Rails - Jul 2009 - how to get the value of a text field

Hi everyone,

I need to get the value of one text field when clicking "next page".
My code looks like:

this is the view page:
  <% form_tag(''javascript:void(0)'') do
%>

    <%= text_field_tag ''search'' %>

    <%observe_field :search,
                      :frequency =>
0.5,
                      :update    =>
''my_friends'',
                      :url       => {:action =>
''search''},
                      :with      => "''search='' +
encodeURIComponent
(value)" %>
  <% end %>
<% end %>

<div id="my_friends">
<% @friends.each do |friend| %>
  <%= friend.name %>
<% end %>
<%= will_paginate @friends, :params => {:search => ???? } %>
</div>

The problem is: I dont know how to pass the value of the search text
field to <%= will_paginate @friends, :params => {:search => ???? }
%>.
Can anyone help me out??

thanks
xiahong