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Can I make the value of User ID be also the same value for CAT ID?

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Can I make the value of User ID be also the same value for CAT ID?
Here's my understanding of what happens:

When you create a new category it is assigned a CAT ID.
The CAT ID value is allocated to each new category name in sequential order, so the 10th category created (say it is named "TENTH") will receive the CAT ID value of 10.

When you use the form within add.cgi - the category field would show a category name (say TENTH) - and if this is selected, the subsequent post of this new addition sends the entry to the CAT ID (say "10") associated with the label, i.e. category name (say "TENTH").

Now here's what I would like to happen:

I have set up a process whereby the form within add.cgi is "populated" with data arriving from an SMS text message. The data within this SMS string is very limited. One of the fields contained in it is the mobile phone number - say "44000000000". This "44000000000" is the User ID as entered when setting up the User ID during the sign up process by the user.

Now here's the BIGGIE - I would like to set up a category for the exclusive use of user called "44000000000". That's easy to do. label the new category just this = "44000000000". However the CAT ID of this category would be a sequential number - say it was the 10th category set up then its CAT ID would be "10". Here's what I want to happen - I want the CAT ID to be identical to the category name, in other words I want the value of the CAT ID of the category called "44000000000" to actually be CAT ID = "44000000000".

Why do I want this? Let me take you back to what I said earlier:

I have set up a process whereby the form within add.cgi is "populated" with data arriving from an SMS text message. The data within this SMS string is very limited. One of the fields contained in it is the mobile phone number - say "44000000000". I want this "44000000000" to be submitted to the CATEGORY field within the add.cgi form. As I said I understand that when the content of this 'add" form is posted, it posts the content to the CAT ID selected in the form by way of a selection of the category name. If what I am looking for can happen, it means that I will succeed in posting a text message sent from a phone to the add-a-link form shown on add.cgi and have the user named "44000000000" succeed in automatically posting his message to a CAT ID who's value is "44000000000".

OK - you may gather I am not a techie by the language I use but i hope I have spelled out in a way you can understand what it is I am looking to do. But how to do it - I haven't got a clue.

So my plea is this - can what I am looking happen actually be done, how can it be done - and is there anyone who can help me make it happen?

Thanks

Steve
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Re: [cuppa] Can I make the value of User ID be also the same value for CAT ID? In reply to
Hey let me answer my own post ;-)

I found a way to solved what I wanted to do.

Create a category with a unique CAT ID, lets say its = 200. Create a new user say the USER ID that happens to be 120. You can marry the two up (CAT ID and USER ID) by going into the SQL table and re-numbering the USER ID to equal 200 - assuming that no other user has same ID value. If you do this systematically making and matching Categories and Users at same time - each of these should have identical ID's.

Why would you want to do this? OH ! too involved to explain.
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Re: [cuppa] Can I make the value of User ID be also the same value for CAT ID? In reply to
I read this thread, because I had some half-baked idea of doing something similar, but not quite. I was thinking about allowing each user to have their own category, for storage of reviews, etc, 'blog' or such.

First, I'm totally confused, since the Users table is *not* indexed or keyed with an ID, but the Username is the primary key.

You can add an ID field to it, *but* in a larger context, if you are going to be using GT programs, and Gforum is going to keep the UserID (so users can change their username) then you might want to consider going through Community, and assigning everyone the unique ID.

On the other hand, if you want people to have a UserID that is the same as their phone number, or message ID or whatever, you can set up a field in the Users table, and key that to the Category name.

The "skinny" here, is there is *probably* a better, more logical, and automated way to do what you want to do, but I'm not sure what it is you are trying to do, exactly.


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