How to Dynamically Modify Forms Using Form Events

Before jumping right into dynamic form generation, let's have a quick review of what a bare form class looks like:

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        // src/Acme/DemoBundle/Form/Type/ProductType.php
namespace Acme\DemoBundle\Form\Type;

use Symfony\Component\Form\AbstractType;
use Symfony\Component\Form\FormBuilder;

class ProductType extends AbstractType
{
    public function buildForm(FormBuilder $builder, array $options)
    {
        $builder->add('name');
        $builder->add('price');
    }

    public function getName()
    {
        return 'product';
    }
}
    

Note

If this particular section of code isn't already familiar to you, you probably need to take a step back and first review the Forms chapter before proceeding.

Let's assume for a moment that this form utilizes an imaginary "Product" class that has only two relevant properties ("name" and "price"). The form generated from this class will look the exact same regardless if a new Product is being created or if an existing product is being edited (e.g. a product fetched from the database).

Suppose now, that you don't want the user to be able to change the name value once the object has been created. To do this, you can rely on Symfony's Event Dispatcher system to analyze the data on the object and modify the form based on the Product object's data. In this entry, you'll learn how to add this level of flexibility to your forms.

Adding An Event Subscriber To A Form Class

So, instead of directly adding that "name" widget via your ProductType form class, let's delegate the responsibility of creating that particular field to an Event Subscriber:

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        // src/Acme/DemoBundle/Form/Type/ProductType.php
namespace Acme\DemoBundle\Form\Type;

use Symfony\Component\Form\AbstractType;
use Symfony\Component\Form\FormBuilder;
use Acme\DemoBundle\Form\EventListener\AddNameFieldSubscriber;

class ProductType extends AbstractType
{
    public function buildForm(FormBuilder $builder, array $options)
    {
        $subscriber = new AddNameFieldSubscriber($builder->getFormFactory());
        $builder->addEventSubscriber($subscriber);
        $builder->add('price');
    }

    public function getName()
    {
        return 'product';
    }
}
    

The event subscriber is passed the FormFactory object in its constructor so that your new subscriber is capable of creating the form widget once it is notified of the dispatched event during form creation.

Inside the Event Subscriber Class

The goal is to create a "name" field only if the underlying Product object is new (e.g. hasn't been persisted to the database). Based on that, the subscriber might look like the following:

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        // src/Acme/DemoBundle/Form/EventListener/AddNameFieldSubscriber.php
namespace Acme\DemoBundle\Form\EventListener;

use Symfony\Component\Form\Event\DataEvent;
use Symfony\Component\Form\FormFactoryInterface;
use Symfony\Component\EventDispatcher\EventSubscriberInterface;
use Symfony\Component\Form\FormEvents;

class AddNameFieldSubscriber implements EventSubscriberInterface
{
    private $factory;

    public function __construct(FormFactoryInterface $factory)
    {
        $this->factory = $factory;
    }

    public static function getSubscribedEvents()
    {
        // Tells the dispatcher that you want to listen on the form.pre_set_data
        // event and that the preSetData method should be called.
        return array(FormEvents::PRE_SET_DATA => 'preSetData');
    }

    public function preSetData(DataEvent $event)
    {
        $data = $event->getData();
        $form = $event->getForm();

        // During form creation setData() is called with null as an argument
        // by the FormBuilder constructor. You're only concerned with when
        // setData is called with an actual Entity object in it (whether new
        // or fetched with Doctrine). This if statement lets you skip right
        // over the null condition.
        if (null === $data) {
            return;
        }

        // check if the product object is "new"
        if (!$data->getId()) {
            $form->add($this->factory->createNamed('text', 'name'));
        }
    }
}
    

Caution

It is easy to misunderstand the purpose of the if (null === $data) segment of this event subscriber. To fully understand its role, you might consider also taking a look at the Form class and paying special attention to where setData() is called at the end of the constructor, as well as the setData() method itself.

The FormEvents::PRE_SET_DATA line actually resolves to the string form.pre_set_data. The FormEvents class serves an organizational purpose. It is a centralized location in which you can find all of the various form events available.

While this example could have used the form.set_data event or even the form.post_set_data events just as effectively, by using form.pre_set_data you guarantee that the data being retrieved from the Event object has in no way been modified by any other subscribers or listeners. This is because form.pre_set_data passes a DataEvent object instead of the FilterDataEvent object passed by the form.set_data event. DataEvent, unlike its child FilterDataEvent, lacks a setData() method.

Note

You may view the full list of form events via the FormEvents class, found in the form bundle.

This work, including the code samples, is licensed under a Creative Commons BY-SA 3.0 license.