Proper way to read checkbox data in NodeJS - html

Question

I have a form on my webpage and its being submitted to a NodeJS backend.
I'm having trouble with the checkboxes. When the are submitted to server, and I read them via req.body.foods, I get something like ['on', 'on', 'on'].
But I want to get the actual values, that is, something like ['dairy', 'fish'] etc.
How can I do that?
<div class="col-sm-6">
<div class="checkbox">
<label><input name="food" type="checkbox" value="dairy">Dairy</label>
</div>
<div class="checkbox">
<label><input name="food" type="checkbox" value="meat">Meat</label>
</div>
<div class="checkbox">
<label><input name="food" type="checkbox" value="fish">Fish</label>
</div>
</div>

Answer 1

You can do the following in the node.js file:
console.log(req.body.food); //This will print the array of values.
If you have only one checkbox selected in the page, (eg: Dairy) it will print "dairy". If more than one checkbox, then you get "{ 'dairy', 'meat' }" in the output. Make sure the checkboxes are within the form.
Another method:
Include a hidden input element in your form:
<input name="SelectedValues" type="hidden" value="">
Also include a call to a javascript file in the onchange event of every checkbox, or in the onclick event of the submit button in the form.
onclick='buildlist("YourCheckBoxName","SelectedValues");'
Use a javascript function to loop through your checkbox and build a comma separated list of selected values:
function buildlist(listName,labelName){
var controls = document.getElementsByName(listName);
var label = document.getElementsByName(labelName);
label.value = '';
for(var i=0;i<controls.length;i++){
label.value += controls[i].value.toString()+',';
}
}
Now inside the node.js file, use the following code to access the list of values:
req.body.SelectedValues

Answer 2

Looks like you are using bootstrap to generate your form checkboxes. Try using the "form-check" and "form-check-input" classes instead.
<div class="form-check">
<input class="form-check-input" type="checkbox" name="food" value="dairy" id="flexCheckDefault">
<label class="form-check-label" for="flexCheckDefault">Dairy</label>
</div>