resetting form field value when the value is set using session attribute

Question

I have a search form with a myName textfield.

On load, the field in the form is set using session attribute.

Something like:

<% String  nameValue = (String)session.getAttribute("nameValue"); %>

And below code where the text field is defined:

<form name="myForm" method="POST">
   <input type="text" name="myName" id="myName" size="45" maxlength="49" value="<%=nameValue%>">
</form>

In the same form I have a reset field defined as below:

<input type="reset" value="Reset" id="Reset"/>

However, on clicking this field, the myName field is not getting empty.

I also tried defining a javascript function:

<input type="reset" value="Reset" onclick="fnFormReset()"/>

function being:

function fnFormReset(){
            alert("here");
            document.myForm.myName.value = "";
        }

However, this is also not working.

Any solution ??

check these link http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3177733/how-to-avoid-java-code-in-jsp-files — niko, Nov 09 '11 at 13:30
can you please explain your answer. Am not getting it ?? does it mean all the fields (radio buttons, dropdowns, etc.) will be reset to blank values ??? — Vicky, Nov 09 '11 at 13:39

score 3 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 12:32

The <input type="reset"> does not clear the input values. It just resets the input values to its initial state. Change the value and then click the reset button. Its actual job will be clear.

As to the problem with the JS function; the onclick will run before the type="reset" does its default job (redisplaying the original value). So, you need to either change type="reset" to type="button":

<input type="button" value="Reset" onclick="fnFormReset()"/>

or to add return false; to end of onclick to block the default action:

<input type="reset" value="Reset" onclick="fnFormReset(); return false;"/>

Unrelated to the concrete problem, I suggest to use EL (Expression Language) to redisplay the value:

value="${nameValue}"

this way you don't need that ugly <% %> anymore to get the session attribute. Also, whenever it concerns user-controlled input, then EL offers you the possiblity to prevent XSS attacks by escaping it using JSTL fn:escapeXml():

value="${fn:escapeXml(nameValue)}"

resetting form field value when the value is set using session attribute

1 Answers1

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