OK. the validation plugin is kicking my ass. as does every new thing I try to learn.
FIRST: I need to clarify that there is a BUG up front so someone doesn't offer it as a solution. I am using version 1.5.5. It has a bug in the REMOTE rule/method so this is not an option to check for duplicate entries. And I know this because I set my lookup.php server script to a single line of ECHO "FALSE" but the validator plugin still adds a "valid" to the element class. Plus this was an issue in previous releases so it is more than likely re-introduced. BUT if you think I am still wrong I am open to suggestions so long a s they are detailed. So with that issue behind me I went out and learned how to create a custom method using the $.validator.addMethod() to solve my problem. And now I have run into 2 more issues which are stopping me. If someone can solve any 1 of these next 2 issues, I can be on my way. 1. I don't know how to grab a value returned from $.get() and put it into a javascript variable that can be used outside the scope of the $.get() event because I need to return that value . I have tried setting global variables all over the place but nothing gets set. 2. I also tried to just add an attribute to the element with the return value, then use jquery to fetch that value. But there seems to be a cache issue along the way. The attrib is being set correctly (according to firebug) but the value is always 1 cycle behind. Oh... and I do have CACHE:FALSE set. so if anyone can help here is my code: $.validator.addMethod("dupcheck",function(value,element){ var lookupkey = $(element).attr("name"); var lookupvalue = $(element).val(); var thisid = $(element).attr("id"); var valid_img = '<img src="/global_libs/images/icons/ checked.gif">'; var error_img = '<img src="/global_libs/images/icons/ unchecked.gif">'; $.get('lookup.php', {table : "members", key : lookupkey, value : lookupvalue, successmsg:"false", failmsg:"true" }, function(data){ [I NEED THE VALUE OF (DATA) TO BE RETURNED FROM HERE] }); }); ok I will through in the server script as well: here is my LOOKUP.PHP <? $noheaders = "true"; //prevents config.php from loading any header data such a scripts and styles. include("config.php"); $table = $_GET["table"]; $key = $_GET["key"]; $value = $_GET["value"]; $failmsg = (isset($_GET["failmsg"]) ? $_GET["failmsg"] : $value.": Not Found in TABLE: ".$table." for KEY: ".$key); $successmsg = (isset($_GET["successmsg"]) ? $_GET["successmsg"] : $value.": Found in TABLE: ".$table." for KEY: ".$key); $sql="SELECT * FROM $table WHERE $key='$value'" ; $result=mysql_query($sql); if (mysql_num_rows($result) > 0) { echo $successmsg; } else {echo $failmsg; }; ?> Thanks, MIke