Post value of button in node.js - node.js

Question

I have a form that submits a query, which will eventually be executed in MySQL
however, I have an issue posting the text value of a button. I have a button wit a dropdown that allows the mode of query, and I need to be able to access this in my node.js post method. when trying to access the text or value of the button with id "searchmethod" it crashes saying that the button is undefined, however, my textbox returns post just fine.
EDIT:
TypeError: Cannot read property 'value' of undefined at Object.handle (/root/Folder/app/routes.js:15:50) at next_layer (/root/Folder/node_modules/express/lib/router/route.js:103:13) at Route.dispatch (/root/Folder/node_modules/express/lib/router/route.js:107:5) at c (/root/Folder/node_modules/express/lib/router/index.js:195:24) at Function.proto.process_params (/root/Folder/node_modules/express/lib/router/index.js:251:12) at next (/root/Folder/node_modules/express/lib/router/index.js:189:19) at next_layer (/root/Folder/node_modules/express/lib/router/route.js:77:14) at next_layer (/root/Folder/node_modules/express/lib/router/route.js:81:14) at next_layer (/root/Folder/node_modules/express/lib/router/route.js:81:14) at Route.dispatch (/root/Folder/node_modules/express/lib/router/route.js:107:5)
HTML for the button/Form
<form method="post" action="/" class="box">
<h3 style="color:#5F5F5F">Inventory Item Lookup</h3>
<div class="input-group dropdown">
<div class="input-group-btn">
<button name="searchmethod" id="search-button" type="button" class="btn btn-default">Name</button>
<button type="button" class="btn btn-default dropdown-toggle" data-toggle="dropdown">
<span class="caret"></span>
<span class="sr-only">Toggle Dropdown</span>
</button>
<ul class="dropdown-menu" role="menu">
<li class="drop-list-item">Name</li>
<li class="drop-list-item">Manufacturer</li>
<li class="drop-list-item">Description</li>
<li class="drop-list-item">Location</li>
<li class="divider"></li>
<li class="drop-list-item">Smart Search</li>
</ul>
</div>
<input type="text" name="searchstring" class="form-control" style="z-index: auto">
</div>
</form>
js code for post
app.post('/', function(req, res) {
res.send('Search Function: ' + req.body.searchmethod.value + ":" + req.body.searchstring); // this will eventually cause a return from SQL
console.log("Search Function: " + req.body.searchmethod.value + ":" + req.body.searchstring);
});
req.body.searchstring works fine. req.body.searchmethod.value fails because "searchmethod" is undefined. searchmethod.text also fails.

Answer 1

As per the comments.. a bit difficult to understand what is actually going on here, a codepen or some working example would help people to answer your question.
One fundamental mistake looks evident here - Node doesn't understand HTML attributes - req.body will only contain searchmethod if a form element with a name property of searchmethod is included in the form. Then .value will not be necessary, req.body.searchmethod will contain the value.
E.g.
<form method="post" action="/" class="box">
<input id="searchmethod" name="searchmethod" type="hidden" />
<button id="searchbutton" ... >Name</button>
</form>
But you will need some JS to set the hidden value from the button click event..
Example using jQuery:
$('#searchbutton').on('click', function(){
$('#searchmethod').val( $(this).text() );
});