Is $file\n a string variable? Why does it echo ok but mess up my fuction?

I have a block of code that opens a directory and creats a file list with a
small button image next to each name. Above this list is a blank form, with
some text boxes. My plan is to add some Javascript so that I can drag the
button to my form and have a text box populate with the file name from the
button I just dragged each file so that I can drag the image next to each
file name in to a form text box and have

I can echo "$file\n" to get the file name to appear in its spot in the list.
however when I try and use $file\n inside the function
event.dataTransfer.setData("TEXT",'$file\n') I get an undertermined string
constant error.

It only takes a slight change to the code to get it to work which makes me
think the probem is with the $file\n

If I change the event.dataTransfer.setData to
event.dataTransfer.setData("TEXT",'dog')
everything works fine and I get dog in the box if I drag the image.


I thought maybe I could not use a variable inside this fuction however if I
put
event.dataTransfer.setData("TEXT",'$Z')
I get the value of the $Z loop counter

Do I need to convert $file\n to a string first? If so how can I do this.
My code is below. Otherwise what is differnt about $file\n then my $Z
counter that I cant pass it to the even.dataTranfer.setData function?

Rich


<?php
// This block is the file browse code
if ($handle = opendir('../docs/')) {

/* This is the correct way to loop over the directory. */
while (false !== ($file = readdir($handle))) {
$Z=$Z+1;

echo "$file\n <IMAGE ID='a$Z' SRC='button.gif'
ondragstart='a$Z()'>
$Z<BR>

<SCRIPT>
function a$Z()
/* The setData parameters tell the source object
to transfer data as a URL and provide the path. */
{
event.dataTransfer.setData('TEXT', '$file\n' );
}
</SCRIPT>
";
}


/* This is the WRONG way to loop over the directory. */
while ($file = readdir($handle)) {
echo "$file\n";

}
closedir($handle);
}
?>

On Sun, 1 Feb 2004 22:28:50 -0500, "Rich Zellmer"
<tdmailbox@yahoo.com> wrote:

>I can echo "$file\n" to get the file name to appear in its spot in the list.
>however when I try and use $file\n inside the function
>event.dataTransfer.setData("TEXT",'$file\n') I get an undertermined string
>constant error.

Try: "$file\n"
Single and double quotes are evaluated differently.
Or: $file."\n"