4

In my Angular 7 app using reactive forms I'm creating input elements based on an *ngFor loop, so I end up with an input dynamically named:

<nav class="level" *ngFor="let work of workLeft">
    <input [formControlName]="work.abbrev">

which of course works fine, but now I'm trying to add the validation error messages to the form, but I'm not sure how to "address" the item. For example, the div would normally look like so:

<div *ngIf="name.errors.required">

but I don't have name there as it's the dynamic work.abbrev value. What's the right way to handle this?

You can see my attempt here: https://stackblitz.com/edit/angular-8zevc1

7
  • Is workLeft some sort of a FormArray? If not, I recommend it to be one. That way you can create a getter on your Component Class and use the at API on a FormArray to get the relevant FormControl/FormGroup Commented Nov 20, 2018 at 19:53
  • No, it's just an array of objects that was returned from an http webservice. But it's not a class variable, it's just created in the call that generates the form data. Commented Nov 20, 2018 at 19:54
  • I'm not sure how your comment helps though as I'm asking about how to deal with it in the HTML itself, and I specifically mentioned not wanting to use a FormArray. Commented Nov 20, 2018 at 19:58
  • 1
    That's because FormArray is something that is generally used in such scenarios. You want to show validation errors for each item in workLeft and it again is a form control. Also, I don't think you will need to keep any mapping to track the index and the form control anywhere. That's not how it works. Commented Nov 20, 2018 at 20:02
  • OK, if it's the right way so be it. Can you show me what the div's *ngIf should look like please? Commented Nov 20, 2018 at 20:03

1 Answer 1

3

I suggest using FormArray for this. With FormArray, here's how your implementation is going to look like:

For the Component Class:

import { Component } from '@angular/core';
import { FormBuilder, FormGroup, Validators, FormArray } from '@angular/forms';

export interface Data {
  abbrev: string;
  max: number;
}

@Component({
  selector: 'my-app',
  templateUrl: './app.component.html',
  styleUrls: [ './app.component.css' ]
})
export class AppComponent {
  workForm: FormGroup;
  workLeft: any[];

  constructor(private fb: FormBuilder) {}

  ngOnInit () {

    this.workForm = this.fb.group({
      points: this.fb.array([])
    });

    this.fillFormArray();
  }

  private fakeWebserviceCall(): Data[] {
    return [
      { abbrev: 'foo', max: 12 },
      { abbrev: 'bar', max: 10 }
    ];
  }

  private fillFormArray() {
    this.workLeft = this.fakeWebserviceCall();
    const formControlsArray = this.workLeft.map(work => this.fb.control(work.abbrev, [Validators.min(0), Validators.max(work.max)]));
    formControlsArray.forEach(control => this.points.push(control));
    console.log(this.workForm.value);
  }

  get points(): FormArray {
    return <FormArray>this.workForm.get('points');
  }

  pointAt(index) {
    return (<FormArray>this.workForm.get('points')).at(index);
  }

}

And in the template:

<form [formGroup]="workForm">
    <div formArrayName="points">
        <div *ngFor="let point of points.controls; let i = index">
      {{ workLeft[i].abbrev }}: <input type="number" [formControlName]="i">
      <div *ngIf="pointAt(i).invalid && (pointAt(i).dirty || pointAt(i).touched)">
        The field is invalid
      </div>
    </div>
  </div>
</form>

Here's a Sample StackBlitz for your ref.

PS: I've made a few updates to the StackBlitz that you've shared including things that Angular Style Guide recommends along with the actual solution. Hope that helps.

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

1 Comment

Thanks, appreciate the help!

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Start asking to get answers

Find the answer to your question by asking.

Ask question

Explore related questions

See similar questions with these tags.