ajax request changing url

Question

Hi, I have a pager on a table using ajax and I would like each such request also to change the browser's url, so when I hit refresh button I won't skip back to first page. I was fighting the Url parameter of AjaxOptions, but it keeps winning over me. Please help.

Trim

Answer 1

There is not really a quick and easy way to do this, here is an article on the topic. The problem is that not only does the Ajax have to generate the URLs, it also has to take those URLs into account when loading the page to get the appropriate content.

Answer 2

You can safely change the URL past the hash mark without redirecting the page. However, the user can (in most browsers) navigate through these changes with the Back and Forwards buttons. This technique is usually called "history."

Because the technique is difficult to get working in all browsers, you'll want to use a framework. Take a look at http://www.mikage.to/jquery/jquery_history.html.

I can also recommend ExtJS's history stuff too. Take a look at this example: http://www.extjs.com/deploy/dev/examples/history/history.html#main-tabs:tab2

Again, notice that not only does the URL change when the user does stuff, but changing the URL (via Back and Forward) also affects the page. This is good, awesome even, but means it must be done very carefully.