This PR upgrades the existing forms to the new API, while leaving a copy for existing users. The current forms will be the default until RC4, at which point we will switch the default to the new API but still retain a link to the old forms API. After RC5 the old API docs will be completely removed.
		
			
				
	
	
		
			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
 |