Saving states between dropdown box selections?

[NooK]

I have a "settings" page (If you will) with a dropdown box where each option in the dropdown has 2 correspondet checkboxes.

For example, imagine that you have a dropdown box with different dishes in a restaurant and next to the dropdown there are 2 checkboxes that the restaurant owner can set at which time the current selected dish on the dropdown is served (Lunch, or dinner or both).

I'd like to make so the user can set all the dish options without having to save the setting for every single dish he chooses in the dropdown? What's the best way to tackle that?

Sessions along with javascript to save the different states when the select box is changed?

Thanks

[cameraman]

I think I'd abandon the dropdown and list the dishes in a table with the checkboxes beside each dish.

[NooK]

Not a bad idea, I just thought the dropdown would look better than to have many checkboxes for each dish basically doing the same thing when you could have just 2 main ones. Also in this case the amount of selections is small thus such an idea would work but in a comprehensive list I am not sure this would be the best solution.

Thanks, I still wonder how one would go about doing it with a dropdown box but I might go for one option for each selection for the moment and see how that pans out.

[bilenkyj]

yeah you should drop the drop so to speak or you could have an option in the drop down called "ALL" and with that selected you could do all at once?

[NooK]

I have decided to use radio boxes for the moment. Felt it was easier and more user-friendly.

Thanks for the answers.