Modal popup search window to replace dropdown control ASP.NET

Question

I'm looking for the simplest way of popping a modal search window on top of an ASP.NET 3.5 application to look up values for a field. I've got a screen for users to add courses; users need to be able to choose an instructor by searching for instructors in a popup.

So - the popup would have a textbox and a gridview with results; clicking the "choose" button in a result would populate the instructor field on the calling form.

What's the simplest way to achieve this?

Answer 1

Try using jQuery inside a UserControl with something like the tutorial from yensdesign.

The UserControl I created with this approach provided the user the option to set their preferences for the site. I found with this approach it was easier to control the interaction between the modal window and the calling window than calling a new popup browser window. One also doesn't have to worry about popup blockers getting in the way.

Is this helpful or are you looking for more detail?

Answer 2

A very simple approach would be to add javascript to your page to popup a new browser window dialog, something like this:

function fnFieldSearch(searchURL)
{
    var wndSearch = window.open(searchURL,"SearchPopup","toolbar=yes,width=600,height=400,directories=no,status=yes,scrollbars=yes,resizable=yes,menubar=no");
    wndSearch.focus();
}

On the modal search page, use javascript to send the search value back:

window.opener.document.FormName.ControlName.value = 'whatever';