Provides a number of methods for creating form tags that doesn‘t rely on an Active Record object assigned to the template like FormHelper does. Instead, you provide the names and values manually.

NOTE: The HTML options disabled, readonly, and multiple can all be treated as booleans. So specifying :disabled => true will give disabled="disabled".

Methods
Public Instance methods
check_box_tag(name, value = "1", checked = false, options = {})

Creates a check box form input tag.

Options

  • :disabled - If set to true, the user will not be able to use this input.
  • Any other key creates standard HTML options for the tag.

Examples

  check_box_tag 'accept'
  # => <input id="accept" name="accept" type="checkbox" value="1" />

  check_box_tag 'rock', 'rock music'
  # => <input id="rock" name="rock" type="checkbox" value="rock music" />

  check_box_tag 'receive_email', 'yes', true
  # => <input checked="checked" id="receive_email" name="receive_email" type="checkbox" value="yes" />

  check_box_tag 'tos', 'yes', false, :class => 'accept_tos'
  # => <input class="accept_tos" id="tos" name="tos" type="checkbox" value="yes" />

  check_box_tag 'eula', 'accepted', false, :disabled => true
  # => <input disabled="disabled" id="eula" name="eula" type="checkbox" value="accepted" />
     # File actionpack/lib/action_view/helpers/form_tag_helper.rb, line 292
292:       def check_box_tag(name, value = "1", checked = false, options = {})
293:         html_options = { "type" => "checkbox", "name" => name, "id" => sanitize_to_id(name), "value" => value }.update(options.stringify_keys)
294:         html_options["checked"] = "checked" if checked
295:         tag :input, html_options
296:       end
field_set_tag(legend = nil, options = nil, &block)

Creates a field set for grouping HTML form elements.

legend will become the fieldset‘s title (optional as per W3C). options accept the same values as tag.

Examples

  <% field_set_tag do %>
    <p><%= text_field_tag 'name' %></p>
  <% end %>
  # => <fieldset><p><input id="name" name="name" type="text" /></p></fieldset>

  <% field_set_tag 'Your details' do %>
    <p><%= text_field_tag 'name' %></p>
  <% end %>
  # => <fieldset><legend>Your details</legend><p><input id="name" name="name" type="text" /></p></fieldset>

  <% field_set_tag nil, :class => 'format' do %>
    <p><%= text_field_tag 'name' %></p>
  <% end %>
  # => <fieldset class="format"><p><input id="name" name="name" type="text" /></p></fieldset>
     # File actionpack/lib/action_view/helpers/form_tag_helper.rb, line 433
433:       def field_set_tag(legend = nil, options = nil, &block)
434:         content = capture(&block)
435:         concat(tag(:fieldset, options, true))
436:         concat(content_tag(:legend, legend)) unless legend.blank?
437:         concat(content)
438:         concat("</fieldset>".html_safe)
439:       end
file_field_tag(name, options = {})

Creates a file upload field. If you are using file uploads then you will also need to set the multipart option for the form tag:

  <% form_tag '/upload', :multipart => true do %>
    <label for="file">File to Upload</label> <%= file_field_tag "file" %>
    <%= submit_tag %>
  <% end %>

The specified URL will then be passed a File object containing the selected file, or if the field was left blank, a StringIO object.

Options

  • Creates standard HTML attributes for the tag.
  • :disabled - If set to true, the user will not be able to use this input.

Examples

  file_field_tag 'attachment'
  # => <input id="attachment" name="attachment" type="file" />

  file_field_tag 'avatar', :class => 'profile-input'
  # => <input class="profile-input" id="avatar" name="avatar" type="file" />

  file_field_tag 'picture', :disabled => true
  # => <input disabled="disabled" id="picture" name="picture" type="file" />

  file_field_tag 'resume', :value => '~/resume.doc'
  # => <input id="resume" name="resume" type="file" value="~/resume.doc" />

  file_field_tag 'user_pic', :accept => 'image/png,image/gif,image/jpeg'
  # => <input accept="image/png,image/gif,image/jpeg" id="user_pic" name="user_pic" type="file" />

  file_field_tag 'file', :accept => 'text/html', :class => 'upload', :value => 'index.html'
  # => <input accept="text/html" class="upload" id="file" name="file" type="file" value="index.html" />
     # File actionpack/lib/action_view/helpers/form_tag_helper.rb, line 192
192:       def file_field_tag(name, options = {})
193:         text_field_tag(name, nil, options.update("type" => "file"))
194:       end
form_tag(url_for_options = {}, options = {}, *parameters_for_url, &block)

Starts a form tag that points the action to an url configured with url_for_options just like ActionController::Base#url_for. The method for the form defaults to POST.

Options

  • :multipart - If set to true, the enctype is set to "multipart/form-data".
  • :method - The method to use when submitting the form, usually either "get" or "post". If "put", "delete", or another verb is used, a hidden input with name _method is added to simulate the verb over post.
  • A list of parameters to feed to the URL the form will be posted to.

Examples

  form_tag('/posts')
  # => <form action="/posts" method="post">

  form_tag('/posts/1', :method => :put)
  # => <form action="/posts/1" method="put">

  form_tag('/upload', :multipart => true)
  # => <form action="/upload" method="post" enctype="multipart/form-data">

  <% form_tag '/posts' do -%>
    <div><%= submit_tag 'Save' %></div>
  <% end -%>
  # => <form action="/posts" method="post"><div><input type="submit" name="submit" value="Save" /></div></form>
    # File actionpack/lib/action_view/helpers/form_tag_helper.rb, line 36
36:       def form_tag(url_for_options = {}, options = {}, *parameters_for_url, &block)
37:         html_options = html_options_for_form(url_for_options, options, *parameters_for_url)
38:         if block_given?
39:           form_tag_in_block(html_options, &block)
40:         else
41:           form_tag_html(html_options)
42:         end
43:       end
hidden_field_tag(name, value = nil, options = {})

Creates a hidden form input field used to transmit data that would be lost due to HTTP‘s statelessness or data that should be hidden from the user.

Options

  • Creates standard HTML attributes for the tag.

Examples

  hidden_field_tag 'tags_list'
  # => <input id="tags_list" name="tags_list" type="hidden" />

  hidden_field_tag 'token', 'VUBJKB23UIVI1UU1VOBVI@'
  # => <input id="token" name="token" type="hidden" value="VUBJKB23UIVI1UU1VOBVI@" />

  hidden_field_tag 'collected_input', '', :onchange => "alert('Input collected!')"
  # => <input id="collected_input" name="collected_input" onchange="alert('Input collected!')"
  #    type="hidden" value="" />
     # File actionpack/lib/action_view/helpers/form_tag_helper.rb, line 155
155:       def hidden_field_tag(name, value = nil, options = {})
156:         text_field_tag(name, value, options.stringify_keys.update("type" => "hidden"))
157:       end
image_submit_tag(source, options = {})

Displays an image which when clicked will submit the form.

source is passed to AssetTagHelper#image_path

Options

  • :confirm => ‘question?‘ - This will add a JavaScript confirm prompt with the question specified. If the user accepts, the form is processed normally, otherwise no action is taken.
  • :disabled - If set to true, the user will not be able to use this input.
  • Any other key creates standard HTML options for the tag.

Examples

  image_submit_tag("login.png")
  # => <input src="/images/login.png" type="image" />

  image_submit_tag("purchase.png", :disabled => true)
  # => <input disabled="disabled" src="/images/purchase.png" type="image" />

  image_submit_tag("search.png", :class => 'search-button')
  # => <input class="search-button" src="/images/search.png" type="image" />

  image_submit_tag("agree.png", :disabled => true, :class => "agree-disagree-button")
  # => <input class="agree-disagree-button" disabled="disabled" src="/images/agree.png" type="image" />
     # File actionpack/lib/action_view/helpers/form_tag_helper.rb, line 402
402:       def image_submit_tag(source, options = {})
403:         options.stringify_keys!
404: 
405:         if confirm = options.delete("confirm")
406:           options["onclick"] ||= ''
407:           options["onclick"] += "return #{confirm_javascript_function(confirm)};"
408:         end
409: 
410:         tag :input, { "type" => "image", "src" => path_to_image(source) }.update(options.stringify_keys)
411:       end
label_tag(name, text = nil, options = {})

Creates a label field

Options

  • Creates standard HTML attributes for the tag.

Examples

  label_tag 'name'
  # => <label for="name">Name</label>

  label_tag 'name', 'Your name'
  # => <label for="name">Your Name</label>

  label_tag 'name', nil, :class => 'small_label'
  # => <label for="name" class="small_label">Name</label>
     # File actionpack/lib/action_view/helpers/form_tag_helper.rb, line 135
135:       def label_tag(name, text = nil, options = {})
136:         content_tag :label, text || name.to_s.humanize, { "for" => sanitize_to_id(name) }.update(options.stringify_keys)
137:       end
password_field_tag(name = "password", value = nil, options = {})

Creates a password field, a masked text field that will hide the users input behind a mask character.

Options

  • :disabled - If set to true, the user will not be able to use this input.
  • :size - The number of visible characters that will fit in the input.
  • :maxlength - The maximum number of characters that the browser will allow the user to enter.
  • Any other key creates standard HTML attributes for the tag.

Examples

  password_field_tag 'pass'
  # => <input id="pass" name="pass" type="password" />

  password_field_tag 'secret', 'Your secret here'
  # => <input id="secret" name="secret" type="password" value="Your secret here" />

  password_field_tag 'masked', nil, :class => 'masked_input_field'
  # => <input class="masked_input_field" id="masked" name="masked" type="password" />

  password_field_tag 'token', '', :size => 15
  # => <input id="token" name="token" size="15" type="password" value="" />

  password_field_tag 'key', nil, :maxlength => 16
  # => <input id="key" maxlength="16" name="key" type="password" />

  password_field_tag 'confirm_pass', nil, :disabled => true
  # => <input disabled="disabled" id="confirm_pass" name="confirm_pass" type="password" />

  password_field_tag 'pin', '1234', :maxlength => 4, :size => 6, :class => "pin-input"
  # => <input class="pin-input" id="pin" maxlength="4" name="pin" size="6" type="password" value="1234" />
     # File actionpack/lib/action_view/helpers/form_tag_helper.rb, line 225
225:       def password_field_tag(name = "password", value = nil, options = {})
226:         text_field_tag(name, value, options.update("type" => "password"))
227:       end
radio_button_tag(name, value, checked = false, options = {})

Creates a radio button; use groups of radio buttons named the same to allow users to select from a group of options.

Options

  • :disabled - If set to true, the user will not be able to use this input.
  • Any other key creates standard HTML options for the tag.

Examples

  radio_button_tag 'gender', 'male'
  # => <input id="gender_male" name="gender" type="radio" value="male" />

  radio_button_tag 'receive_updates', 'no', true
  # => <input checked="checked" id="receive_updates_no" name="receive_updates" type="radio" value="no" />

  radio_button_tag 'time_slot', "3:00 p.m.", false, :disabled => true
  # => <input disabled="disabled" id="time_slot_300_pm" name="time_slot" type="radio" value="3:00 p.m." />

  radio_button_tag 'color', "green", true, :class => "color_input"
  # => <input checked="checked" class="color_input" id="color_green" name="color" type="radio" value="green" />
     # File actionpack/lib/action_view/helpers/form_tag_helper.rb, line 317
317:       def radio_button_tag(name, value, checked = false, options = {})
318:         pretty_tag_value = value.to_s.gsub(/\s/, "_").gsub(/(?!-)\W/, "").downcase
319:         pretty_name = name.to_s.gsub(/\[/, "_").gsub(/\]/, "")
320:         html_options = { "type" => "radio", "name" => name, "id" => "#{pretty_name}_#{pretty_tag_value}", "value" => value }.update(options.stringify_keys)
321:         html_options["checked"] = "checked" if checked
322:         tag :input, html_options
323:       end
select_tag(name, option_tags = nil, options = {})

Creates a dropdown selection box, or if the :multiple option is set to true, a multiple choice selection box.

Helpers::FormOptions can be used to create common select boxes such as countries, time zones, or associated records. option_tags is a string containing the option tags for the select box.

Options

  • :multiple - If set to true the selection will allow multiple choices.
  • :disabled - If set to true, the user will not be able to use this input.
  • Any other key creates standard HTML attributes for the tag.

Examples

  select_tag "people", "<option>David</option>"
  # => <select id="people" name="people"><option>David</option></select>

  select_tag "count", "<option>1</option><option>2</option><option>3</option><option>4</option>"
  # => <select id="count" name="count"><option>1</option><option>2</option>
  #    <option>3</option><option>4</option></select>

  select_tag "colors", "<option>Red</option><option>Green</option><option>Blue</option>", :multiple => true
  # => <select id="colors" multiple="multiple" name="colors[]"><option>Red</option>
  #    <option>Green</option><option>Blue</option></select>

  select_tag "locations", "<option>Home</option><option selected="selected">Work</option><option>Out</option>"
  # => <select id="locations" name="locations"><option>Home</option><option selected='selected'>Work</option>
  #    <option>Out</option></select>

  select_tag "access", "<option>Read</option><option>Write</option>", :multiple => true, :class => 'form_input'
  # => <select class="form_input" id="access" multiple="multiple" name="access[]"><option>Read</option>
  #    <option>Write</option></select>

  select_tag "destination", "<option>NYC</option><option>Paris</option><option>Rome</option>", :disabled => true
  # => <select disabled="disabled" id="destination" name="destination"><option>NYC</option>
  #    <option>Paris</option><option>Rome</option></select>
    # File actionpack/lib/action_view/helpers/form_tag_helper.rb, line 79
79:       def select_tag(name, option_tags = nil, options = {})
80:         html_name = (options[:multiple] == true && !name.to_s.ends_with?("[]")) ? "#{name}[]" : name
81:         if Array === option_tags
82:           ActiveSupport::Deprecation.warn 'Passing an array of option_tags to select_tag implicitly joins them without marking them as HTML-safe. Pass option_tags.join.html_safe instead.', caller
83:         end
84:         content_tag :select, option_tags, { "name" => html_name, "id" => sanitize_to_id(name) }.update(options.stringify_keys)
85:       end
submit_tag(value = "Save changes", options = {})

Creates a submit button with the text value as the caption.

Options

  • :confirm => ‘question?‘ - This will add a JavaScript confirm prompt with the question specified. If the user accepts, the form is processed normally, otherwise no action is taken.
  • :disabled - If true, the user will not be able to use this input.
  • :disable_with - Value of this parameter will be used as the value for a disabled version of the submit button when the form is submitted.
  • Any other key creates standard HTML options for the tag.

Examples

  submit_tag
  # => <input name="commit" type="submit" value="Save changes" />

  submit_tag "Edit this article"
  # => <input name="commit" type="submit" value="Edit this article" />

  submit_tag "Save edits", :disabled => true
  # => <input disabled="disabled" name="commit" type="submit" value="Save edits" />

  submit_tag "Complete sale", :disable_with => "Please wait..."
  # => <input name="commit" onclick="this.disabled=true;this.value='Please wait...';this.form.submit();"
  #    type="submit" value="Complete sale" />

  submit_tag nil, :class => "form_submit"
  # => <input class="form_submit" name="commit" type="submit" />

  submit_tag "Edit", :disable_with => "Editing...", :class => "edit-button"
  # => <input class="edit-button" onclick="this.disabled=true;this.value='Editing...';this.form.submit();"
  #    name="commit" type="submit" value="Edit" />
     # File actionpack/lib/action_view/helpers/form_tag_helper.rb, line 356
356:       def submit_tag(value = "Save changes", options = {})
357:         options.stringify_keys!
358: 
359:         if disable_with = options.delete("disable_with")
360:           disable_with = "this.value='#{disable_with}'"
361:           disable_with << ";#{options.delete('onclick')}" if options['onclick']
362:           
363:           options["onclick"]  = "if (window.hiddenCommit) { window.hiddenCommit.setAttribute('value', this.value); }"
364:           options["onclick"] << "else { hiddenCommit = document.createElement('input');hiddenCommit.type = 'hidden';"
365:           options["onclick"] << "hiddenCommit.value = this.value;hiddenCommit.name = this.name;this.form.appendChild(hiddenCommit); }"
366:           options["onclick"] << "this.setAttribute('originalValue', this.value);this.disabled = true;#{disable_with};"
367:           options["onclick"] << "result = (this.form.onsubmit ? (this.form.onsubmit() ? this.form.submit() : false) : this.form.submit());"
368:           options["onclick"] << "if (result == false) { this.value = this.getAttribute('originalValue');this.disabled = false; }return result;"
369:         end
370: 
371:         if confirm = options.delete("confirm")
372:           options["onclick"] ||= 'return true;'
373:           options["onclick"] = "if (!#{confirm_javascript_function(confirm)}) return false; #{options['onclick']}"
374:         end
375: 
376:         tag :input, { "type" => "submit", "name" => "commit", "value" => value }.update(options.stringify_keys)
377:       end
text_area_tag(name, content = nil, options = {})

Creates a text input area; use a textarea for longer text inputs such as blog posts or descriptions.

Options

  • :size - A string specifying the dimensions (columns by rows) of the textarea (e.g., "25x10").
  • :rows - Specify the number of rows in the textarea
  • :cols - Specify the number of columns in the textarea
  • :disabled - If set to true, the user will not be able to use this input.
  • :escape - By default, the contents of the text input are HTML escaped. If you need unescaped contents, set this to false.
  • Any other key creates standard HTML attributes for the tag.

Examples

  text_area_tag 'post'
  # => <textarea id="post" name="post"></textarea>

  text_area_tag 'bio', @user.bio
  # => <textarea id="bio" name="bio">This is my biography.</textarea>

  text_area_tag 'body', nil, :rows => 10, :cols => 25
  # => <textarea cols="25" id="body" name="body" rows="10"></textarea>

  text_area_tag 'body', nil, :size => "25x10"
  # => <textarea name="body" id="body" cols="25" rows="10"></textarea>

  text_area_tag 'description', "Description goes here.", :disabled => true
  # => <textarea disabled="disabled" id="description" name="description">Description goes here.</textarea>

  text_area_tag 'comment', nil, :class => 'comment_input'
  # => <textarea class="comment_input" id="comment" name="comment"></textarea>
     # File actionpack/lib/action_view/helpers/form_tag_helper.rb, line 258
258:       def text_area_tag(name, content = nil, options = {})
259:         options.stringify_keys!
260: 
261:         if size = options.delete("size")
262:           options["cols"], options["rows"] = size.split("x") if size.respond_to?(:split)
263:         end
264: 
265:         escape = options.key?("escape") ? options.delete("escape") : true
266:         content = html_escape(content) if escape
267: 
268:         content_tag :textarea, content.to_s.html_safe, { "name" => name, "id" => sanitize_to_id(name) }.update(options.stringify_keys)
269:       end
text_field_tag(name, value = nil, options = {})

Creates a standard text field; use these text fields to input smaller chunks of text like a username or a search query.

Options

  • :disabled - If set to true, the user will not be able to use this input.
  • :size - The number of visible characters that will fit in the input.
  • :maxlength - The maximum number of characters that the browser will allow the user to enter.
  • Any other key creates standard HTML attributes for the tag.

Examples

  text_field_tag 'name'
  # => <input id="name" name="name" type="text" />

  text_field_tag 'query', 'Enter your search query here'
  # => <input id="query" name="query" type="text" value="Enter your search query here" />

  text_field_tag 'request', nil, :class => 'special_input'
  # => <input class="special_input" id="request" name="request" type="text" />

  text_field_tag 'address', '', :size => 75
  # => <input id="address" name="address" size="75" type="text" value="" />

  text_field_tag 'zip', nil, :maxlength => 5
  # => <input id="zip" maxlength="5" name="zip" type="text" />

  text_field_tag 'payment_amount', '$0.00', :disabled => true
  # => <input disabled="disabled" id="payment_amount" name="payment_amount" type="text" value="$0.00" />

  text_field_tag 'ip', '0.0.0.0', :maxlength => 15, :size => 20, :class => "ip-input"
  # => <input class="ip-input" id="ip" maxlength="15" name="ip" size="20" type="text" value="0.0.0.0" />
     # File actionpack/lib/action_view/helpers/form_tag_helper.rb, line 117
117:       def text_field_tag(name, value = nil, options = {})
118:         tag :input, { "type" => "text", "name" => name, "id" => sanitize_to_id(name), "value" => value }.update(options.stringify_keys)
119:       end