save multiple columns in one form - ruby-on-rails

Question

I want a User to be able to answer all questions that are assigned to them, in an Answer model. Now I'm trying to create a form that allows me to loop through the questions a User have assigned to them, and answer them in an Answer model.
In the answer model I save the reply, and the question id. However this requires multiple saves in one form, which I'm unable to do.
Model associations look like this:
User
has_many :answers
has_many :questions, through: :question_participants
Answer
belongs_to :user
belongs_to :question
now I'm trying to create an Answer#new form like this:
<%= form_for #answer do |f| %>
<% #questions.each do |question| %>
<h3><%= question.name %></h3>
<%= f.hidden_field :question_id, value: question.id %>
<%= f.text_field :reply, class: 'form-control' %>
<% end %>
<%= f.submit 'Send inn', class: 'btn btn-success' %>
<% end %>
and thus hoping it will allow me to save multiple columns in one, but that doesn't work. It only saves the last column, no matter what.
My answers controller:
class AnswersController < ApplicationController
def new
#questions = current_user.questions
#answer = current_user.answers.new
end
def create
#questions = current_user.questions
#answer = current_user.answers.new(answer_params)
if #answer.save
redirect_to answers_path
else
render 'new'
end
end
private
def answer_params
params.require(:answer).permit(:reply, :question_id)
end
end

Answer 1

What you're looking for is accepts_nested_attributes_for:
This should work:
#app/models/user.rb
class User < ActiveRecord::Base
has_many :answers
has_many :questions, through: :answers
accepts_nested_attributes_for :answers
#this will have to be populated on user create
before_create :build_answers
private
def build_answers
questions = Question.find [1,3,4,6]
questions.each do |question|
user.build_answer(question: question)
end
end
end
#app/models/answer.rb
class Answer < ActiveRecord::Base
#columns id | user_id | question_id | response | created_at | updated_at
belongs_to :user
belongs_to :question
end
#app/models/question.rb
class Question < ActiveRecord::Base
has_many :answers
has_many :users, through: :answers
end
This will give you the ability to do the following:
#config/routes.rb
resources :answers, only: [:edit, :update]
#app/controllers/answers_controller.rb
class AnswersController < ApplicationController
def edit
#questions = current_user.questions
end
def update
#answers = current_user.answers.update answer_params
end
private
def answer_params
params.require(:answer).permit(:response) #-> question_id and user_id set on create, don't need to be changed
end
end
This will allow you to use the following form:
#app/views/answers/edit.html.erb
<%= form_tag answers_update_path, method: :patch do |f| %>
<% #questions.each do |question| %>
<%= f.fields_for "answers[]", question do |qf| %>
<%= qf.label question.title %>
<%= qf.text_field :response %>
<% end %>
<% end %>
<%= f.submit %>
<% end %>
--
Typically, you'd use the accepts_nested_attributes_for with the nested model. However, since you just want multiple answer responses, you can use the above.
The bugs in this would likely be in the strong params, or in the form declaration (IE current_user.questions). If you reply with information, I'll write some upates
Ref: Multiple objects in a Rails form