Manipulate an array attribute using multiple check boxes
E.g. when you're using a tagging gem, you have seen virtual attributes that get and set a string array:
Copypost = Post.last puts post.tag_list # ['foo', 'bar', 'baz'] post.tag_list = ['bam'] puts post.tag_list # ['bam']
If you would like to create a form displaying one check box per tag, you can do this:
Copy- form_for @post do |form| = form.check_box :tag_list, { :multiple => true }, 'foo', nil = form.check_box :tag_list, { :multiple => true }, 'bar', nil = form.check_box :tag_list, { :multiple => true }, 'bam', nil = form.check_box :tag_list, { :multiple => true }, 'baz', nil
For a post with the tags "foo" and "bar", this will render the form like this:
Copy[x] foo [x] bar [ ] baz [ ] bam
The check_box helper will check whether the given value is included in the tag_list array. It also survives form round trips as expected when validation errors occur.
If the form above is submitted, it will send the following params:
Copy{ :post => { :tag_list => ['foo', 'bar', '', '', ''] } }
Note how one empty string is sent for every check box. This is a feature which allows you to uncheck all checkboxes. Your tagging gem will usually filter those out automatically.
(Discovered by snatchev on APIdock)
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