719 lines
32 KiB
Plaintext
719 lines
32 KiB
Plaintext
|
include ../_util-fns
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
.alert.is-important
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
This guide is using the deprecated forms API.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
We have created a new version using the new API <a href='/docs/ts/latest/guide/forms.html'>here</a>.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
We’ve all used a form to login, submit a help request, place an order, book a flight,
|
|||
|
schedule a meeting and perform countless other data entry tasks.
|
|||
|
Forms are the mainstay of business applications.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Any seasoned web developer can slap together an HTML form with all the right tags.
|
|||
|
It's more challenging to create a cohesive data entry experience that guides the
|
|||
|
user efficiently and effectively through the workflow behind the form.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
*That* takes design skills that are, to be frank, well out of scope for this chapter.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
It also takes framework support for
|
|||
|
**two-way data binding, change tracking, validation, and error handling**
|
|||
|
... which we shall cover in this chapter on Angular forms.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
We will build a simple form from scratch, one step at a time. Along the way we'll learn
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
- to build an Angular form with a component and template
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
- two-way data binding with `[(ngModel)]` syntax for reading and writing values to input controls
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
- using `ngControl` to track the change state and validity of form controls
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
- the special CSS classes that `ngControl` adds to form controls and how we can use them to provide strong visual feedback
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
- displaying validation errors to users and enable/disable form controls
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
- sharing information among controls with template reference variables
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
[Live Example](/resources/live-examples/forms-deprecated/ts/plnkr.html)
|
|||
|
.l-main-section
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
## Template-Driven Forms
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Many of us will build forms by writing templates in the Angular [template syntax](./template-syntax.html) with
|
|||
|
the form-specific directives and techniques described in this chapter.
|
|||
|
.l-sub-section
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
That's not the only way to create a form but it's the way we'll cover in this chapter.
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
We can build almost any form we need with an Angular template — login forms, contact forms ... pretty much any business forms.
|
|||
|
We can lay out the controls creatively, bind them to data, specify validation rules and display validation errors,
|
|||
|
conditionally enable or disable specific controls, trigger built-in visual feedback, and much more.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
It will be pretty easy because Angular handles many of the repetitive, boiler plate tasks we'd
|
|||
|
otherwise wrestle with ourselves.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
We'll discuss and learn to build the following template-driven form:
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
figure.image-display
|
|||
|
img(src="/resources/images/devguide/forms/hero-form-1.png" width="400px" alt="Clean Form")
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
Here at the *Hero Employment Agency* we use this form to maintain personal information about the
|
|||
|
heroes in our stable. Every hero needs a job. It's our company mission to match the right hero with the right crisis!
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Two of the three fields on this form are required. Required fields have a green bar on the left to make them easy to spot.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
If we delete the hero name, the form displays a validation error in an attention grabbing style:
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
figure.image-display
|
|||
|
img(src="/resources/images/devguide/forms/hero-form-2.png" width="400px" alt="Invalid, Name Required")
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
Note that the submit button is disabled and the "required" bar to the left of the input control changed from green to red.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
.l-sub-section
|
|||
|
p We'll customize the colors and location of the "required" bar with standard CSS.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
We will build this form in the following sequence of small steps
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
1. Create the `Hero` model class
|
|||
|
1. Create the component that controls the form
|
|||
|
1. Create a template with the initial form layout
|
|||
|
1. Bind data properties to each form input control with the `ngModel` two-way data binding syntax
|
|||
|
1. Add the **ngControl** directive to each form input control
|
|||
|
1. Add custom CSS to provide visual feedback
|
|||
|
1. Show and hide validation error messages
|
|||
|
1. Handle form submission with **ngSubmit**
|
|||
|
1. Disable the form’s submit button until the form is valid
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
## Setup
|
|||
|
Create a new project folder (`angular2-forms`) and follow the steps in the [QuickStart](../quickstart.html).
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
include ../_quickstart_repo
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
## Create the Hero Model Class
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
As users enter form data, we capture their changes and update an instance of a model.
|
|||
|
We can't layout the form until we know what the model looks like.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
A model can be as simple as a "property bag" that holds facts about a thing of application importance.
|
|||
|
That describes well our `Hero` class with its three required fields (`id`, `name`, `power`)
|
|||
|
and one optional field (`alterEgo`).
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Create a new file in the app folder called `hero.ts` and give it the following class definition:
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
+makeExample('forms-deprecated/ts/app/hero.ts', null, 'app/hero.ts')
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
It's an anemic model with few requirements and no behavior. Perfect for our demo.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The TypeScript compiler generates a public field for each `public` constructor parameter and
|
|||
|
assigns the parameter’s value to that field automatically when we create new heroes.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The `alterEgo` is optional and the constructor lets us omit it; note the (?) in `alterEgo?`.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
We can create a new hero like this:
|
|||
|
code-example(format="").
|
|||
|
let myHero = new Hero(42, 'SkyDog',
|
|||
|
'Fetch any object at any distance', 'Leslie Rollover');
|
|||
|
console.log('My hero is called ' + myHero.name); // "My hero is called SkyDog"
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
.l-main-section
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
## Create a Form component
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
An Angular form has two parts: an HTML-based template and a code-based Component to handle data and user interactions.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
We begin with the Component because it states, in brief, what the Hero editor can do.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Create a new file called `hero-form.component.ts` and give it the following definition:
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
+makeExample('forms-deprecated/ts/app/hero-form.component.ts', 'first', 'app/hero-form.component.ts')
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
There’s nothing special about this component, nothing form-specific, nothing to distinguish it from any component we've written before.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Understanding this component requires only the Angular 2 concepts we’ve learned in previous chapters
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
1. We import the `Component` decorator from the Angular library as we usually do.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
1. The `@Component` selector value of "hero-form" means we can drop this form in a parent template with a `<hero-form>` tag.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
1. The `templateUrl` property points to a separate file for template HTML called `hero-form.component.html`.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
1. We defined dummy data for `model` and `powers` as befits a demo.
|
|||
|
Down the road, we can inject a data service to get and save real data
|
|||
|
or perhaps expose these properties as [inputs and outputs](./template-syntax.html#inputs-outputs) for binding to a
|
|||
|
parent component. None of this concerns us now and these future changes won't affect our form.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
1. We threw in a `diagnostic` property at the end to return a JSON representation of our model.
|
|||
|
It'll help us see what we're doing during our development; we've left ourselves a cleanup note to discard it later.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Why don't we write the template inline in the component file as we often do
|
|||
|
elsewhere in the Developer Guide?
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
There is no “right” answer for all occasions. We like inline templates when they are short.
|
|||
|
Most form templates won't be short. TypeScript and JavaScript files generally aren't the best place to
|
|||
|
write (or read) large stretches of HTML and few editors are much help with files that have a mix of HTML and code.
|
|||
|
We also like short files with a clear and obvious purpose like this one.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
We made a good choice to put the HTML template elsewhere.
|
|||
|
We'll write that template in a moment. Before we do, we'll take a step back
|
|||
|
and revise the `app.component.ts` to make use of our new `HeroFormComponent`.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
.l-main-section
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
## Revise the *app.component.ts*
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
`app.component.ts` is the application's root component. It will host our new `HeroFormComponent`.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Replace the contents of the "QuickStart" version with the following:
|
|||
|
+makeExample('forms-deprecated/ts/app/app.component.ts', null, 'app/app.component.ts')
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
.l-sub-section
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
There are only three changes:
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
1. We import the new `HeroFormComponent`.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
1. The `template` is simply the new element tag identified by the component's `selector` property.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
1. The `directives` array tells Angular that our template depends upon the `HeroFormComponent`
|
|||
|
which is itself a Directive (as are all Components).
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
.l-main-section
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
## Create an initial HTML Form Template
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Create a new template file called `hero-form.component.html` and give it the following definition:
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
+makeExample('forms-deprecated/ts/app/hero-form.component.html', 'start', 'app/hero-form.component.html')
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
That is plain old HTML 5. We're presenting two of the `Hero` fields, `name` and `alterEgo`, and
|
|||
|
opening them up for user input in input boxes.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The *Name* `<input>` control has the HTML5 `required` attribute;
|
|||
|
the *Alter Ego* `<input>` control does not because `alterEgo` is optional.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
We've got a *Submit* button at the bottom with some classes on it.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
**We are not using Angular yet**. There are no bindings. No extra directives. Just layout.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The `container`,`form-group`, `form-control`, and `btn` classes
|
|||
|
come from [Twitter Bootstrap](http://getbootstrap.com/css/). Purely cosmetic.
|
|||
|
We're using Bootstrap to gussy up our form.
|
|||
|
Hey, what's a form without a little style!
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
.callout.is-important
|
|||
|
header Angular Forms Do Not Require A Style Library
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
Angular makes no use of the `container`, `form-group`, `form-control`, and `btn` classes or
|
|||
|
the styles of any external library. Angular apps can use any CSS library
|
|||
|
... or none at all.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
Let's add the stylesheet.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
ol
|
|||
|
li Open a terminal window in the application root folder and enter the command:
|
|||
|
code-example(language="html" escape="html").
|
|||
|
npm install bootstrap --save
|
|||
|
li Open <code>index.html</code> and add the following link to the <code><head></code>.
|
|||
|
+makeExample('forms-deprecated/ts/index.html', 'bootstrap')(format=".")
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
.l-main-section
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
## Add Powers with ***ngFor**
|
|||
|
Our hero may choose one super power from a fixed list of Agency-approved powers.
|
|||
|
We maintain that list internally (in `HeroFormComponent`).
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
We'll add a `select` to our
|
|||
|
form and bind the options to the `powers` list using `ngFor`,
|
|||
|
a technique we might have seen before in the [Displaying Data](./displaying-data.html) chapter.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Add the following HTML *immediately below* the *Alter Ego* group.
|
|||
|
+makeExample('forms-deprecated/ts/app/hero-form.component.html', 'powers', 'app/hero-form.component.html (excerpt)')(format=".")
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
We are repeating the `<options>` tag for each power in the list of Powers.
|
|||
|
The `p` template input variable is a different power in each iteration;
|
|||
|
we display its name using the interpolation syntax with the double-curly-braces.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
<a id="ngModel"></a>
|
|||
|
.l-main-section
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
## Two-way data binding with **ngModel**
|
|||
|
Running the app right now would be disappointing.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
figure.image-display
|
|||
|
img(src="/resources/images/devguide/forms/hero-form-3.png" width="400px" alt="Early form with no binding")
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
We don't see hero data because we are not binding to the `Hero` yet.
|
|||
|
We know how to do that from earlier chapters.
|
|||
|
[Displaying Data](./displaying-data.html) taught us Property Binding.
|
|||
|
[User Input](./user-input.html) showed us how to listen for DOM events with an
|
|||
|
Event Binding and how to update a component property with the displayed value.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Now we need to display, listen, and extract at the same time.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
We could use those techniques again in our form.
|
|||
|
Instead we'll introduce something new, the `[(ngModel)]` syntax, that
|
|||
|
makes binding our form to the model super-easy.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Find the `<input>` tag for the "Name" and update it like this
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
+makeExample('forms-deprecated/ts/app/hero-form.component.html', 'ngModel-1','app/hero-form.component.html (excerpt)')(format=".")
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
.l-sub-section
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
We appended a diagnostic interpolation after the input tag
|
|||
|
so we can see what we're doing.
|
|||
|
We left ourselves a note to throw it away when we're done.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
Focus on the binding syntax: `[(ngModel)]="..."`.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
If we ran the app right now and started typing in the *Name* input box,
|
|||
|
adding and deleting characters, we'd see them appearing and disappearing
|
|||
|
from the interpolated text.
|
|||
|
At some point it might look like this.
|
|||
|
figure.image-display
|
|||
|
img(src="/resources/images/devguide/forms/ng-model-in-action.png" width="400px" alt="ngModel in action")
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
The diagnostic is evidence that we really are flowing values from the input box to the model and
|
|||
|
back again. **That's two-way data binding!**
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Let's add similar `[(ngModel)]` bindings to *Alter Ego* and *Hero Power*.
|
|||
|
We'll ditch the input box binding message
|
|||
|
and add a new binding at the top to the component's `diagnostic` property.
|
|||
|
Then we can confirm that two-way data binding works *for the entire Hero model*.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
After revision the core of our form should have three `[(ngModel)]` bindings that
|
|||
|
look much like this:
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
+makeExample('forms-deprecated/ts/app/hero-form.component.html', 'ngModel-2', 'app/hero-form.component.html (excerpt)')
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
If we ran the app right now and changed every Hero model property, the form might display like this:
|
|||
|
figure.image-display
|
|||
|
img(src="/resources/images/devguide/forms/ng-model-in-action-2.png" width="400px" alt="ngModel in super action")
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
The diagnostic near the top of the form
|
|||
|
confirms that all of our changes are reflected in the model.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
**Delete** the `{{diagnostic}}` binding at the top as it has served its purpose.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
.l-sub-section
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
### Inside [(ngModel)]
|
|||
|
*This section is an optional deep dive into [(ngModel)]. Not interested? Skip ahead!*
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The punctuation in the binding syntax, <span style="font-family:courier"><b>[()]</b></span>, is a good clue to what's going on.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
In a Property Binding, a value flows from the model to a target property on screen.
|
|||
|
We identify that target property by surrounding its name in brackets, <span style="font-family:courier"><b>[]</b></span>.
|
|||
|
This is a one-way data binding **from the model to the view**.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
In an Event Binding, we flow the value from the target property on screen to the model.
|
|||
|
We identify that target property by surrounding its name in parentheses, <span style="font-family:courier"><b>()</b></span>.
|
|||
|
This is a one-way data binding in the opposite direction **from the view to the model**.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
No wonder Angular chose to combine the punctuation as <span style="font-family:courier"><b>[()]</b></span>
|
|||
|
to signify a two-way data binding and a **flow of data in both directions**.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
In fact, we can break the `NgModel` binding into its two separate modes
|
|||
|
as we do in this re-write of the "Name" `<input>` binding:
|
|||
|
+makeExample('forms-deprecated/ts/app/hero-form.component.html', 'ngModel-3','app/hero-form.component.html (excerpt)')(format=".")
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
<br>The Property Binding should feel familiar. The Event Binding might seem strange.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The `ngModelChange` is not an `<input>` element event.
|
|||
|
It is actually an event property of the `NgModel` directive.
|
|||
|
When Angular sees a binding target in the form <span style="font-family:courier">[(x)]</span>,
|
|||
|
it expects the `x` directive to have an `x` input property and an `xChange` output property.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The other oddity is the template expression, `model.name = $event`.
|
|||
|
We're used to seeing an `$event` object coming from a DOM event.
|
|||
|
The `ngModelChange` property doesn't produce a DOM event; it's an Angular `EventEmitter`
|
|||
|
property that returns the input box value when it fires — which is precisely what
|
|||
|
we should assign to the model's `name` property.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Nice to know but is it practical? We almost always prefer `[(ngModel)]`.
|
|||
|
We might split the binding if we had to do something special in
|
|||
|
the event handling such as debounce or throttle the key strokes.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Learn more about `NgModel` and other template syntax in the
|
|||
|
[Template Syntax](./template-syntax.html) chapter.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
.l-main-section
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
## Track change-state and validity with **ngControl**
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
A form isn't just about data binding. We'd also like to know the state of the controls on our form.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
By setting `ngControl` we create a directive that can tell if the user touched the control,
|
|||
|
if the value changed, or if the value became invalid.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
This directive doesn't just track state; it updates the control with special
|
|||
|
Angular CSS classes from the set we listed above.
|
|||
|
We can leverage those class names to change the appearance of the
|
|||
|
control and make messages appear or disappear.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
We'll explore those effects soon. Right now
|
|||
|
we should **add `ngControl` to all three form controls**,
|
|||
|
starting with the *Name* input box
|
|||
|
+makeExample('forms-deprecated/ts/app/hero-form.component.html', 'ngControl-1', 'app/hero-form.component.html (excerpt)')(format=".")
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
We set this particular `ngControl` to "name" which makes sense for our app. Any unique value will do.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
.l-sub-section
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
Internally Angular creates `Controls` and registers them under their `ngControl` names
|
|||
|
with an `NgForm` directive that Angular attached to the `<form>` tag.
|
|||
|
We'll talk about `NgForm` [later in the chapter](#ngForm).
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The `ngControl` *attribute* in our template actually maps to the
|
|||
|
[NgControlName](../api/common/NgControlName-directive.html) directive.
|
|||
|
There is also a `NgControl` *abstract* directive which is *not the same thing*.
|
|||
|
We often ignore this technical distinction and refer to `NgControlName` more conveniently (albeit incorrectly) as the *NgControl* directive.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
While we're under the hood, we might as well note that the `ngModel` in the
|
|||
|
two-way binding syntax is now a property of the `NgControlName` directive.
|
|||
|
The `NgModel` directive is no longer involved. We only need one directive to manage the DOM element
|
|||
|
and there is no practical difference in the way either directive handles data binding.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
.l-main-section
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
## Add Custom CSS for Visual Feedback
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The *NgControl* directive doesn't just track state.
|
|||
|
It updates the control with three classes that reflect the state.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
table
|
|||
|
tr
|
|||
|
th State
|
|||
|
th Class if true
|
|||
|
th Class if false
|
|||
|
tr
|
|||
|
td Control has been visited
|
|||
|
td <code>ng-touched</code>
|
|||
|
td <code>ng-untouched</code>
|
|||
|
tr
|
|||
|
td Control's value has changed
|
|||
|
td <code>ng-dirty</code>
|
|||
|
td <code>ng-pristine</code>
|
|||
|
tr
|
|||
|
td Control's value is valid
|
|||
|
td <code>ng-valid</code>
|
|||
|
td <code>ng-invalid</code>
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
Let's add a temporary [template reference variable](./template-syntax.html#ref-vars) named **spy**
|
|||
|
to the "Name" `<input>` tag and use the spy to display those classes.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
+makeExample('forms-deprecated/ts/app/hero-form.component.html', 'ngControl-2','app/hero-form.component.html (excerpt)')(format=".")
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
Now run the app and focus on the *Name* input box.
|
|||
|
Follow the next four steps *precisely*
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
1. Look but don't touch
|
|||
|
1. Click in the input box, then click outside the text input box
|
|||
|
1. Add slashes to the end of the name
|
|||
|
1. Erase the name
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The actions and effects are as follows:
|
|||
|
figure.image-display
|
|||
|
img(src="/resources/images/devguide/forms/control-state-transitions-anim.gif" alt="Control State Transition")
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
We should be able to see the following four sets of class names and their transitions:
|
|||
|
figure.image-display
|
|||
|
img(src="/resources/images/devguide/forms/ng-control-class-changes.png" width="400px" alt="Control State Transitions")
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
The (`ng-valid` | `ng-invalid`) pair are most interesting to us. We want to send a
|
|||
|
strong visual signal when the data are invalid and we want to mark required fields.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
We realize we can do both at the same time with a colored bar on the left of the input box:
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
figure.image-display
|
|||
|
img(src="/resources/images/devguide/forms/validity-required-indicator.png" width="400px" alt="Invalid Form")
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
We achieve this effect by adding two styles to a new `forms.css` file
|
|||
|
that we add to our project as a sibling to `index.html`.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
+makeExample('forms-deprecated/ts/forms.css',null,'forms.css')(format=".")
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
These styles select for the two Angular validity classes and the HTML 5 "required" attribute.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
We update the `<head>` of the `index.html` to include this style sheet.
|
|||
|
+makeExample('forms-deprecated/ts/index.html', 'styles', 'index.html (excerpt)')(format=".")
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
## Show and Hide Validation Error messages
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
We can do better.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The "Name" input box is required. Clearing it turns the bar red. That says *something* is wrong but we
|
|||
|
don't know *what* is wrong or what to do about it.
|
|||
|
We can leverage the `ng-invalid` class to reveal a helpful message.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Here's the way it should look when the user deletes the name:
|
|||
|
figure.image-display
|
|||
|
img(src="/resources/images/devguide/forms/name-required-error.png" width="400px" alt="Name required")
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
To achieve this effect we extend the `<input>` tag with
|
|||
|
1. a [template reference variable](./template-syntax.html#ref-vars)
|
|||
|
1. the "*is required*" message in a nearby `<div>` which we'll display only if the control is invalid.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Here's how we do it for the *name* input box:
|
|||
|
+makeExample('forms-deprecated/ts/app/hero-form.component.html',
|
|||
|
'name-with-error-msg',
|
|||
|
'app/hero-form.component.html (excerpt)')(format=".")
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
We need a template reference variable to access the input box's Angular control from within the template.
|
|||
|
Here we created a variable called `name` and gave it the value "ngForm".
|
|||
|
.l-sub-section
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
Why "ngForm"?
|
|||
|
A directive's [exportAs](../api/core/DirectiveMetadata-class.html#!#exportAs) property
|
|||
|
tells Angular how to link the reference variable to the directive.
|
|||
|
We set `name` to `ngForm` because the `NgControlName` directive's `exportAs` property happens to be "ngForm".
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
This seems unintuitive at first until we realize that *all* control directives in the
|
|||
|
Angular form family — including `NgForm`, `NgModel`, `NgControlName` and `NgControlGroup` — *exportAs* "ngForm"
|
|||
|
and we only ever apply *one* of these directives to an element tag.
|
|||
|
Consistency rules!
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Now we can control visibility of the "name" error message by binding properties of the `name` control to the message `<div>` element's `hidden` property.
|
|||
|
+makeExample('forms-deprecated/ts/app/hero-form.component.html',
|
|||
|
'hidden-error-msg',
|
|||
|
'app/hero-form.component.html (excerpt)')
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
In this example, we hide the message when the control is valid or pristine;
|
|||
|
pristine means the user hasn't changed the value since it was displayed in this form.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
This user experience is the developer's choice. Some folks want to see the message at all times.
|
|||
|
If we ignore the `pristine` state, we would hide the message only when the value is valid.
|
|||
|
If we arrive in this component with a new (blank) hero or an invalid hero,
|
|||
|
we'll see the error message immediately, before we've done anything.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Some folks find that behavior disconcerting. They only want to see the message when the user makes an invalid change.
|
|||
|
Hiding the message while the control is "pristine" achieves that goal.
|
|||
|
We'll see the significance of this choice when we [add a new hero](#new-hero) to the form.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The Hero *Alter Ego* is optional so we can leave that be.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Hero *Power* selection is required.
|
|||
|
We can add the same kind of error handling to the `<select>` if we want
|
|||
|
but it's not imperative because the selection box already constrains the
|
|||
|
power to valid value.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
<a id="new-hero"></a>
|
|||
|
<a id="reset"></a>
|
|||
|
.l-main-section
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
## Add a hero and reset the form
|
|||
|
We'd like to add a new hero in this form.
|
|||
|
We place a "New Hero" button at the bottom of the form and bind its click event to a component method.
|
|||
|
+makeExample('forms-deprecated/ts/app/hero-form.component.html',
|
|||
|
'new-hero-button',
|
|||
|
'app/hero-form.component.html (New Hero button)')
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
+makeExample('forms-deprecated/ts/app/hero-form.component.ts',
|
|||
|
'new-hero-v1',
|
|||
|
'app/hero-form.component.ts (New Hero method - v1)')(format=".")
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
Run the application again, click the *New Hero* button, and the form clears.
|
|||
|
The *required* bars to the left of the input box are red, indicating invalid `name` and `power` properties.
|
|||
|
That's understandable as these are required fields.
|
|||
|
The error messages are hidden because the form is pristine; we haven't changed anything yet.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Enter a name and click *New Hero* again.
|
|||
|
This time we see an error message! Why? We don't want that when we display a new (empty) hero.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Inspecting the element in the browser tools reveals that the *name* input box is no longer pristine.
|
|||
|
Replacing the hero *did not restore the pristine state* of the control.
|
|||
|
.l-sub-section
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
Upon reflection, we realize that Angular cannot distinguish between
|
|||
|
replacing the entire hero and clearing the `name` property programmatically.
|
|||
|
Angular makes no assumptions and leaves the control in its current, dirty state.
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
We'll have to reset the form controls manually with a small trick.
|
|||
|
We add an `active` flag to the component, initialized to `true`. When we add a new hero,
|
|||
|
we toggle `active` false and then immediately back to true with a quick `setTimeout`.
|
|||
|
+makeExample('forms-deprecated/ts/app/hero-form.component.ts',
|
|||
|
'new-hero',
|
|||
|
'app/hero-form.component.ts (New Hero method - final)')(format=".")
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
Then we bind the form element to this `active` flag.
|
|||
|
+makeExample('forms-deprecated/ts/app/hero-form.component.html',
|
|||
|
'form-active',
|
|||
|
'app/hero-form.component.html (Form tag)')
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
With `NgIf` bound to the `active` flag,
|
|||
|
clicking "New Hero" removes the form from the DOM and recreates it in a blink of an eye.
|
|||
|
The re-created form is in a pristine state. The error message is hidden.
|
|||
|
.l-sub-section
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
This is a temporary workaround while we await a proper form reset feature.
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
.l-main-section
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
## Submit the form with **ngSubmit**
|
|||
|
The user should be able to submit this form after filling it in.
|
|||
|
The Submit button at the bottom of the form
|
|||
|
does nothing on its own but it will
|
|||
|
trigger a form submit because of its type (`type="submit"`).
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
A "form submit" is useless at the moment.
|
|||
|
To make it useful, we'll update the `<form>` tag with another Angular directive, `NgSubmit`,
|
|||
|
and bind it to the `HeroFormComponent.submit()` method with an event binding
|
|||
|
+makeExample('forms-deprecated/ts/app/hero-form.component.html', 'ngSubmit')(format=".")
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
We slipped in something extra there at the end! We defined a
|
|||
|
template reference variable, **`#heroForm`**, and initialized it with the value, "ngForm".
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The variable `heroForm` is now a reference to the `NgForm` directive that governs the form as a whole.
|
|||
|
<a id="ngForm"></a>
|
|||
|
.l-sub-section
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
### The NgForm directive
|
|||
|
What `NgForm` directive? We didn't add an [NgForm](../api/common/NgForm-directive.html) directive!
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Angular did. Angular creates and attaches an `NgForm` directive to the `<form>` tag automatically.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The `NgForm` directive supplements the `form` element with additional features.
|
|||
|
It holds the controls we created for the elements with `ngControl` attributes
|
|||
|
and monitors their properties including their validity.
|
|||
|
It also has its own `valid` property which is true only *if every contained
|
|||
|
control* is valid.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
Later in the template we bind the button's `disabled` property to the form's over-all validity via
|
|||
|
the `heroForm` variable. Here's that bit of markup:
|
|||
|
+makeExample('forms-deprecated/ts/app/hero-form.component.html', 'submit-button')
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
Re-run the application. The form opens in a valid state and the button is enabled.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Now delete the *Name*. We violate the "name required" rule which
|
|||
|
is duly noted in our error message as before. And now the Submit button is also disabled.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Not impressed? Think about it for a moment. What would we have to do to
|
|||
|
wire the button's enable/disabled state to the form's validity without Angular's help?
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
For us, it was as simple as
|
|||
|
1. Define a template reference variable on the (enhanced) form element
|
|||
|
2. Reference that variable in a button some 50 lines away.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
.l-main-section
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
## Toggle two form regions (extra credit)
|
|||
|
Submitting the form isn't terribly dramatic at the moment.
|
|||
|
.l-sub-section
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
An unsurprising observation for a demo. To be honest,
|
|||
|
jazzing it up won't teach us anything new about forms.
|
|||
|
But this is an opportunity to exercise some of our newly won
|
|||
|
binding skills.
|
|||
|
If you're not interested, you can skip to the chapter's conclusion
|
|||
|
and not miss a thing.
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
Let's do something more strikingly visual.
|
|||
|
Let's hide the data entry area and display something else.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Start by wrapping the form in a `<div>` and bind
|
|||
|
its `hidden` property to the `HeroFormComponent.submitted` property.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
+makeExample('forms-deprecated/ts/app/hero-form.component.html', 'edit-div', 'app/hero-form.component.html (excerpt)')(format=".")
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
The main form is visible from the start because the
|
|||
|
the `submitted` property is false until we submit the form,
|
|||
|
as this fragment from the `HeroFormComponent` reminds us:
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
+makeExample('forms-deprecated/ts/app/hero-form.component.ts', 'submitted')(format=".")
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
When we click the Submit button, the `submitted` flag becomes true and the form disappears
|
|||
|
as planned.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Now we need to show something else while the form is in the submitted state.
|
|||
|
Add the following block of HTML below the `<div>` wrapper we just wrote:
|
|||
|
+makeExample('forms-deprecated/ts/app/hero-form.component.html', 'submitted', 'app/hero-form.component.html (excerpt)')
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
There's our hero again, displayed read-only with interpolation bindings.
|
|||
|
This slug of HTML only appears while the component is in the submitted state.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
We added an Edit button whose click event is bound to an expression
|
|||
|
that clears the `submitted` flag.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
When we click it, this block disappears and the editable form reappears.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
That's as much drama as we can muster for now.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
.l-main-section
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
## Conclusion
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The Angular 2 form discussed in this chapter takes advantage of the following framework features to provide support for data modification, validation and more:
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
- An Angular HTML form template.
|
|||
|
- A form component class with a `Component` decorator.
|
|||
|
- The `ngSubmit` directive for handling the form submission.
|
|||
|
- Template reference variables such as `#heroForm`, `#name`, `#alter-ego` and `#power`.
|
|||
|
- The `[(ngModel)]` syntax for two-way data binding.
|
|||
|
- The `ngControlName` directive for validation and form element change tracking.
|
|||
|
- The reference variable’s `valid` property on input controls to check if a control is valid and show/hide error messages.
|
|||
|
- Controlling the submit button's enabled state by binding to `NgForm` validity.
|
|||
|
- Custom CSS classes that provide visual feedback to users about invalid controls.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Our final project folder structure should look like this:
|
|||
|
.filetree
|
|||
|
.file angular2-forms
|
|||
|
.children
|
|||
|
.file app
|
|||
|
.children
|
|||
|
.file app.component.ts
|
|||
|
.file hero.ts
|
|||
|
.file hero-form.component.html
|
|||
|
.file hero-form.component.ts
|
|||
|
.file main.ts
|
|||
|
.file node_modules ...
|
|||
|
.file typings ...
|
|||
|
.file index.html
|
|||
|
.file package.json
|
|||
|
.file tsconfig.json
|
|||
|
.file typings.json
|
|||
|
:marked
|
|||
|
Here’s the final version of the source:
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
+makeTabs(
|
|||
|
`forms-deprecated/ts/app/hero-form.component.ts,
|
|||
|
forms-deprecated/ts/app/hero-form.component.html,
|
|||
|
forms-deprecated/ts/app/hero.ts,
|
|||
|
forms-deprecated/ts/app/app.component.ts,
|
|||
|
forms-deprecated/ts/app/main.ts,
|
|||
|
forms-deprecated/ts/index.html,
|
|||
|
forms-deprecated/ts/forms.css`,
|
|||
|
'final, final,,,,,',
|
|||
|
`hero-form.component.ts,
|
|||
|
hero-form.component.html,
|
|||
|
hero.ts,
|
|||
|
app.component.ts,
|
|||
|
main.ts,
|
|||
|
index.html,
|
|||
|
forms.css`)
|
|||
|
:marked
|