Rails update.js.erb not executing javascript

Question

I am building a form in rails that will edit an existing question via ajax.

After the form is submitted and the question has been updated, the update method in the controller renders update.js.erb, which will hide the form again.

My problem is that the javascript code in update.js.erb is not executing at all.

I know that the file is rendering because it shows up in the server output, and when I put a

<% raise params %>

into it, it works.

However, even the simplest

alert('hello');

has no effect in the same file.

I've ruled out javascript and jquery configuration issues because the same code works perfectly in my edit.js.erb file. It's just not working in update.js.erb.

What am I missing?

Edit:

Firebug shows no errors. Here is the response in firebug's network panel:

alert('hello');
$('#question_body').replaceWith('<h4><p>jhsdfjhdsb k jdfs j fjfhds <strong>jfshaflksd;hf sdldfs l fdsalkhdfskhdfs</strong>;fd lfdksh hfdjaadfhsjladfhsjadfs ;df sjldfsj dfas hafdsj fdas ;ldfas ldfs df dl;hdf fdh ;fdj ;lfads</p></h4>');

def update

Edit 2:

This is the controller action:

def update
  respond_to do |format|
    if @question.update_attributes(params[:question])
      format.html { redirect_to @question, :flash => { :success => 'Question was successfully updated.' } }
      format.json { head :no_content }
      format.js {}
    else
      format.html { render action: "edit" }
      format.json { render json: @question.errors, status: :unprocessable_entity }
    end
  end
end

Checkout the response in firebug's network panel. What does it show? — Arjan
– Arjan, Commented Sep 21, 2013 at 19:26
Added the response to the question. Thanks for taking a look. — dmanaster
– dmanaster, Commented Sep 21, 2013 at 19:46
show did you build the ajax into your form? If for instance you just call $.ajax(..) but do nothing with the response nothing will be executed, opposed to for instance using jQuerys getScript (api.jquery.com/jQuery.getScript) — trueunlessfalse
– trueunlessfalse, Commented Sep 21, 2013 at 20:28
It's built into the form via :remote => true. The form is submitting fine, and the changes are recording in the database. It's the javascript that is called after the update method calls update.js.erb that is not working. — dmanaster
– dmanaster, Commented Sep 21, 2013 at 20:49

supermoogle · Accepted Answer · 2013-12-31 01:07:08Z

55

In your $.ajax call make sure to set the dataType option to "script" otherwise the response could be interpreted in other ways and thus not executed as JS.

answered Dec 31, 2013 at 1:07

supermoogle

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1 Comment

simo Over a year ago

perfect answer! incase some one needs to use it with button_to : form: { "data-type" => "script" }

Community · Accepted Answer · 2017-05-23 11:54:40Z

38

Do you work with haml, or html.erb? If the former, then this might be the solution:

respond_to do |format|
  ...
  format.js {render layout: false}
end

I had the exact same problem, found this question early on, took another hour or so of Googling to find this question on StackOverflow that led me to it: jQuery + Ajax + Haml. js.erb files not firing

edited May 23, 2017 at 11:54

CommunityBot

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answered Dec 29, 2013 at 23:19

rmatena

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4 Comments

przbadu Over a year ago

{render layout: false} has wasted my 3 hours for same problem. After adding it, it works fine. Thaks

HermannHH Over a year ago

After days of struggling, this worked for me :) Thanks

Sasgorilla Over a year ago

Works here too. But why do I need render layout: false here? I've already specified a layout at the top of the controller file. I've used the exact same pattern (submitting via remote: true and modifying the page in create.js.erb) in several places without ever using render layout: false before.

nilid Over a year ago

you are my hero

Ricky Mason · Accepted Answer · 2014-04-08 19:09:02Z

5

In your update.js.erb file you need to escape javascript wherever you execute ruby code.

$('.container').empty().append('<%=
  escape_javascript(
    render 'update'
  )
%>')

This is what solved it for me ...

answered Apr 8, 2014 at 19:09

Ricky Mason

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1 Comment

KleverKrypto Over a year ago

You can also escape javascript by using j. Example: $('.container').html("<%= j render 'update' %>");

Community · Accepted Answer · 2017-05-23 12:26:04Z

2

This issue isn't just because of Controller side. It is also can be in the View side which is you didn't clarify the data-type of your post request.

Make sure in your console that the request is treated as JS.

Reference: Similar issue

edited May 23, 2017 at 12:26

CommunityBot

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answered Aug 8, 2014 at 7:29

Henry Le

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Comments

wyncg · Accepted Answer · 2015-04-02 17:27:53Z

1

I ran into the same issue and found this page. I tried methods listed here but found no luck. While later the following method solve my issue.

My originally code was:

$('#html_id').html('<%=@ruby_variable%>');

And I updated it to:

$('#html_id').html('<%=raw @ruby_variable.to_json%>');

Now it works as expected.

answered Apr 2, 2015 at 17:27

wyncg

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1 Comment

michaelsking1993 Over a year ago

Jesus, you were right. Any idea why it fails silently instead of throwing an error?

Daniela · Accepted Answer · 2017-07-16 03:29:53Z

0

Found out what it is! 😊 (solution for rails 4)

If you have in your ajax call parameters that are not in your permitted list, the record gets saved, you get no error messages about the 'not permitted' parameters, but the update.js.erb won't run - even though your terminal will feed back 'Rendered update.js.erb etc'

If the extra parameter is an attribute in your model, just permit it.

The simplest way to permit non model parameter is to add in your model:

  attr_accessor :paramKeyTroublesome

Then you can also permit it in the controller.

in the $ajax call, data needs to be hashed up properly:

  data: {model_name: {paramKey1: value, paramKeyTroublesome: value}}

edited Jul 16, 2017 at 3:29

answered Jul 16, 2017 at 3:13

Daniela

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Comments

Shadoath · Accepted Answer · 2019-07-19 16:33:44Z

0

One more problem to be aware of is an error in your update.js file. Nothing will execute if there are any syntax errors. You can check this by going to your browser inspector and enabling Log XMLHttpRequests Then reviewing the output js file.

answered Jul 19, 2019 at 16:33

Shadoath

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