Can I save input from form to .txt in HTML, using JAVASCRIPT/jQuery, and then use it?

Is it possible to save textinput (locally) from a form to a textfile, and then open that document to use it later on?

Just using HTML, javascript and jQuery. No databases or php.

/W


Solution 1:

It's possible to save only if the user allow it to be saved just like a download and he must open it manually, the only issue is to suggest a name, my sample code will suggest a name only for Google Chome and only if you use a link instead of button because of the download attribute.

You will only need a base64 encode library and JQuery to easy things.

// This will generate the text file content based on the form data
function buildData(){
  var txtData = "Name: "+$("#nameField").val()+
      "\r\nLast Name: "+$("#lastNameField").val()+
      "\r\nGender: "+($("#genderMale").is(":checked")?"Male":"Female");

  return txtData;
}
// This will be executed when the document is ready
$(function(){
  // This will act when the submit BUTTON is clicked
  $("#formToSave").submit(function(event){
    event.preventDefault();
    var txtData = buildData();
    window.location.href="data:application/octet-stream;base64,"+Base64.encode(txtData);
  });

  // This will act when the submit LINK is clicked
  $("#submitLink").click(function(event){
    var txtData = buildData();
    $(this).attr('download','sugguestedName.txt')
      .attr('href',"data:application/octet-stream;base64,"+Base64.encode(txtData));
  });
});
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
    <head><title></title>
    <script src="http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.8.3/jquery.min.js"></script>
    <script type="text/javascript" src="base64.js"></script>
    </head>
    <body>
    <form method="post" action="" id="formToSave">
        <dl>
            <dt>Name:</dt>
            <dd><input type="text" id="nameField" value="Sample" /></dd>
            <dt>Last Name:</dt>
            <dd><input type="text" id="lastNameField" value="Last Name" /></dd>
            <dt>Gender:</dt>
            <dd><input type="radio" checked="checked" name="gender" value="M" id="genderMale" />
                Male
                <input type="radio" checked="checked" name="gender" value="F" />
                Female
        </dl>
        <p><a href="javascript://Save as TXT" id="submitLink">Save as TXT</a></p>
        <p><button type="submit"><img src="http://www.suttonrunners.org/images/save_icon.gif" alt=""/> Save as TXT</button></p>
    </form>
    </body>
</html>

Solution 2:

BEST solution if you ask me is this. This will save the file with the file name of your choice and automatically in HTML or in TXT at your choice with buttons.

Example:

function download(filename, text) {
  var pom = document.createElement('a');
  pom.setAttribute('href', 'data:text/plain;charset=utf-8,' + 

encodeURIComponent(text));
  pom.setAttribute('download', filename);

  pom.style.display = 'none';
  document.body.appendChild(pom);

  pom.click();

  document.body.removeChild(pom);
}

function addTextHTML()
{
    document.addtext.name.value = document.addtext.name.value + ".html"
}

function addTextTXT()
{
    document.addtext.name.value = document.addtext.name.value + ".txt"
}
<html>
  <head></head>
  <body>

    <form name="addtext" onsubmit="download(this['name'].value, this['text'].value)">

    <textarea rows="10" cols="70" name="text" placeholder="Type your text here:"></textarea>
    <br>
    <input type="text" name="name" value="" placeholder="File Name">
    <input type="submit" onClick="addTextHTML();" value="Save As HTML">
    <input type="submit" onClick="addTexttxt();" value="Save As TXT">

    </form>
  </body>
</html>