What is the best way to obtain a reference to the parent form element within an AngularJS directive?

Question

What is the best way to obtain a reference to the parent form element within an AngularJS directive?

Here is the HTML code I am working with:

<form name="my-form">
  <div class="col-sm-4">
    <input type="phone" name="mobileNumber" ng-model="form.mobileNumber" value="0439888999" required>
  </div>
</form>

In addition, I have created a directive in AngularJS:

angular.module('myApp.directives')
    .directive('required', function ($compile) {
        return {
            restrict: 'A',
            require: 'ngModel',
            link: function(scope, element, attr, ngModel) {
                var formName = element.parents('form').attr('name');
                var fieldName = element.attr('name');
            }
     };
});

However, during my unit test, I encountered an error message:

TypeError: Object [object Object] has no method 'parents'

.

I have realized that this error is due to jqLite not supporting the parents method in my version of AngularJS (v1.2.13).

My question now is how can I achieve the same functionality within my directive without using jQuery as a dependency? If jQuery is necessary, how can I properly inject it into my directive and unit test?

javascript jquery angularjs

Answer 1

Answer №1

To make it work, simply replace parents with parent ;)

var formName = element.parent('form').attr('name');

A comprehensive list of available methods using jQlite:

http://docs.angularjs.org/api/ng/function/angular.element

Answer 2

To make it work, simply replace parents with parent ;)

var formName = element.parent('form').attr('name');

A comprehensive list of available methods using jQlite:

http://docs.angularjs.org/api/ng/function/angular.element

Answer 3

Answer №2

If you're looking to verify the form's validity (specifically that a phone number is required), there's a simple code snippet you can use without the need for a custom directive:

  <body ng-controller="MainCtrl">
    <form name="xform">
      <div class="col-sm-4">
        <input test type="phone" name="phone" ng-model="data.phone" required>
      </div>
      <p ng-if="xform.$valid">Valid</p>
      <p ng-if="!xform.$valid">Not valid</p>
    </form>
  </body>

If you do require access to both the model and the form within a custom directive, utilizing the 'require' attribute in the directive will help you achieve that:

var app = angular.module('plunker', []);

app.controller('MainCtrl', function($scope) {
  $scope.data = {};
  $scope.data.phone = '031 584 658';
});

app.directive("test", function(){
  return {
    controller: function($scope) {
      $scope.$watch('xform.$valid', function(newVal, oldVal) {
        console.log('form validity has changed', newVal, oldVal);
      })
    },
    link: function(scope,element,attrs,controllers) {
      var model = controllers[0];
      var form = controllers[1];
      //console.log(model);
      //console.log(form);
      //console.log(form.$valid);
    },
    require: ['ngModel', '^form'],
  }
})

You can view a working example on Plunker.

Answer 4

If you're looking to verify the form's validity (specifically that a phone number is required), there's a simple code snippet you can use without the need for a custom directive:

  <body ng-controller="MainCtrl">
    <form name="xform">
      <div class="col-sm-4">
        <input test type="phone" name="phone" ng-model="data.phone" required>
      </div>
      <p ng-if="xform.$valid">Valid</p>
      <p ng-if="!xform.$valid">Not valid</p>
    </form>
  </body>

If you do require access to both the model and the form within a custom directive, utilizing the 'require' attribute in the directive will help you achieve that:

var app = angular.module('plunker', []);

app.controller('MainCtrl', function($scope) {
  $scope.data = {};
  $scope.data.phone = '031 584 658';
});

app.directive("test", function(){
  return {
    controller: function($scope) {
      $scope.$watch('xform.$valid', function(newVal, oldVal) {
        console.log('form validity has changed', newVal, oldVal);
      })
    },
    link: function(scope,element,attrs,controllers) {
      var model = controllers[0];
      var form = controllers[1];
      //console.log(model);
      //console.log(form);
      //console.log(form.$valid);
    },
    require: ['ngModel', '^form'],
  }
})

You can view a working example on Plunker.

What is the best way to obtain a reference to the parent form element within an AngularJS directive?

Answer №1

Answer №2

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