Modal Windows as Web Dialog

how to get (or post?) data from a modal window

[AlefDog]

I'm trying to design a web based file browser that
displays files on the server. I had started out doing
everything in a linear way: click on 'Browse' to open
the next page containing directories. Continue to
click browse to navigate the directories. Click submit
to post data back to the original page.

What I'd like to do is use a Modal window. I've gotten
to where I can get my Modal Window to open and use the
posted values from the referrer.

The thing I'm having trouble with is how to get the
selected data from the Modal Window back to the refering page (which is still open) and updating a text
field on the referrer.

I'm trying to do this using Perl cgi scripts and Javascript (both of which I'm learning as I go). For
now I'm mostly writing for PC based Mozilla browsers.

TIA

[dcrombie]

Aren't 'Modal Window's IE-specific? Or are you talking about something else?

[Iguana]

In IE you can pass data back to the calling page by setting the returnValue of the Modal window. Not tried it with Mozilla

[AlefDog]

There's a DHTML method showModalDialog that opens a modal browser page. It seems to work using Mozilla
(inc. Firefox) and IE.

I've mostly been looking for info about coding for the web on W3Schools.com, DevGuru.com and here at WebmasterWorld.com.

What I was trying to do is emulate a directory selection dialog box like you might see on Windows or Unix.
The files and directory will be on the server side and this is a closed environment, so I'm not
too worried about security.

thanks