Rails issue with params hash - ruby-on-rails

I need to export a previously rendered table from my view to pdf. When I build the array of hashes as follows:
__index = 0
#people.each do |p| %>
#pdfdata[__index] = {
[:name] => p.name.to_s,
[:surname] => p.surname.to_s
__index += 1
end
end
and send it to the controller in order to export it on a pdf as follows:
hidden_field_tag(:pdfdata, #pdfdata)
when I get the params[:pdfdata] I cannot find a way unless I build a string parser to map the data accordingly... is there a better way to do this?

Modifying your code a little bit to get
#people.each_with_index do |p,i| %>
#pdfdata[i] = {
[:name] => p.name.to_s,
[:surname] => p.surname.to_s}
end
and use this gem to create the hidden has field
https://github.com/brianhempel/hash_to_hidden_fields

Related

Activerecord array to a variable.

I need to get the contents of an activerecord array into a variable.
<%= select_tag :operators,
options_for_select(#operator_list,
:selected => previous_operators(params[:id], action_name)),
),
{:multiple => true, :size => 11}
%>
previous_operators gets the contents of the operators column (an array)
def previous_operators(id, action)
if action_name != "new" && action_name != "create" # prevent error if a new bedsheet line.
#slitter_bedsheet = SlitterBedsheet.find(id) # grab the current bedsheet line
#previous_operators = Array.new
#previous_operators = #slitter_bedsheet.operators # get the keywords for the current bedsheet line
end
if #previous_operators.present?
operators = Array.new
operators = eval(#previous_operators)
else
# operators = ''
end
return operators
end
The content of operators will look something like
["", "[\"Chris Mendla\"]"]
To summarize, I am trying to get the contents of #slitter_bedsheet.operators into the selected line :selected => previous_operators(params[:id], action_name)).
So far, the selected option is not working in that no items are shown as already selected.
I solved this by using the eval function. I realize that this is a dangerous function but in this case it is an app that is inside our firewall and the input is coming from a select box. There might be another way of doing this but this will work for now.
:selected => eval(previous_operators(params[:id], action_name))

How to extract info from input field in ruby

I'm a frontend + PHP dev, trying to fix [] in a project built in Rails.
[] = Fetch color, show a slightly darker color.
This row:
<%= f.text_field attribute %>
creates an input field with a value that can be translated into a color. I'm at loss as to where to look for how it adds that value. I'm trying to use the value that this input field generates.
this is code from the file select_a_color_input.html.erb inside the app/views/shared folder. Any ideas on where to continue my treasure hunt? :)
update: I found this!
def app_text_field(attribute, args = {})
render_field 'text_field', field_locals(attribute, args)
end
Does that help? ^__^
update:
The form builder
class AppFormBuilder < ActionView::Helpers::FormBuilder
def form_fields(partial = nil , options = {})
partial ||= 'form'
fields = ''
unless options.delete(:without_error_messages)
fields << #template.render('shared/error_messages', :target => Array(#object).last)
end
fields << #template.render(partial, options.merge(:f => self))
end
def app_text_field(attribute, args = {})
render_field 'text_field', field_locals(attribute, args)
end
def app_file_field(attribute, args = {})
render_field 'file_field', field_locals(attribute, args)
end
private
def render_field(name, locals)
#template.render field_path(name), locals
end
def field_locals(attribute, args = {})
help_options = args[:help_options] || {}
field_options = args[:field_options] || {}
html_options = args[:html_options] || {}
{ :f => self, :attribute => attribute, :help_options => help_options, :field_options => field_options, :html_options => html_options, :object => object }
end
def field_path(value)
"shared/app_form/#{value}"
end
end
update:
When I tried to add
<%= content_tag(:p, attribute) %>
It does not give me the values, but instead the id/name of the item, not the colour.
<%= f.text_field attribute %>
This by itself is not very useful to help us gather context. What's the surrounding markup look like? attribute is a ruby variable in this instance. If it were f.text_field :attribute, then :attribute is now a symbol instead of a variable and this would indicate that it maps to the attribute method on X model. This all depends on what your form_for looks like though. I'll give an example:
<%= form_for #user do |f| %>
<%= f.text_field :attribute %>
In this case, we have a form for the User model, and our text_field maps to #user.attribute. The field itself looks something like this:
<input type='text' name='user[attribute]'>
And in the controller's #update or #create action (depending on if this is a new record or an existing record you're editing) the value would be accessible in this fashion:
params[:user][:attribute]
However, it's impossible to say what exactly the params will look like in your particular case. What action is being run? What's the name of the file that this is being loaded from? "app/views/users/new" would indicate the #new action handles this page, and the #create action will handle the form submission.
Things we need to know to fully solve your problem:
Name and relevant code of the controller that's handling this action.
Full view path that this is being rendered from
The rest of the markup starting at form_for and ending at this field attribute
What value does attribute hold? It's a variable, so it must be holding a symbol value or something that will indicate which field is being mapped to this input.

Displaying XML Hashes in Rails Views Not Working

I have narrowed down a 33,364 entry XML file to the 1,068 that I need. Now I am attempting to gather pieces of information from each node that I have narrowed my search down to, and store each piece of information in a hash, so that I can list out the relevant data in a rails view.
Here is the code in my controller (home_controller.rb) --
class HomeController < ApplicationController
# REQUIRE LIBRARIES
require 'nokogiri'
require 'open-uri'
def search
end
def listing
#properties = {}
# OPEN THE XML FILE
mits_feed = File.open("app/assets/xml/mits.xml")
# OUTPUT THE XML DOCUMENT
doc = Nokogiri::XML(mits_feed)
doc.xpath("//Property/PropertyID/Identification[#OrganizationName='northsteppe']").each do |property|
# GATHER PROPERTY INFORMATION
information = {
"street_address" => property.xpath("Address/AddressLine1").text,
"city" => property.xpath("Address/City").text,
"zipcode" => property.xpath("Address/PostalCode").text,
"short_description" => property.xpath("Information/ShortDescription").text,
"long_description" => property.xpath("Information/LongDescription").text,
"rent" => property.xpath("Information/Rents/StandardRent").text,
"application_fee" => property.xpath("Fee/ApplicationFee").text,
"bedrooms" => property.xpath("Floorplan/Room[#RoomType='Bedroom']/Count").text,
"bathrooms" => property.xpath("Floorplan/Room[#RoomType='Bathroom']/Count").text,
"bathrooms" => property.xpath("ILS_Unit/Availability/VacancyClass").text
}
# MERGE NEW PROPERTY INFORMATION TO THE EXISTING HASH
#properties.merge(information)
end
end
end
I'm not getting any errors and my view is loading fine, but it is pulling up blank. Here is my view file (listing.html.erb) --
<div class="propertiesHolder">
<% if #properties %>
<ul>
<% #properties.each do |property| %>
<li><%= property.information.street_address %></li>
<% end %>
</ul>
<% else %>
<h1>There are no properties that match your search</h1>
<% end %>
</div>
Does anyone know why this might be pulling up blank? I would assume that I would receive an error if I had done something incorrect in the code. I also tried just outputting "Hello World" as text for each |property| and this also pulled up blank. Thank you!
Ruby merge does not mutate your hash. It just returns the two hashes as one.
Example
h1 = { "a" => 100, "b" => 200 }
h2 = { "b" => 254, "c" => 300 }
h1.merge(h2)
#=> {"a"=>100, "b"=>254, "c"=>300}
h1
#=> {"a"=>100, "b"=>200}
Note how h1 still retains its original values?
What you will want to do is rename your information hash to #properties. I suggest this because you are merging a hash with information in it (information) with an empty hash (#properties). So instead of overwriting when you merge the hashes, just use the first hash.

Ruby on Rails - JS Input token, an issue when validation fails

I have a company model which can have many tags. It works fine, but in one occasion it does not work. The occasion is when company model validation fails. After :render => 'edit' it does not show tags in the view. I suspect the data-pre is not taking the data correctly. I would also like for tags to be preserved when solving validations.
I got this idea from here: http://railscasts.com/episodes/167-more-on-virtual-attributes
I use Input token control: http://loopj.com/jquery-tokeninput/
This is what I have in Company model regarding the tag_tokens:
before_save :save_tag_tokens
attr_writer :tag_tokens
attr_accessible :tag_tokens
def tag_tokens
#tag_tokens || tags.to_json(:only => [:id, :name])
end
def save_tag_tokens
if #tag_tokens
#tag_tokens.gsub!(/CREATE_(.+?)_END/) do
Tag.create!(:name => $1.strip.downcase).id
end
self.tag_ids = #tag_tokens.split(",")
end
end
Here is the code from the view:
<div class="input text no-border">
<% Tag.include_root_in_json = false %>
<%= company_form.label :tag_tokens, t('form.account.company.edit.company_tags_html')%>
<%= company_form.text_field :tag_tokens, :id => 'company_tag_tokens', "data-pre" => #company.tag_tokens%>
<p class="tip"><%= t('form.account.company.edit.tag_tip') %></p>
</div>
EDIT:
OK, so I see what is the problem with the above code.
When i load edit page data-pre contains this: data-pre="[{"id":1704,"name":"dump truck"}]". when I submit the form with validation error the data-pre contains: data-pre="1704".
if i change the code to this:
def tag_tokens
tags.to_json(:only => [:id, :name])
end
new tags that were not yet save to the company model are removed, because they are read from the DB everytime. How can I preserve the entered data between form transitions?
OK, I've written a solution, it might not be the nicest one, but it works to me! It parses the input token value to JSON format (when validation fails), which is used when loading the page. Under page load it just loads tags from DB.
def tag_tokens
if #tag_tokens
#if there is user info, parse it to json format. create an array
array = #tag_tokens.split(",")
tokens_json = []
#loop through each tag and check if it's new or existing
array.each do |tag|
if tag.to_s.match(/^CREATE_/)
#if new generate json part like this:
tag.gsub!(/CREATE_(.+?)_END/) do
tokens_json << "{\"id\":\"CREATE_#{$1.strip.downcase}_END\",\"name\":\"Add: #{$1.strip.downcase}\"}"
end
else
#if tag is already in db, generate json part like this:
tokens_json << "{\"id\":#{tag},\"name\":\"#{Tag.find_by_id(tag).name}\"}"
end
end
#encapsulate the value for token input with [] and add all tags from array
"[#{tokens_json.to_sentence(:last_word_connector => ',', :words_connector => ',', :two_words_connector => ',')}]"
else
#if there is no user input already load from DB
tags.to_json(:only => [:id, :name])
end
end

Passing hash as values in hidden_field_tag

I am trying to pass some filters in my params through a form like so:
hidden_field_tag "filters", params[:filters]
For some reason the params get changed in the next page. For example, if params[:filters] used to be...
"filters"=>{"name_like_any"=>["apple"]} [1]
...it gets changed to...
"filters"=>"{\"name_like_any\"=>[\"apple\"]}" [2]
note the extra quotations and backslashes in [2] when compared to [1].
Any ideas? I'm attempting to use this with searchlogic for some filtering, but I need it to persist when I change change objects in forms. I would prefer not to have to store it in session.
My solution was just to re-create each of param with key-value pair:
<% params[:filters].each do |key,value| %>
<%= hidden_field_tag "filters[#{key}]",value %>
<% end %>
You actually want/need to 'serialize' a hash using hidden fields.
Add this to your ApplicationHelper :
def flatten_hash(hash = params, ancestor_names = [])
flat_hash = {}
hash.each do |k, v|
names = Array.new(ancestor_names)
names << k
if v.is_a?(Hash)
flat_hash.merge!(flatten_hash(v, names))
else
key = flat_hash_key(names)
key += "[]" if v.is_a?(Array)
flat_hash[key] = v
end
end
flat_hash
end
def flat_hash_key(names)
names = Array.new(names)
name = names.shift.to_s.dup
names.each do |n|
name << "[#{n}]"
end
name
end
def hash_as_hidden_fields(hash = params)
hidden_fields = []
flatten_hash(hash).each do |name, value|
value = [value] if !value.is_a?(Array)
value.each do |v|
hidden_fields << hidden_field_tag(name, v.to_s, :id => nil)
end
end
hidden_fields.join("\n")
end
Then, in view:
<%= hash_as_hidden_fields(:filter => params[:filter]) %>
This should do the trick, even if you have a multilevel hash/array in your filters.
Solution taken http://marklunds.com/articles/one/314
I just wrote a gem to do this called HashToHiddenFields.
The core of the gem is this code:
def hash_to_hidden_fields(hash)
query_string = Rack::Utils.build_nested_query(hash)
pairs = query_string.split(Rack::Utils::DEFAULT_SEP)
tags = pairs.map do |pair|
key, value = pair.split('=', 2).map { |str| Rack::Utils.unescape(str) }
hidden_field_tag(key, value)
end
tags.join("\n").html_safe
end
Here's how I managed to pass a parameter value through my view - that is, from View A through View B and on to the controller:
In View A (index):
<%= link_to 'LinkName', {:action => "run_script", :id => object.id} %>
In View B (run_script):
<%= form_tag :action => 'index', :id => #object %>
<%= hidden_field_tag(:param_name, params[:id]) %>
In the controller:
Just reference params[:param_name] to make use of the value.
The key transition that wasn't documented anywhere I could find is where {... :id => object.id} from View A is passed on to View B as <%... :id => #object %>, which View B then passes on to the controller as (:param_name, params[:id]) through the hidden_field_tag construct.
I didn't see this documented anywhere but after perusing several posts across several sites including this post (whose syntax provided the key inspiration), the solution finally gelled. I've seen the caveats on hidden fields pertaining to security but have found no other way to do this given my current design, such as it is.
it's because when you convert in HTML with your hidden_field_tag, the backquote is add. After when you received it like a string not a Hash.
The Hash type can't exist in HTML. You have only string. So if you want pass your hash (not recommend by me), you need eval it when you received it. But can be a big security issue on your application.
As a caveat to Vlad's answer, I had to use raw:
<%= raw hash_as_hidden_fields(:filter => params[:filter]) %>
to get it to work in Rails 3.1.1. Essentially, the text being output was being escaped, eg., "<" becoming "&lt".
Assuming the hash is strings, symbols, numbers, and arrays, you can call eval to convert the params string of the hash from the hidden_fields form back into a hash in the controller. Then the backslash escape characters for the quotes added are no longer an issue:
hash = eval(params["hash_string"].to_s)
Credit to the following article for helping identify this simple solution for my case:
How do I convert a String object into a Hash object?
Keep in mind the contents of the params should be cleaned with .require and .permit.

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