Exclude options in category drop down in form

I'll ask one of the senior devs here about the other question.

Try changing the select like so:

<?php list($categoriesRecords, $categoriesMeta) = getRecords(array(
    'tableName' => 'dir_categories',
    'where      => 'hidden = 0'
));
<select name="category">
<option value = "">-Select-</option>
<?php foreach ($categoriesRecords as $record): ?>
<option value = "<?php echo htmlspecialchars($record['name']);?>" <?php selectedIf($record['name'], @$_REQUEST['category']);?>> <?php echo htmlspecialchars($record['name']);?> </option>
<?php endforeach ?>
</select>

That works but then I go back to the issue of if the user forgets to fill out a required field, then the drop down category options are not retained and user would have to refresh page to get drop down options again. Is there anyway around that without using the getlistOptions?

Yeah, same solution as what I mentioned here: http://www.interactivetools.com/forum/forum-posts.php?postNum=2234613#post2234613

If you're using jQuery, for example, you can check if the category options are set using PHP and then optionally include jQuery statements on document load to set them when the page is refreshed after an error.