A commenter asked me how to extend a previous jQuery post to perform the database save via ColdFusion.  It is REALLY easy (and please keep in mind this is meant to be a SIMPLE example, not production code).  From the jQuery side my example only required the following code to ship the data off to ColdFusion:

function fSave(){
you=$("#you").val();
// Try to save
$.get("adduser.cfm?"+"you="+you , function(data){
// Result
alert(data);
window.location=location.href;
});
}

The adduser.cfm page then validates and inserts the data and returns a success or failure message.

See it here | Get it here.

This example starts with a form that has no action and a disabled submit button.  When jQuery’s .ready() fires though it enables the submit button and attaches the appropriate action.

Please note the example file is in ColdFusion so your mileage may vary slightly for your own use.

See it here | Get it here.

The tool I have decided on in a free one called DiffMerge.  Part 1 of the install is the typical Mac install (drag a file to the Applications folder).  Part 2 is a little more detailed (but dead simple).  There is a readme.txt file in the installer image with instructions for copying 2 files to facilitate command line usage (You will need this for Dreamweaver).

Once you have done the installation and followed the readme.txt fire up Dreamweaver and click Dreamweaver > Preferences > File compare and set the path to your equivalent of the screenshot below:

Here is what your report will look like:

Download the search_results.zip file here. It contains the files to transform both “Search Results” and the “Checked Out By” report.

http://www.pragprog.com/wishlist/chris-simmons-63403-de6fd2bc84

But how do you style the text that is triggering the tooltip?  cftooltip is going to generate a span around your text with the id of cf_tooltip_999999999 (where 999999999 is some random number).  I didn’t want to add another span to the mix to provide styling so I turned to jQuery for a simple, quick solution.

In the css file I added a class:

.terms{
color:#168FC0;
border-bottom:1px dashed #168FC0;
text-decoration:none;
margin-bottom:10px;
font-weight:bold;
}

In the jQuery .ready() function I added this line:

$("[id^=cf_tooltip_]").addClass("terms");

The result is that the text which triggers all cftooltips is now controlled by the .terms class.

A few things you should know about me:

1. I like lists.  A lot.  I make them all the time for everything.
2. I hate repetition and drudgery in my work.  If there is a (legitimate) shortcut I want to know about it.
3. I’m a ColdFusion web developer who dabbles in jQuery.
4. I dig Firefox for helping me with all of the above.

Now this is where you come in… What are your favorite/most useful Firefox Ad-ins that help you get your work done on a daily basis?

Here are mine (alpha order):

• ColorZilla – Eyedropper/colorpicker
• Dummy Lipsum – Generate “Lorem Ipsum” dummy text.
• Evernote Web Clipper – For selecting text to evernote
• Fast Dial – Visual bookmark homepage
• Firebug – My main usage is debugging AJAX
• FIreGestures – Executes commands with mouse gestures
• FireShot – Screen shot utility
• iMacros – Awesome utility for building test cases or automating repetitious tasks
• TinyURL Generator – Generates TinyURLs
• Web Developer – Adds tons of tools (too numerous to list)
• Xmarks – Sync your bookmarks across multiple machines (and platforms!)

Thanks, I look forward to hearing from you.