I need to add new custom fields in a certain application, many of which are enabled by drop down menus. I already found out how to add custom fields.

(Coppermine Gallery is the application I want to modify, and I already found out how to add custom fields; http://coppermine-gallery.net/forum/...?topic=35263.0)

However, I'm not so sure how I go about enabling drop down menus. I suppose that I need to create a drop down menu like the followng:

Code:
<select name="cmdeyecolor" id="cmdeyecolor" style="WIDTH: 158px" alt="REQ|SELECT||Please Select Your Eye Color">
	<option selected="selected" value="">Select</option>
	<option value="Blue">Blue</option>
	<option value="Brown">Brown</option>
	<option value="True Green">True Green</option>
	<option value="Hazel">Hazel</option>
	<option value="Grey Blue">Grey Blue</option>
	<option value="Black / Dark">Black / Dark</option>
</select>
or the following:

Code:
<select name="cmdeyecolor" id="cmdeyecolor" style="WIDTH: 158px" alt="REQ|SELECT||Please Select Your Eye Color">
	<option selected="selected" value="">Select</option>
	<option value="1">Blue</option>
	<option value="2">Brown</option>
	<option value="3">True Green</option>
	<option value="4">Hazel</option>
	<option value="5">Grey Blue</option>
	<option value="6">Black / Dark</option>
</select>
I don't know exactly how I should set up the database schema. I don't know the most ideal way to do this.

q1. Exactly when should I store values in numerical or alphabet?

q2. When I pull out this data, if they are stored in numerical or alphabet, how should I convert them to texts? Using database? Using database?

What's the best way to approach this?