select name="fruit">
   <option>apples
   <option>oranges
   <option selected>grapes
   <option>kiwi
   <option>bananas
   </select>
   </form>

CAUSE

Internet Assistant does not support <Option Selected> for an item that is not the first item in the drop-down list. The first item in the list is displayed by default.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Internet Assistant for Word, version 1.0. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

RESOLUTION

Method 1: Move the "selected" item to the top of the list. (Note: This

          changes the order of the items as they appear in the drop-down
          list.) To do this:

          a. Open the HTML document.
          b. Double-click the drop-down form field.
          c. Highlight the Item you want to appear as the default item.
          d. Use the move keys to changes its position.
          e. Choose OK.

          so that the selected option is prefixed with the <Option
          Selected> tag as shown in the example in the Symptoms section.
          Note: If you reconvert the document, <Option Selected> will be
          replaced with <Option>, and the first item in the list will
          again be the "selected" item.

MORE INFORMATION

For more information on creating forms, choose "Internet Assistant for Word Help" from the Help menu, choose the Search button, and type "Form Element" (without the quotation marks). Select the "HTML Forms and Equivalent Word ommands" topic, and choose the Go To button.

For more information on drop-down form field options, choose "Internet Assistant for Word Help" from the Help menu, choose the Search button, and type "Form Element" (without the quotation marks). Select the "Internet Assistant Options available in Drop-Down Form Field Options dialog box" topic, and choose the Go To button.