summaryrefslogtreecommitdiffstats
path: root/user_guide_src/source/helpers/form_helper.rst
blob: dcb5bee21e2c346a544fc67a7464a29635292245 (plain)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506
507
508
509
510
511
512
513
514
515
516
517
518
519
520
521
522
523
524
525
526
527
528
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
540
541
542
543
544
545
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553
554
555
556
557
558
559
560
561
562
563
564
565
566
567
568
569
570
571
572
573
574
575
576
577
578
579
580
581
582
583
584
585
586
587
588
589
590
591
592
593
594
595
596
597
598
599
600
601
602
603
604
605
606
607
608
609
610
611
612
613
614
615
616
617
618
619
620
621
622
623
624
625
626
627
628
629
630
631
632
633
634
635
636
637
638
639
640
641
642
643
644
645
646
647
648
649
650
651
652
653
654
655
656
657
658
659
660
661
662
663
664
665
666
667
668
669
670
671
672
673
674
675
676
677
678
679
680
681
682
###########
Form Helper
###########

The Form Helper file contains functions that assist in working with
forms.

.. contents::
  :local:

.. raw:: html

  <div class="custom-index container"></div>

Loading this Helper
===================

This helper is loaded using the following code::

	$this->load->helper('form');

Available Functions
===================

The following functions are available:


.. function:: form_open([$action = ''[, $attributes = ''[, $hidden = array()]]])

	:param	string	$action: Form action/target URI string
	:param	array	$attributes: HTML attributes
	:param	array	$hidden: An array of hidden fields' definitions
	:returns:	string

	Creates an opening form tag with a base URL **built from your config preferences**.
	It will optionally let you add form attributes and hidden input fields, and
	will always add the `accept-charset` attribute based on the charset value in your
	config file.

	The main benefit of using this tag rather than hard coding your own HTML is that
	it permits your site to be more portable in the event your URLs ever change.

	Here's a simple example::

		echo form_open('email/send');

	The above example would create a form that points to your base URL plus the
	"email/send" URI segments, like this::

		<form method="post" accept-charset="utf-8" action="http://example.com/index.php/email/send">

	**Adding Attributes**

		Attributes can be added by passing an associative array to the second
		parameter, like this::

			$attributes = array('class' => 'email', 'id' => 'myform');
			echo form_open('email/send', $attributes);

		Alternatively, you can specify the second parameter as a string::

			echo form_open('email/send', 'class="email" id="myform"');

		The above examples would create a form similar to this::

			<form method="post" accept-charset="utf-8" action="http://example.com/index.php/email/send" class="email" id="myform">

	**Adding Hidden Input Fields**

		Hidden fields can be added by passing an associative array to the
		third parameter, like this::

			$hidden = array('username' => 'Joe', 'member_id' => '234');
			echo form_open('email/send', '', $hidden);

		You can skip the second parameter by passing any falsy value to it.

		The above example would create a form similar to this::

			<form method="post" accept-charset="utf-8" action="http://example.com/index.php/email/send">
				<input type="hidden" name="username" value="Joe" />
				<input type="hidden" name="member_id" value="234" />


.. function:: form_open_multipart([$action = ''[, $attributes = array()[, $hidden = array()]])

	:param	string	$action: Form action/target URI string
	:param	array	$attributes: HTML attributes
	:param	array	$hidden: An array of hidden fields' definitions
	:returns:	string

	This function is absolutely identical to :func:`form_open()` above,
	except that it adds a *multipart* attribute, which is necessary if you
	would like to use the form to upload files with.


.. function:: form_hidden($name[, $value = ''])

	:param	string	$name: Field name
	:param	string	$value: Field value
	:returns:	string

	Lets you generate hidden input fields. You can either submit a
	name/value string to create one field::

		form_hidden('username', 'johndoe');
		// Would produce: <input type="hidden" name="username" value="johndoe" />

	... or you can submit an associative array to create multiple fields::

		$data = array(
			'name'	=> 'John Doe',
			'email'	=> 'john@example.com',
			'url'	=> 'http://example.com'
		);

		echo form_hidden($data);

		/*
			Would produce:
			<input type="hidden" name="name" value="John Doe" />
			<input type="hidden" name="email" value="john@example.com" />
			<input type="hidden" name="url" value="http://example.com" />
		*/

	You can also pass an associative array to the value field::

		$data = array(
			'name'	=> 'John Doe',
			'email'	=> 'john@example.com',
			'url'	=> 'http://example.com'
		);

		echo form_hidden('my_array', $data);

		/*
			Would produce:

			<input type="hidden" name="my_array[name]" value="John Doe" />
			<input type="hidden" name="my_array[email]" value="john@example.com" />
			<input type="hidden" name="my_array[url]" value="http://example.com" />
		*/

	If you want to create hidden input fields with extra attributes::

		$data = array(
			'type'	=> 'hidden',
			'name'	=> 'email',
			'id'	=> 'hiddenemail',
			'value'	=> 'john@example.com',
			'class'	=> 'hiddenemail'
		);

		echo form_input($data);

		/*
			Would produce:

			<input type="hidden" name="email" value="john@example.com" id="hiddenemail" class="hiddenemail" />
		*/


.. function:: form_input([$data = ''[, $value = ''[, $extra = '']])

	:param	array	$data: Field attributes data
	:param	string	$value: Field value
	:param	string	$extra: Extra attributes to be added to the tag *as is*
	:returns:	string

	Lets you generate a standard text input field. You can minimally pass
	the field name and value in the first and second parameter::

		echo form_input('username', 'johndoe');

	Or you can pass an associative array containing any data you wish your
	form to contain::

		$data = array(
			'name'		=> 'username',
			'id'		=> 'username',
			'value'		=> 'johndoe',
			'maxlength'	=> '100',
			'size'		=> '50',
			'style'		=> 'width:50%'
		);

		echo form_input($data);

		/*
			Would produce:

			<input type="text" name="username" value="johndoe" id="username" maxlength="100" size="50" style="width:50%"  />
		*/

	If you would like your form to contain some additional data, like
	JavaScript, you can pass it as a string in the third parameter::

		$js = 'onClick="some_function()"';
		echo form_input('username', 'johndoe', $js);


.. function:: form_password([$data = ''[, $value = ''[, $extra = '']]])

	:param	array	$data: Field attributes data
	:param	string	$value: Field value
	:param	string	$extra: Extra attributes to be added to the tag *as is*
	:returns:	string

	This function is identical in all respects to the :func:`form_input()`
	function above except that it uses the "password" input type.


.. function:: form_upload([$data = ''[, $value = ''[, $extra = '']]])

	:param	array	$data: Field attributes data
	:param	string	$value: Field value
	:param	string	$extra: Extra attributes to be added to the tag *as is*
	:returns:	string

	This function is identical in all respects to the :func:`form_input()`
	function above except that it uses the "file" input type, allowing it to
	be used to upload files.


.. function:: form_textarea([$data = ''[, $value = ''[, $extra = '']]])

	:param	array	$data: Field attributes data
	:param	string	$value: Field value
	:param	string	$extra: Extra attributes to be added to the tag *as is*
	:returns:	string

	This function is identical in all respects to the :func:`form_input()`
	function above except that it generates a "textarea" type.

	.. note:: Instead of the *maxlength* and *size* attributes in the above example,
		you will instead specify *rows* and *cols*.


.. function:: form_dropdown([$name = ''[, $options = array()[, $selected = array()[, $extra = '']]]])

	:param	string	$name: Field name
	:param	array	$options: An associative array of options to be listed
	:param	array	$selected: List of fields to mark with the *selected* attribute
	:param	string	$extra: Extra attributes to be added to the tag *as is*
	:returns:	string

	Lets you create a standard drop-down field. The first parameter will
	contain the name of the field, the second parameter will contain an
	associative array of options, and the third parameter will contain the
	value you wish to be selected. You can also pass an array of multiple
	items through the third parameter, and CodeIgniter will create a
	multiple select for you.

	Example::

		$options = array(
			'small'		=> 'Small Shirt',
			'med'		=> 'Medium Shirt',
			'large'		=> 'Large Shirt',
			'xlarge'	=> 'Extra Large Shirt',
		);

		$shirts_on_sale = array('small', 'large');
		echo form_dropdown('shirts', $options, 'large');

		/*
			Would produce:

			<select name="shirts">
				<option value="small">Small Shirt</option>
				<option value="med">Medium  Shirt</option>
				<option value="large" selected="selected">Large Shirt</option>
				<option value="xlarge">Extra Large Shirt</option>
			</select>
		*/

		echo form_dropdown('shirts', $options, $shirts_on_sale);

		/*
			Would produce:

			<select name="shirts" multiple="multiple">
				<option value="small" selected="selected">Small Shirt</option>
				<option value="med">Medium  Shirt</option>
				<option value="large" selected="selected">Large Shirt</option>
				<option value="xlarge">Extra Large Shirt</option>
			</select>
		*/

	If you would like the opening <select> to contain additional data, like
	an id attribute or JavaScript, you can pass it as a string in the fourth
	parameter::

		$js = 'id="shirts" onChange="some_function();"';
		echo form_dropdown('shirts', $options, 'large', $js);

	If the array passed as ``$options`` is a multidimensional array, then
	``form_dropdown()`` will produce an <optgroup> with the array key as the
	label.


.. function:: form_multiselect([$name = ''[, $options = array()[, $selected = array()[, $extra = '']]]])

	:param	string	$name: Field name
	:param	array	$options: An associative array of options to be listed
	:param	array	$selected: List of fields to mark with the *selected* attribute
	:param	string	$extra: Extra attributes to be added to the tag *as is*
	:returns:	string

	Lets you create a standard multiselect field. The first parameter will
	contain the name of the field, the second parameter will contain an
	associative array of options, and the third parameter will contain the
	value or values you wish to be selected.

	The parameter usage is identical to using :func:`form_dropdown()` above,
	except of course that the name of the field will need to use POST array
	syntax, e.g. foo[].


.. function:: form_fieldset([$legend_text = ''[, $attributes = array()]])

	:param	string	$legend_text: Text to put in the <legend> tag
	:param	array	$attributes: Attributes to be set on the <fieldset> tag
	:returns:	string

	Lets you generate fieldset/legend fields.

	Example::

		echo form_fieldset('Address Information');
		echo "<p>fieldset content here</p>\n";
		echo form_fieldset_close();

		/*
			Produces:

				<fieldset>
					<legend>Address Information</legend>
						<p>form content here</p>
				</fieldset>
		*/

	Similar to other functions, you can submit an associative array in the
	second parameter if you prefer to set additional attributes::

		$attributes = array(
			'id'	=> 'address_info',
			'class'	=> 'address_info'
		);

		echo form_fieldset('Address Information', $attributes);
		echo "<p>fieldset content here</p>\n";
		echo form_fieldset_close();

		/*
			Produces:

			<fieldset id="address_info" class="address_info">
				<legend>Address Information</legend>
				<p>form content here</p>
			</fieldset>
		*/


.. function:: form_fieldset_close([$extra = ''])

	:param	string	$extra: Anything to append after the closing tag, *as is*
	:returns:	string

	Produces a closing </fieldset> tag. The only advantage to using this
	function is it permits you to pass data to it which will be added below
	the tag. For example

	::

		$string = '</div></div>';
		echo form_fieldset_close($string);
		// Would produce: </fieldset></div></div>


.. function:: form_checkbox([$data = ''[, $value = ''[, $checked = FALSE[, $extra = '']]]])

	:param	array	$data: Field attributes data
	:param	string	$value: Field value
	:param	bool	$checked: Whether to mark the checkbox as being *checked*
	:param	string	$extra: Extra attributes to be added to the tag *as is*
	:returns:	string

	Lets you generate a checkbox field. Simple example::

		echo form_checkbox('newsletter', 'accept', TRUE);
		// Would produce:  <input type="checkbox" name="newsletter" value="accept" checked="checked" />

	The third parameter contains a boolean TRUE/FALSE to determine whether
	the box should be checked or not.

	Similar to the other form functions in this helper, you can also pass an
	array of attributes to the function::

		$data = array(
			'name'		=> 'newsletter',
			'id'		=> 'newsletter',
			'value'		=> 'accept',
			'checked'	=> TRUE,
			'style'		=> 'margin:10px'
		);

		echo form_checkbox($data);
		// Would produce: <input type="checkbox" name="newsletter" id="newsletter" value="accept" checked="checked" style="margin:10px" />

	Also as with other functions, if you would like the tag to contain
	additional data like JavaScript, you can pass it as a string in the
	fourth parameter::

		$js = 'onClick="some_function()"';
		echo form_checkbox('newsletter', 'accept', TRUE, $js)


.. function:: form_radio([$data = ''[, $value = ''[, $checked = FALSE[, $extra = '']]]])

	:param	array	$data: Field attributes data
	:param	string	$value: Field value
	:param	bool	$checked: Whether to mark the radio button as being *checked*
	:param	string	$extra: Extra attributes to be added to the tag *as is*
	:returns:	string

	This function is identical in all respects to the :func:`form_checkbox()`
	function above except that it uses the "radio" input type.


.. function:: form_label([$label_text = ''[, $id = ''[, $attributes = array()]]])

	:param	string	$label_text: Text to put in the <label> tag
	:param	string	$id: ID of the form element that we're making a label for
	:param	string	$attributes: HTML attributes
	:returns:	string

	Lets you generate a <label>. Simple example::

		echo form_label('What is your Name', 'username');
		// Would produce:  <label for="username">What is your Name</label>

	Similar to other functions, you can submit an associative array in the
	third parameter if you prefer to set additional attributes.

	Example::

		$attributes = array(
			'class' => 'mycustomclass',
			'style' => 'color: #000;'
		);

		echo form_label('What is your Name', 'username', $attributes);
		// Would produce:  <label for="username" class="mycustomclass" style="color: #000;">What is your Name</label>


.. function:: form_submit([$data = ''[, $value = ''[, $extra = '']]])

	:param	string	$data: Button name
	:param	string	$value: Button value
	:param	string	$extra: Extra attributes to be added to the tag *as is*
	:returns:	string

	Lets you generate a standard submit button. Simple example::

		echo form_submit('mysubmit', 'Submit Post!');
		// Would produce:  <input type="submit" name="mysubmit" value="Submit Post!" />

	Similar to other functions, you can submit an associative array in the
	first parameter if you prefer to set your own attributes. The third
	parameter lets you add extra data to your form, like JavaScript.


.. function:: form_reset([$data = ''[, $value = ''[, $extra = '']]])

	:param	string	$data: Button name
	:param	string	$value: Button value
	:param	string	$extra: Extra attributes to be added to the tag *as is*
	:returns:	string

	Lets you generate a standard reset button. Use is identical to
	:func:`form_submit()`.


.. function:: form_button([$data = ''[, $content = ''[, $extra = '']]])

	:param	string	$data: Button name
	:param	string	$content: Button label
	:param	string	$extra: Extra attributes to be added to the tag *as is*
	:returns:	string

	Lets you generate a standard button element. You can minimally pass the
	button name and content in the first and second parameter::

		echo form_button('name','content');
		// Would produce: <button name="name" type="button">Content</button>

	Or you can pass an associative array containing any data you wish your
	form to contain::

		$data = array(
			'name'		=> 'button',
			'id'		=> 'button',
			'value'		=> 'true',
			'type'		=> 'reset',
			'content'	=> 'Reset'
		);

		echo form_button($data);
		// Would produce: <button name="button" id="button" value="true" type="reset">Reset</button>

	If you would like your form to contain some additional data, like
	JavaScript, you can pass it as a string in the third parameter::

		$js = 'onClick="some_function()"';
		echo form_button('mybutton', 'Click Me', $js);


.. function:: form_close([$extra = ''])

	:param	string	$extra: Anything to append after the closing tag, *as is*
	:returns:	string

	Produces a closing </form> tag. The only advantage to using this
	function is it permits you to pass data to it which will be added below
	the tag. For example::

		$string = '</div></div>';
		echo form_close($string);
		// Would produce:  </form> </div></div>


.. function:: form_prep([$str = ''[, $is_textarea = FALSE]])

	:param	string	$str: Value to escape
	:param	bool	$is_textarea: Whether we're preparing for <textarea> or a regular input tag
	:returns:	string

	Allows you to safely use HTML and characters such as quotes within form
	elements without breaking out of the form.

	Consider this example::

		$string = 'Here is a string containing "quoted" text.';
		<input type="text" name="myform" value="$string" />

	Since the above string contains a set of quotes it will cause the form
	to break. The ``form_prep()`` function converts HTML so that it can be used
	safely::

		<input type="text" name="myform" value="<?php echo form_prep($string); ?>" />

	.. note:: If you use any of the form helper functions listed in this page the form
		values will be prepped automatically, so there is no need to call this
		function. Use it only if you are creating your own form elements.


.. function:: set_value([$field = ''[, $default = ''[, $is_textarea = FALSE]]])

	:param	string	$field: Field name
	:param	string	$default: Default value
	:param	bool	$is_textarea: Whether we're setting <textarea> content
	:returns:	string

	Permits you to set the value of an input form or textarea. You must
	supply the field name via the first parameter of the function. The
	second (optional) parameter allows you to set a default value for the
	form.

	Example::

		<input type="text" name="quantity" value="<?=set_value('quantity', '0');?>" size="50" />

	The above form will show "0" when loaded for the first time.


.. function:: set_select([$field = ''[, $value = ''[, $default = FALSE]]])

	:param	string	$field: Field name
	:param	string	$value: Value to check for
	:param	string	$default: Whether the value is also a default one
	:returns:	string

	If you use a <select> menu, this function permits you to display the
	menu item that was selected.

	The first parameter must contain the name of the select menu, the second
	parameter must contain the value of each item, and the third (optional)
	parameter lets you set an item as the default (use boolean TRUE/FALSE).

	Example::

		<select name="myselect">
			<option value="one" <?php echo  set_select('myselect', 'one', TRUE); ?> >One</option>
			<option value="two" <?php echo  set_select('myselect', 'two'); ?> >Two</option>
			<option value="three" <?php echo  set_select('myselect', 'three'); ?> >Three</option>
		</select>


.. function:: set_checkbox([$field = ''[, $value = ''[, $default = FALSE]]])

	:param	string	$field: Field name
	:param	string	$value: Value to check for
	:param	string	$default: Whether the value is also a default one
	:returns:	string

	Permits you to display a checkbox in the state it was submitted.

	The first parameter must contain the name of the checkbox, the second
	parameter must contain its value, and the third (optional) parameter
	lets you set an item as the default (use boolean TRUE/FALSE).

	Example::

		<input type="checkbox" name="mycheck" value="1" <?php echo set_checkbox('mycheck', '1'); ?> />
		<input type="checkbox" name="mycheck" value="2" <?php echo set_checkbox('mycheck', '2'); ?> />


.. function:: set_radio([$field = ''[, $value = ''[, $default = FALSE]]])

	:param	string	$field: Field name
	:param	string	$value: Value to check for
	:param	string	$default: Whether the value is also a default one
	:returns:	string

	Permits you to display radio buttons in the state they were submitted.
	This function is identical to the :func:`set_checkbox()` function above.

	Example::

		<input type="radio" name="myradio" value="1" <?php echo  set_radio('myradio', '1', TRUE); ?> />
		<input type="radio" name="myradio" value="2" <?php echo  set_radio('myradio', '2'); ?> />

	.. note:: If you are using the Form Validation class, you must always specify
		a rule for your field, even if empty, in order for the ``set_*()``
		functions to work. This is because if a Form Validation object is
		defined, the control for ``set_*()`` is handed over to a method of the
		class instead of the generic helper function.


.. function:: form_error([$field = ''[, $prefix = ''[, $suffix = '']]])

	:param	string	$field:	Field name
	:param	string	$prefix: Error opening tag
	:param	string	$suffix: Error closing tag
	:returns:	string

	Returns a validation error message from the :doc:`Form Validation Library
	<../libraries/form_validation>`, associated with the specified field name.
	You can optionally specify opening and closing tag(s) to put around the error
	message.

	Example::

		// Assuming that the 'username' field value was incorrect:
		echo form_error('myfield', '<div class="error">', '</div>');

		// Would produce: <div class="error">Error message associated with the "username" field.</div>


.. function:: validation_errors([$prefix = ''[, $suffix = '']])

	:param	string	$prefix: Error opening tag
	:param	string	$suffix: Error closing tag
	:returns:	string

	Similarly to the :func:`form_error()` function, returns all validation
	error messages produced by the :doc:`Form Validation Library
	<../libraries/form_validation>`, with optional opening and closing tags
	around each of the messages.

	Example::

		echo validation_errors('<span class="error">', '</span>');

		/*
			Would produce, e.g.:

			<span class="error">The "email" field doesn't contain a valid e-mail address!</span>
			<span class="error">The "password" field doesn't match the "repeat_password" field!</span>

		 */