Module ActionView::Helpers::FormOptionsHelper
In: vendor/rails/actionpack/lib/action_view/helpers/form_options_helper.rb

Provides a number of methods for turning different kinds of containers into a set of option tags.

Options

The collection_select, country_select, select, and time_zone_select methods take an options parameter, a hash.

  • :include_blank - set to true if the first option element of the select element is a blank. Useful if there is not a default value required for the select element. For example,

    select("post", "category", Post::CATEGORIES, {:include_blank => true})

could become:

  <select name="post[category]">
    <option></option>
    <option>joke</option>
    <option>poem</option>
  </select>
  • :prompt - set to true or a prompt string. When the select element doesn‘t have a value yet, this prepends an option with a generic prompt — "Please select" — or the given prompt string.

Another common case is a select tag for an belongs_to-associated object. For example,

  select("post", "person_id", Person.find(:all).collect {|p| [ p.name, p.id ] })

could become:

  <select name="post[person_id]">
    <option value="1">David</option>
    <option value="2">Sam</option>
    <option value="3">Tobias</option>
  </select>

Methods

Included Modules

ERB::Util

Constants

COUNTRIES = [ "Afghanistan", "Albania", "Algeria", "American Samoa", "Andorra", "Angola", "Anguilla", "Antarctica", "Antigua And Barbuda", "Argentina", "Armenia", "Aruba", "Australia", "Austria", "Azerbaijan", "Bahamas", "Bahrain", "Bangladesh", "Barbados", "Belarus", "Belgium", "Belize", "Benin", "Bermuda", "Bhutan", "Bolivia", "Bosnia and Herzegowina", "Botswana", "Bouvet Island", "Brazil", "British Indian Ocean Territory", "Brunei Darussalam", "Bulgaria", "Burkina Faso", "Burma", "Burundi", "Cambodia", "Cameroon", "Canada", "Cape Verde", "Cayman Islands", "Central African Republic", "Chad", "Chile", "China", "Christmas Island", "Cocos (Keeling) Islands", "Colombia", "Comoros", "Congo", "Congo, the Democratic Republic of the", "Cook Islands", "Costa Rica", "Cote d'Ivoire", "Croatia", "Cuba", "Cyprus", "Czech Republic", "Denmark", "Djibouti", "Dominica", "Dominican Republic", "East Timor", "Ecuador", "Egypt", "El Salvador", "England", "Equatorial Guinea", "Eritrea", "Espana", "Estonia", "Ethiopia", "Falkland Islands", "Faroe Islands", "Fiji", "Finland", "France", "French Guiana", "French Polynesia", "French Southern Territories", "Gabon", "Gambia", "Georgia", "Germany", "Ghana", "Gibraltar", "Great Britain", "Greece", "Greenland", "Grenada", "Guadeloupe", "Guam", "Guatemala", "Guinea", "Guinea-Bissau", "Guyana", "Haiti", "Heard and Mc Donald Islands", "Honduras", "Hong Kong", "Hungary", "Iceland", "India", "Indonesia", "Ireland", "Israel", "Italy", "Iran", "Iraq", "Jamaica", "Japan", "Jordan", "Kazakhstan", "Kenya", "Kiribati", "Korea, Republic of", "Korea (South)", "Kuwait", "Kyrgyzstan", "Lao People's Democratic Republic", "Latvia", "Lebanon", "Lesotho", "Liberia", "Liechtenstein", "Lithuania", "Luxembourg", "Macau", "Macedonia", "Madagascar", "Malawi", "Malaysia", "Maldives", "Mali", "Malta", "Marshall Islands", "Martinique", "Mauritania", "Mauritius", "Mayotte", "Mexico", "Micronesia, Federated States of", "Moldova, Republic of", "Monaco", "Mongolia", "Montserrat", "Morocco", "Mozambique", "Myanmar", "Namibia", "Nauru", "Nepal", "Netherlands", "Netherlands Antilles", "New Caledonia", "New Zealand", "Nicaragua", "Niger", "Nigeria", "Niue", "Norfolk Island", "Northern Ireland", "Northern Mariana Islands", "Norway", "Oman", "Pakistan", "Palau", "Panama", "Papua New Guinea", "Paraguay", "Peru", "Philippines", "Pitcairn", "Poland", "Portugal", "Puerto Rico", "Qatar", "Reunion", "Romania", "Russia", "Rwanda", "Saint Kitts and Nevis", "Saint Lucia", "Saint Vincent and the Grenadines", "Samoa (Independent)", "San Marino", "Sao Tome and Principe", "Saudi Arabia", "Scotland", "Senegal", "Serbia and Montenegro", "Seychelles", "Sierra Leone", "Singapore", "Slovakia", "Slovenia", "Solomon Islands", "Somalia", "South Africa", "South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands", "South Korea", "Spain", "Sri Lanka", "St. Helena", "St. Pierre and Miquelon", "Suriname", "Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands", "Swaziland", "Sweden", "Switzerland", "Taiwan", "Tajikistan", "Tanzania", "Thailand", "Togo", "Tokelau", "Tonga", "Trinidad", "Trinidad and Tobago", "Tunisia", "Turkey", "Turkmenistan", "Turks and Caicos Islands", "Tuvalu", "Uganda", "Ukraine", "United Arab Emirates", "United Kingdom", "United States", "United States Minor Outlying Islands", "Uruguay", "Uzbekistan", "Vanuatu", "Vatican City State (Holy See)", "Venezuela", "Viet Nam", "Virgin Islands (British)", "Virgin Islands (U.S.)", "Wales", "Wallis and Futuna Islands", "Western Sahara", "Yemen", "Zambia", "Zimbabwe" ] unless const_defined?("COUNTRIES")   All the countries included in the country_options output.

Public Instance methods

Return select and option tags for the given object and method using options_from_collection_for_select to generate the list of option tags.

[Source]

    # File vendor/rails/actionpack/lib/action_view/helpers/form_options_helper.rb, line 70
70:       def collection_select(object, method, collection, value_method, text_method, options = {}, html_options = {})
71:         InstanceTag.new(object, method, self, nil, options.delete(:object)).to_collection_select_tag(collection, value_method, text_method, options, html_options)
72:       end

Returns a string of option tags for pretty much any country in the world. Supply a country name as selected to have it marked as the selected option tag. You can also supply an array of countries as priority_countries, so that they will be listed above the rest of the (long) list.

NOTE: Only the option tags are returned, you have to wrap this call in a regular HTML select tag.

[Source]

     # File vendor/rails/actionpack/lib/action_view/helpers/form_options_helper.rb, line 195
195:       def country_options_for_select(selected = nil, priority_countries = nil)
196:         country_options = ""
197: 
198:         if priority_countries
199:           country_options += options_for_select(priority_countries, selected)
200:           country_options += "<option value=\"\">-------------</option>\n"
201:         end
202: 
203:         if priority_countries && priority_countries.include?(selected)
204:           country_options += options_for_select(COUNTRIES - priority_countries, selected)
205:         else
206:           country_options += options_for_select(COUNTRIES, selected)
207:         end
208: 
209:         return country_options
210:       end

Return select and option tags for the given object and method, using country_options_for_select to generate the list of option tags.

[Source]

    # File vendor/rails/actionpack/lib/action_view/helpers/form_options_helper.rb, line 75
75:       def country_select(object, method, priority_countries = nil, options = {}, html_options = {})
76:         InstanceTag.new(object, method, self, nil, options.delete(:object)).to_country_select_tag(priority_countries, options, html_options)
77:       end

Returns a string of option tags, like options_from_collection_for_select, but surrounds them with <optgroup> tags.

An array of group objects are passed. Each group should return an array of options when calling group_method Each group should return its name when calling group_label_method.

html_option_groups_from_collection(@continents, "countries", "continent_name", "country_id", "country_name", @selected_country.id)

Could become:

 <optgroup label="Africa">
  <select>Egypt</select>
  <select>Rwanda</select>
  ...
 </optgroup>
 <optgroup label="Asia">
  <select>China</select>
  <select>India</select>
  <select>Japan</select>
  ...
 </optgroup>

with objects of the following classes: class Continent

  def initialize(p_name, p_countries) @continent_name = p_name; @countries = p_countries; end
  def continent_name() @continent_name; end
  def countries() @countries; end

end class Country

  def initialize(id, name) @id = id; @name = name end
  def country_id() @id; end
  def country_name() @name; end

end

NOTE: Only the option tags are returned, you have to wrap this call in a regular HTML select tag.

[Source]

     # File vendor/rails/actionpack/lib/action_view/helpers/form_options_helper.rb, line 180
180:       def option_groups_from_collection_for_select(collection, group_method, group_label_method,
181:             option_key_method, option_value_method, selected_key = nil)
182:         collection.inject("") do |options_for_select, group|
183:           group_label_string = eval("group.#{group_label_method}")
184:           options_for_select += "<optgroup label=\"#{html_escape(group_label_string)}\">"
185:           options_for_select += options_from_collection_for_select(eval("group.#{group_method}"), option_key_method, option_value_method, selected_key)
186:           options_for_select += '</optgroup>'
187:         end
188:       end

Accepts a container (hash, array, enumerable, your type) and returns a string of option tags. Given a container where the elements respond to first and last (such as a two-element array), the "lasts" serve as option values and the "firsts" as option text. Hashes are turned into this form automatically, so the keys become "firsts" and values become lasts. If selected is specified, the matching "last" or element will get the selected option-tag. Selected may also be an array of values to be selected when using a multiple select.

Examples (call, result):

  options_for_select([["Dollar", "$"], ["Kroner", "DKK"]])
    <option value="$">Dollar</option>\n<option value="DKK">Kroner</option>

  options_for_select([ "VISA", "MasterCard" ], "MasterCard")
    <option>VISA</option>\n<option selected="selected">MasterCard</option>

  options_for_select({ "Basic" => "$20", "Plus" => "$40" }, "$40")
    <option value="$20">Basic</option>\n<option value="$40" selected="selected">Plus</option>

  options_for_select([ "VISA", "MasterCard", "Discover" ], ["VISA", "Discover"])
    <option selected="selected">VISA</option>\n<option>MasterCard</option>\n<option selected="selected">Discover</option>

NOTE: Only the option tags are returned, you have to wrap this call in a regular HTML select tag.

[Source]

     # File vendor/rails/actionpack/lib/action_view/helpers/form_options_helper.rb, line 111
111:       def options_for_select(container, selected = nil)
112:         container = container.to_a if Hash === container
113: 
114:         options_for_select = container.inject([]) do |options, element|
115:           if !element.is_a?(String) and element.respond_to?(:first) and element.respond_to?(:last)
116:             is_selected = ( (selected.respond_to?(:include?) && !selected.is_a?(String) ? selected.include?(element.last) : element.last == selected) )
117:             if is_selected
118:               options << "<option value=\"#{html_escape(element.last.to_s)}\" selected=\"selected\">#{html_escape(element.first.to_s)}</option>"
119:             else
120:               options << "<option value=\"#{html_escape(element.last.to_s)}\">#{html_escape(element.first.to_s)}</option>"
121:             end
122:           else
123:             is_selected = ( (selected.respond_to?(:include?) && !selected.is_a?(String) ? selected.include?(element) : element == selected) )
124:             options << ((is_selected) ? "<option value=\"#{html_escape(element.to_s)}\" selected=\"selected\">#{html_escape(element.to_s)}</option>" : "<option value=\"#{html_escape(element.to_s)}\">#{html_escape(element.to_s)}</option>")
125:           end
126:         end
127: 
128:         options_for_select.join("\n")
129:       end

Returns a string of option tags that have been compiled by iterating over the collection and assigning the the result of a call to the value_method as the option value and the text_method as the option text. If selected_value is specified, the element returning a match on value_method will get the selected option tag.

Example (call, result). Imagine a loop iterating over each person in @project.people to generate an input tag:

  options_from_collection_for_select(@project.people, "id", "name")
    <option value="#{person.id}">#{person.name}</option>

NOTE: Only the option tags are returned, you have to wrap this call in a regular HTML select tag.

[Source]

     # File vendor/rails/actionpack/lib/action_view/helpers/form_options_helper.rb, line 140
140:       def options_from_collection_for_select(collection, value_method, text_method, selected_value = nil)
141:         options_for_select(
142:           collection.inject([]) { |options, object| options << [ object.send(text_method), object.send(value_method) ] },
143:           selected_value
144:         )
145:       end

Create a select tag and a series of contained option tags for the provided object and method. The option currently held by the object will be selected, provided that the object is available. See options_for_select for the required format of the choices parameter.

Example with @post.person_id => 1:

  select("post", "person_id", Person.find(:all).collect {|p| [ p.name, p.id ] }, { :include_blank => true })

could become:

  <select name="post[person_id]">
    <option></option>
    <option value="1" selected="selected">David</option>
    <option value="2">Sam</option>
    <option value="3">Tobias</option>
  </select>

This can be used to provide a default set of options in the standard way: before rendering the create form, a new model instance is assigned the default options and bound to @model_name. Usually this model is not saved to the database. Instead, a second model object is created when the create request is received. This allows the user to submit a form page more than once with the expected results of creating multiple records. In addition, this allows a single partial to be used to generate form inputs for both edit and create forms.

By default, post.person_id is the selected option. Specify :selected => value to use a different selection or :selected => nil to leave all options unselected.

[Source]

    # File vendor/rails/actionpack/lib/action_view/helpers/form_options_helper.rb, line 65
65:       def select(object, method, choices, options = {}, html_options = {})
66:         InstanceTag.new(object, method, self, nil, options.delete(:object)).to_select_tag(choices, options, html_options)
67:       end

Returns a string of option tags for pretty much any time zone in the world. Supply a TimeZone name as selected to have it marked as the selected option tag. You can also supply an array of TimeZone objects as priority_zones, so that they will be listed above the rest of the (long) list. (You can use TimeZone.us_zones as a convenience for obtaining a list of the US time zones.)

The selected parameter must be either nil, or a string that names a TimeZone.

By default, model is the TimeZone constant (which can be obtained in ActiveRecord as a value object). The only requirement is that the model parameter be an object that responds to all, and returns an array of objects that represent time zones.

NOTE: Only the option tags are returned, you have to wrap this call in a regular HTML select tag.

[Source]

     # File vendor/rails/actionpack/lib/action_view/helpers/form_options_helper.rb, line 229
229:       def time_zone_options_for_select(selected = nil, priority_zones = nil, model = TimeZone)
230:         zone_options = ""
231: 
232:         zones = model.all
233:         convert_zones = lambda { |list| list.map { |z| [ z.to_s, z.name ] } }
234: 
235:         if priority_zones
236:           zone_options += options_for_select(convert_zones[priority_zones], selected)
237:           zone_options += "<option value=\"\">-------------</option>\n"
238: 
239:           zones = zones.reject { |z| priority_zones.include?( z ) }
240:         end
241: 
242:         zone_options += options_for_select(convert_zones[zones], selected)
243:         zone_options
244:       end

Return select and option tags for the given object and method, using time_zone_options_for_select to generate the list of option tags.

In addition to the :include_blank option documented above, this method also supports a :model option, which defaults to TimeZone. This may be used by users to specify a different time zone model object. (See time_zone_options_for_select for more information.)

[Source]

    # File vendor/rails/actionpack/lib/action_view/helpers/form_options_helper.rb, line 87
87:       def time_zone_select(object, method, priority_zones = nil, options = {}, html_options = {})
88:         InstanceTag.new(object, method, self, nil, options.delete(:object)).to_time_zone_select_tag(priority_zones, options, html_options)
89:       end

[Validate]