Sorting Category Dropdown Boxes - code help needed

[Guest Denver Dave]

When adding or editing a product there is a dropdown box to select the category. Unfortunately the items are sorted in category id number order and not in order of the category path making it very difficult to find the selections that we want if we have very many categories.

I've located the code that populates the dropdown box, and it appears that we have to build an array with the category path first before building the select options, but I'm not sure of the code to do that. Here is the existing code:

<select name="cat_id" class="textbox">

<?php for ($i=0; $i<count($categoryArray); $i++){ ?>

<option value="<?php echo $categoryArray[$i]['cat_id']; ?>" <?php if(isset($results[0]['cat_id']) && $categoryArray[$i]['cat_id']==$results[0]['cat_id']) { echo "selected='selected'"; } ?>><?php echo getCatDir($categoryArray[$i]['cat_name'],$categoryArray[$i]['cat_father_id'], $categoryArray[$i]['cat_id']); ?></option>

<?php } ?>

</select>

Seems like everyone with very many categories would want the dropdown box sorted in an order where they can find the category path that they want.

Any help appreciated - thanks

===================

I'm sure others will know better, more efficient ways - but I just had to have the categories in some kind of order - here is how I did it - improvements appreciated:

<!-- **** davehack comment category select box here **** -->

<?php

for ($i=0; $i<count($categoryArray); $i++)

{

$cat_sorted[$categoryArray[$i]['cat_id']]=

getCatDir($categoryArray[$i]['cat_name'],$categoryArray[$i]['cat_father_id'], $categoryArray[$i]['cat_id']);

}

asort($cat_sorted);

?>

<select name="cat_id" class="textbox">

<?php

foreach ($cat_sorted as $cat_id => $cat_dir)

{ ?>

<option value="<?php echo $cat_id; ?>"

<?php

if(isset($results[0]['cat_id']) && $cat_id==$results[0]['cat_id'])

echo "selected='selected'";

?>

><?php echo $cat_dir; ?></option>

<?php } ?>

</select>

<?php

/* hacked code replaced

<select name="cat_id" class="textbox">

<?php for ($i=0; $i<count($categoryArray); $i++){ ?>

<option value="<?php echo $categoryArray[$i]['cat_id']; ?>" <?php if(isset($results[0]['cat_id']) && $categoryArray[$i]['cat_id']==$results[0]['cat_id']) { echo "selected='selected'"; } ?>><?php echo getCatDir($categoryArray[$i]['cat_name'],$categoryArray[$i]['cat_father_id'], $categoryArray[$i]['cat_id']); ?></option>

<?php } ?>

*/

?>

[Guest Denver Dave]

Here is the "fix" for the initial admin product list. Might as well give it some sort instead of making the admin user sort the display every friggin time they do a "fresh" display: Any improvements appreciated:

if(isset($_GET['orderCol']) && isset($_GET['orderDir'])){

$orderBy = $glob['dbprefix']."CubeCart_inventory.".$_GET['orderCol']." ".$_GET['orderDir'];

} else {

// ************* davehack for initial product list order **********

// $orderBy = $glob['dbprefix']."CubeCart_inventory.productId ASC";

$orderBy = $glob['dbprefix']."CubeCart_inventory." . 'name ASC';

[Guest megagente]

for the customer?