entity Field Type
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entity Field Type
A special choice
field that's designed to load options from a Doctrine
entity. For example, if you have a Category
entity, you could use this
field to display a select
field of all, or some, of the Category
objects from the database.
Rendered as | can be various tags (see choice Field Type) |
Options | |
Overridden Options | |
Inherited options | from the choice type: - empty_value - expanded - multiple - preferred_choices from the form type: - data - disabled - empty_data - error_bubbling - error_mapping - label - label_attr - mapped - read_only - required |
Parent type | choice |
Class | EntityType |
Basic Usage
The entity
type has just one required option: the entity which should
be listed inside the choice field:
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$builder->add('users', 'entity', array(
'class' => 'AcmeHelloBundle:User',
'property' => 'username',
));
In this case, all User
objects will be loaded from the database and rendered
as either a select
tag, a set or radio buttons or a series of checkboxes
(this depends on the multiple
and expanded
values).
If the entity object does not have a __toString()
method the property
option
is needed.
Using a Custom Query for the Entities
If you need to specify a custom query to use when fetching the entities (e.g.
you only want to return some entities, or need to order them), use the query_builder
option. The easiest way to use the option is as follows:
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use Doctrine\ORM\EntityRepository;
// ...
$builder->add('users', 'entity', array(
'class' => 'AcmeHelloBundle:User',
'query_builder' => function(EntityRepository $er) {
return $er->createQueryBuilder('u')
->orderBy('u.username', 'ASC');
},
));
Using Choices
If you already have the exact collection of entities that you want included
in the choice element, you can simply pass them via the choices
key.
For example, if you have a $group
variable (passed into your form perhaps
as a form option) and getUsers
returns a collection of User
entities,
then you can supply the choices
option directly:
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$builder->add('users', 'entity', array(
'class' => 'AcmeHelloBundle:User',
'choices' => $group->getUsers(),
));
Select Tag, Checkboxes or Radio Buttons
This field may be rendered as one of several different HTML fields, depending
on the expanded
and multiple
options:
element type | expanded | multiple |
---|---|---|
select tag | false | false |
select tag (with multiple attribute) |
false | true |
radio buttons | true | false |
checkboxes | true | true |
Field Options
class
type: string
required
The class of your entity (e.g. AcmeStoreBundle:Category
). This can be
a fully-qualified class name (e.g. Acme\StoreBundle\Entity\Category
)
or the short alias name (as shown prior).
data_class
type: string
This option is used to set the appropriate data mapper to be used by the form, so you can use it for any form field type which requires an object.
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$builder->add('media', 'sonata_media_type', array(
'data_class' => 'Acme\DemoBundle\Entity\Media',
));
em
type: string
default: the default entity manager
If specified, the specified entity manager will be used to load the choices instead of the default entity manager.
group_by
type: string
This is a property path (e.g. author.name
) used to organize the
available choices in groups. It only works when rendered as a select tag
and does so by adding optgroup
elements around options. Choices that do not
return a value for this property path are rendered directly under the
select tag, without a surrounding optgroup.
property
type: string
This is the property that should be used for displaying the entities
as text in the HTML element. If left blank, the entity object will be
cast into a string and so must have a __toString()
method.
Note
The property
option is the property path used to display the option. So you
can use anything supported by the
PropertyAccessor component
For example, if the translations property is actually an associative array of objects, each with a name property, then you could do this:
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$builder->add('gender', 'entity', array(
'class' => 'MyBundle:Gender',
'property' => 'translations[en].name',
));
query_builder
type: Doctrine\ORM\QueryBuilder
or a Closure
If specified, this is used to query the subset of options (and their
order) that should be used for the field. The value of this option can
either be a QueryBuilder
object or a Closure. If using a Closure,
it should take a single argument, which is the EntityRepository
of
the entity.
Overridden Options
choice_list
default: EntityChoiceList
The purpose of the entity
type is to create and configure this EntityChoiceList
for you, by using all of the above options. If you need to override this
option, you may just consider using the choice Field Type
directly.
choices
type: array || \Traversable
default: null
Instead of allowing the class and query_builder options to fetch the
entities to include for you, you can pass the choices
option directly.
See entity Field Type.
Inherited Options
These options inherit from the choice type:
empty_value
2.3
Since Symfony 2.3, empty values are also supported if the expanded
option is set to true.
type: string
or Boolean
This option determines whether or not a special "empty" option (e.g. "Choose an option")
will appear at the top of a select widget. This option only applies if the
multiple
option is set to false.
Add an empty value with "Choose an option" as the text:
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$builder->add('states', 'choice', array( 'empty_value' => 'Choose an option', ));
Guarantee that no "empty" value option is displayed:
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$builder->add('states', 'choice', array( 'empty_value' => false, ));
If you leave the empty_value
option unset, then a blank (with no text)
option will automatically be added if and only if the required
option
is false:
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// a blank (with no text) option will be added
$builder->add('states', 'choice', array(
'required' => false,
));
expanded
type: Boolean
default: false
If set to true, radio buttons or checkboxes will be rendered (depending
on the multiple
value). If false, a select element will be rendered.
multiple
type: Boolean
default: false
If true, the user will be able to select multiple options (as opposed
to choosing just one option). Depending on the value of the expanded
option, this will render either a select tag or checkboxes if true and
a select tag or radio buttons if false. The returned value will be an array.
Note
If you are working with a collection of Doctrine entities, it will be helpful to read the documentation for the collection Field Type as well. In addition, there is a complete example in the cookbook article How to Embed a Collection of Forms.
preferred_choices
type: array
default: array()
If this option is specified, then a sub-set of all of the options will be moved to the top of the select menu. The following would move the "Baz" option to the top, with a visual separator between it and the rest of the options:
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$builder->add('foo_choices', 'choice', array(
'choices' => array('foo' => 'Foo', 'bar' => 'Bar', 'baz' => 'Baz'),
'preferred_choices' => array('baz'),
));
Note that preferred choices are only meaningful when rendering as a select
element (i.e. expanded
is false). The preferred choices and normal choices
are separated visually by a set of dotted lines (i.e. -------------------
).
This can be customized when rendering the field:
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{{ form_widget(form.foo_choices, { 'separator': '=====' }) }}
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<?php echo $view['form']->widget($form['foo_choices'], array('separator' => '=====')) ?>
Note
This option expects an array of entity objects, unlike the choice
field
that requires an array of keys.
These options inherit from the form type:
data
type: mixed default: Defaults to field of the underlying object (if there is one)
When you create a form, each field initially displays the value of the corresponding property of the form's domain object (if an object is bound to the form). If you want to override the initial value for the form or just an individual field, you can set it in the data option:
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$builder->add('token', 'hidden', array(
'data' => 'abcdef',
));
Note
The default values for form fields are taken directly from the
underlying data structure (e.g. an entity or an array).
The data
option overrides this default value.
disabled
type: boolean
default: false
If you don't want a user to modify the value of a field, you can set the disabled option to true. Any submitted value will be ignored.
empty_data
type: mixed
DEFAULT_PLACEHOLDER
This option determines what value the field will return when the submitted value is empty.
But you can customize this to your needs. For example, if you want the
gender
choice field to be explicitly set to null
when no value is
selected, you can do it like this:
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$builder->add('gender', 'choice', array(
'choices' => array(
'm' => 'Male',
'f' => 'Female'
),
'required' => false,
'empty_value' => 'Choose your gender',
'empty_data' => null
));
Note
If you want to set the empty_data
option for your entire form class,
see the cookbook article How to Configure empty Data for a Form Class.
:end-before: DEFAULT_PLACEHOLDER
The actual default value of this option depends on other field options:
- If
multiple
isfalse
andexpanded
isfalse
, then''
(empty string); - Otherwise
array()
(empty array).
empty_data
type: mixed
DEFAULT_PLACEHOLDER
This option determines what value the field will return when the submitted value is empty.
But you can customize this to your needs. For example, if you want the
gender
choice field to be explicitly set to null
when no value is
selected, you can do it like this:
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$builder->add('gender', 'choice', array(
'choices' => array(
'm' => 'Male',
'f' => 'Female'
),
'required' => false,
'empty_value' => 'Choose your gender',
'empty_data' => null
));
Note
If you want to set the empty_data
option for your entire form class,
see the cookbook article How to Configure empty Data for a Form Class.
:start-after: DEFAULT_PLACEHOLDER
error_bubbling
type: Boolean
default: false
unless the form is compound
If true
, any errors for this field will be passed to the parent field
or form. For example, if set to true
on a normal field, any errors for
that field will be attached to the main form, not to the specific field.
error_mapping
type: array
default: empty
This option allows you to modify the target of a validation error.
Imagine you have a custom method named matchingCityAndZipCode
that validates
whether the city and zip code match. Unfortunately, there is no "matchingCityAndZipCode"
field in your form, so all that Symfony can do is display the error on top
of the form.
With customized error mapping, you can do better: map the error to the city field so that it displays above it:
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public function setDefaultOptions(OptionsResolverInterface $resolver)
{
$resolver->setDefaults(array(
'error_mapping' => array(
'matchingCityAndZipCode' => 'city',
),
));
}
Here are the rules for the left and the right side of the mapping:
- The left side contains property paths;
- If the violation is generated on a property or method of a class, its path
is simply
propertyName
; - If the violation is generated on an entry of an
array
orArrayAccess
object, the property path is[indexName]
; - You can construct nested property paths by concatenating them, separating
properties by dots. For example:
addresses[work].matchingCityAndZipCode
; - The left side of the error mapping also accepts a dot
.
, which refers to the field itself. That means that any error added to the field is added to the given nested field instead; - The right side contains simply the names of fields in the form.
label
type: string
default: The label is "guessed" from the field name
Sets the label that will be used when rendering the field. Setting to false will suppress the label. The label can also be directly set inside the template:
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{{ form_label(form.name, 'Your name') }}
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echo $view['form']->label(
$form['name'],
'Your name'
);
label_attr
type: array
default: array()
Sets the HTML attributes for the <label>
element, which will be used when
rendering the label for the field. It's an associative array with HTML attribute
as a key. This attributes can also be directly set inside the template:
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{{ form_label(form.name, 'Your name', {'label_attr': {'class': 'CUSTOM_LABEL_CLASS'}}) }}
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echo $view['form']->label(
$form['name'],
'Your name',
array('label_attr' => array('class' => 'CUSTOM_LABEL_CLASS'))
);
mapped
type: boolean
default: true
If you wish the field to be ignored when reading or writing to the object, you
can set the mapped
option to false
.
read_only
type: Boolean
default: false
If this option is true, the field will be rendered with the readonly
attribute so that the field is not editable.
required
type: Boolean
default: true
If true, an HTML5 required attribute will be rendered. The corresponding
label
will also render with a required
class.
This is superficial and independent from validation. At best, if you let Symfony guess your field type, then the value of this option will be guessed from your validation information.
Note
The required option also affects how empty data for each field is handled. For more details, see the empty_data option.