datatables add combobox as a column

Question

I have got a datatable using Datatables. I have created and filled the table as shown below. Now I need to implement a combobox (assume that I have got 2010, 2011,2012) to allow the user select a year . then when user clicks View or Modify link, which is placed in the table, selected year will be passed to another page as a parameter.

Now how can I turn my year column into a combobox?

        rulesTableGlobal = $('#rulesTable').dataTable( {
            //"bJQueryUI": true,
            "sPaginationType": "full_numbers",
            "aoColumns": [
                 { "sTitle": "Id", "sWidth" : "20px" },
                 { "sTitle": "Property ID" , "sWidth"  : "20px"},
                 { "sTitle": "Adress" , "sWidth"  : "130px"},
                 { "sTitle": "Suburb" , "sWidth"  : "50px"},
                 { "sTitle": "Bond", "sWidth"  : "25px" },
                 { "sTitle": "Year", "sWidth"  : "25px" , "aType": "dom-select"},
                 { "sTitle": "View or Modify" , "sWidth"  : "50px"}]

        });

    function addPropertyToTable( lt_id, lt_uid, address, suburb_name, min_guests, max_guests,
                                 bondFee,cleaningFee,bookingServiceFee, weekly_rate,nightly_rate){

        var _lt_id = "\'" + lt_id + "\'";
        var viewLink    = '<A href="#" onclick="forwardDetails('+_lt_id+');">View and Modify</A>';          
        var year= "";

        $('#rulesTable').dataTable().fnAddData( [
                                 lt_id, lt_uid, address, suburb_name, bondFee,cleaningFee,bookingServiceFee,  weekly_rate,nightly_rate, min_guests, max_guests, year, viewLink ] );


    }

        });

    }

Answer 1

This is the solution I used for you guys who experienced the same problem. Creates comboboxes and adds to column 12..Regards.. Ozlem.

        function init(){

            //http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2759837/adding-dropdown-list-to-the-particular-column-using-jquery

            var ind = 0;
            var year    = 2010;
            //var options = getYears(year, 3);
            $.each($('#rulesTable td:nth-child(12)'), function () {

                //creates a combobox
                var select  = document.createElement('select');
                select.setAttribute('class','year');
                select.setAttribute('name',ind+''); 
                select.setAttribute('id','comboYear'+ind); 
                select.innerHTML = '<option value=2010>2010</option><option value=2011>2011</option><option value=2012>2012</option>'; 

                /*for (var i= 0 ; i<options.length; i++){
                    var nextOption = options[i];                        
                    select.appendChild(nextOption);
                }*/
                $(this).append(select);
                $('#comboYear'+ind).change(function () {

                    var comboId = $(this).attr('id');
                    var comboIndex = $(this).attr('name');
                    var yearSelected = $('#'+comboId+' option:selected').text();
                    var propertyId = rulesTableGlobal.fnGetData()[comboIndex][0];
                    //alert(text);
                    upDateRow(propertyId, yearSelected, comboIndex );

                });

                year = year+1;
                ind++;                  

            });

        }

Answer 2

Define your combo box in your HTML like this:

<select id="year">
    <option value="2010">2010</option>
    <option value="2011">2011</option>
    <option value="2012">2012</option>
</select>

Whenever you need the actual selected value of the combobox, you can call

$("#year").val()

It's good practice not to repeat jQuery DOM lookups, so you might want to do it like this:

// Define this on document ready
var selectYear = $("#year");

// Use this syntax to get the current value
selectYear.val()

I cannot see from your example code where you would use this (perhaps in the line var year = "";, if so change that to var year = selectYear.val();), but I hope this gets you on your way. If not, feel free to ask for more information in the comments.

EDIT: as requested a sample to show the year select in a normal table.

<table>
    <tr>
        <td>a cell</td>
        <td>
            <select id="year">
                <option value="2010">2010</option>
                <option value="2011">2011</option>
                <option value="2012">2012</option>
            </select>
        </td>
    </tr>
</table>

Answer 3

use fnRender-

$('#example').dataTable( {
    aoColumns : [ {
        fnRender : function(oObj) {
            return '<select id="year">' + '<option value="2010">2010</option>' + '<option value="2011">2011</option>' + '<option value="2012">2012</option>' + '</select> ';
        }
    } ]
});