This is not a perl question it is a javascript question. Anyway here is how to do it using the XMLHTTP object. It is pretty easy. All we do is link our submit button to a js function. This function returns false (as with input validation when there is an error) so the form does nothing when it returns. The function groks the search string, assembles the GET request, sends it, and dumps the data into the div. Jobs done.

As a side note the search CGI needs work. If you search for 'a' it will dump 40,000+ results into the browser, if you type 'b'....and by the time you get to 'z' the entire DB has been extracted. If you type '*' it will tell you why. You probably don't want that to be happening. 

<html>
<head>
<script type="text/javascript">

var xmlhttp; // need this global to deal with bug issue

function loadXMLDoc(url,responseHandler,async) {
    xmlhttp = null;
    if (window.XMLHttpRequest) {     // code for Firefox, Opera, IE7
        xmlhttp = new XMLHttpRequest(); 
    }
    else if (window.ActiveXObject) { // code for IE6, IE5
        xmlhttp = new ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLHTTP");
    }
    if (xmlhttp != null) {
        xmlhttp.onreadystatechange = responseHandler;
        xmlhttp.open("GET",url,async);
        xmlhttp.send(null);
    }
    else {
        alert("Your browser does not support XMLHTTP.");
    }
}

function updateSearch() {
    if (xmlhttp.readyState == 4) {
        if (xmlhttp.status == 200) {
            document.getElementById('results').innerHTML = xmlhttp.res
+ponseText;
            xmlhttp.close;
        }
        else {
            alert("Problem retrieving data:" + xmlhttp.statusText);
        }
    }
}

function doSearch() {
    var search = escape(document.searchform.Search_Term.value);
    var url = "http://cgi.mercury-soft.com/cgi/mercury-soft.com/user-c
+gi-bin/passport/passport.cgi";
    url = url + "?Formaction=Searchforword&Search_Term="+search+"&B=Ye
+s&x=1&y=1";
    loadXMLDoc(url,updateSearch,false);
    return false;
}

</script>
</head>

<form name="searchform">
<input type="text" name="Search_Term">
<input type="button" value="Submit Form" onClick="doSearch()">
</form>

<div id="results">
No results.
</div>
    
</body>
</html>

[download]

In reply to Re: Printing html search results to the same page <div> by tachyon-II
in thread Printing html search results to the same page <div> by ianshortreed

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