Rails - annotate PDF in browser - ruby-on-rails

Question

In my (very first) rails app, I have a model called "Annotations"; this will take some generic data as well as an attachment (PDF). Next, I need to the ability to do the actual annotations to this attachment/PDF ("annotate") and store the results on a field on the "Annotations" model (as a JSON?).
Currently, I think I should create a new method "annotate" in the AnnotationsController (needs to update the annotations object) and call a new view called "annotate.html.erb".
Any advice how to go about "the rails way" ?
Update
meanwhile, I have:
model (annotation.rb)
class Annotation < ApplicationRecord
has_many :comments, dependent: :destroy
belongs_to :documenttype
has_attached_file :file, styles: { large: "600x600>", medium: "500x500>", thumb: "150x150#" }, default_url: "/images/:style/missing.png"
accepts_nested_attributes_for :documenttype
validates_attachment_content_type :file, content_type: ['image/jpeg', 'image/png', 'image/gif', 'application/pdf']
validates :name, presence: true, uniqueness: true, length: { minimum: 10, maximum: 50 }
validates :description, length: { minimum: 20, maximum: 500 }
validates :documenttype, presence: true
validates :file, presence: true
end
routes
Rails.application.routes.draw do
root 'dashboard#index'
devise_for :users
resources :users,:documenttypes, :documents
resources :annotations do
resources :comments
end
get "annotate", to: "annotations#annotate"
the controller (AnnotationsController)
class AnnotationsController < ApplicationController
before_action :annotate, only: [:edit, :update ]
def index
#annotations = Annotation.all
end
def show
#annotation = Annotation.find(params[:id])
end
def new
#annotation = Annotation.new
end
def edit
#annotation = Annotation.find(params[:id])
end
def create
#annotation = Annotation.new(annotation_params)
if #annotation.save
redirect_to #annotation
else
render 'new'
end
end
def update
#annotation = Annotation.find(params[:id])
if #annotation.update(annotation_params)
redirect_to #annotation
else
render 'edit'
end
end
def destroy
#annotation = Annotation.find(params[:id])
#annotation.destroy
redirect_to annotations_path
end
private
def annotate
#annotation = Annotation.find(params[:id])
end
def annotation_params
params.require(:annotation).permit(:name, :description, :file, :active, :documenttype_id)
end
end
views that render 1 form (using simple_form)
<div class="container-fluid">
<div class="row">
<h4>Annotation</h4>
<div class="col-md-6">
<%= simple_form_for #annotation, html: { class: 'form-horizontal', multipart: true },
wrapper: :horizontal_form,
wrapper_mappings: {
check_boxes: :horizontal_radio_and_checkboxes,
radio_buttons: :horizontal_radio_and_checkboxes,
file: :horizontal_file_input,
boolean: :horizontal_boolean
} do |f| %>
<%= f.error_notification %>
<% if #annotation.file.blank? %>
<%= f.input :file, as: :file, input_html: { accept: ('application/pdf') } %>
<% else %>
<% end -%>
<%= f.input :name, placeholder: 'Enter name' %>
<%= f.input :description, placeholder: 'Description' %>
<%= f.association :documenttype %>
<%= f.input :active, as: :boolean %>
<%= f.button :submit %>
<% unless #annotation.file.blank? %>
<%= link_to ' Annotate', annotate_path(#annotation), :class => "btn btn-default" %>
<% end -%>
<% end -%>
<p><br><%= link_to 'List' , annotations_path %></p>
</div>
<% unless #annotation.file.blank? %>
<div class="col-md-6">
<p><strong>File name: </strong><%= #annotation.file_file_name %></p>
<iframe src="<%= #annotation.file %>" width=100% height=450px class="img-rounded"></iframe>
</div>
<% end %>
</div>
<% unless #annotation.new_record? %>
<div class="row">
<hr>
<div class="col-md-6">
<%= render #annotation.comments %>
</div>
<div class="col-md-6">
<%= render 'comments/form' %>
</div>
</div>
<% end -%>
</div>
Also, I created a view call annotate.html.erb
It is called now as static page under http://localhost:3000/annotate ; while I think it should be under http://localhost:3000/annotations/annotate/:id -- so looks like a routing issue (for) now. (Routing still is a bit of a mystery to me :-) )

Answer 1

If you want to do it the rails way:
Your model should be singular, so: Annotation.rb:
class Annotation < ApplicationRecord
end
Your controller should be called AnnotationsController and have the standard CRUD methods: new and create (to create a new annotation). edit and update to update an annotation and destroy to destroy your annotations.
SOMETHING LIKE:
class AnnotationsController < ApplicationController
before_action :set_annotation, only: [:edit, :update, :destroy]
def index
#annotations = Annotation.all
end
def new
#annotation = Annotation.new
end
def create
#annotation = Annotation.new(annotation_params)
if #annotation.save
redirect_to annotations_path, notice: "annotations created"
else
render action: 'new'
end
end
def edit
end
def destroy
#annotation.destroy
redirect_to annotations_path
end
def update
if #annotation.update(annotation_params)
redirect_to annotations_path
else
render action: 'edit'
end
end
private
def set_annotation
#annotation = Annotation.find(params[:id])
end
def annotation_params
params.require(:annotation).permit(:name, ...)
end
end
Your views should live in views/annotations/
Since this is your first rails app, I suggest you use the scaffolding option to build your app, which according to the documetation is:
A scaffold in Rails is a full set of model, database migration for
that model, controller to manipulate it, views to view and manipulate
the data, and a test suite for each of the above.
rails g scaffold Annotate
see: http://guides.rubyonrails.org/command_line.html

Answer 2

Found the routing get "annotations/:id/annotate" => "annotations#annotate", as: 'annotate'
And the set_annotation method should not be private.
May be there is a better routing (always welcome), but it works now.