readme.md
> **Important: This package is not actively maintained.** For bug fixes and new features, please fork.
BootForms
===============
[](http://www.repostatus.org/#abandoned)
[](https://codeclimate.com/github/adamwathan/bootforms)
[](https://coveralls.io/r/adamwathan/bootforms?branch=master)
BootForms builds on top of my more general [Form](https://github.com/adamwathan/form) package by adding another layer of abstraction to rapidly generate markup for standard Bootstrap 3 forms. Probably not perfect for your super custom branded ready-for-release apps, but a *huge* time saver when you are still in the prototyping stage!
- [Installation](#installing-with-composer)
- [Using BootForms](#using-bootforms)
- [Basic Usage](#basic-usage)
- [Customizing Elements](#customizing-elements)
- [Reduced Boilerplate](#reduced-boilerplate)
- [Automatic Validation State](#automatic-validation-state)
- [Horizontal Forms](#horizontal-forms)
- [Additional Tips](#additional-tips)
- [Related Resources](#related-resources)
## Installing with Composer
You can install this package via Composer by running this command in your terminal in the root of your project:
```bash
composer require adamwathan/bootforms
```
### Laravel
If you are using Laravel 4 or 5, you can get started very quickly by registering the included service provider.
Modify the `providers` array in `config/app.php` to include the `BootFormsServiceProvider`:
```php
'providers' => [
//...
'AdamWathan\BootForms\BootFormsServiceProvider'
],
```
Add the `BootForm` facade to the `aliases` array in `config/app.php`:
```php
'aliases' => [
//...
'BootForm' => 'AdamWathan\BootForms\Facades\BootForm'
],
```
You can now start using BootForms by calling methods directly on the `BootForm` facade:
```php
BootForm::text('Email', 'email');
```
### Outside of Laravel
Usage outside of Laravel is a little trickier since there's a bit of a dependency stack you need to build up, but it's not too tricky.
```php
$formBuilder = new AdamWathan\Form\FormBuilder;
$formBuilder->setOldInputProvider($myOldInputProvider);
$formBuilder->setErrorStore($myErrorStore);
$formBuilder->setToken($myCsrfToken);
$basicBootFormsBuilder = new AdamWathan\BootForms\BasicFormBuilder($formBuilder);
$horizontalBootFormsBuilder = new AdamWathan\BootForms\HorizontalFormBuilder($formBuilder);
$bootForm = new AdamWathan\BootForms\BootForm($basicBootFormsBuilder, $horizontalBootFormsBuilder);
```
> Note: You must provide your own implementations of `AdamWathan\Form\OldInputInterface` and `AdamWathan\Form\ErrorStoreInterface` when not using the implementations meant for Laravel.
## Using BootForms
### Basic Usage
BootForms lets you create a label and form control and wrap it all in a form group in one call.
```php
// <form method="POST">
// <div class="form-group">
// <label for="field_name">Field Label</label>
// <input type="text" class="form-control" id="field_name" name="field_name">
// </div>
// </form>
{!! BootForm::open() !!}
{!! BootForm::text('Field Label', 'field_name') !!}
{!! BootForm::close() !!}
```
> Note: Don't forget to `open()` forms before trying to create fields! BootForms needs to know if you opened a vertical or horizontal form before it can render a field, so you'll get an error if you forget.
### Customizing Elements
If you need to customize your form elements in any way (such as adding a default value or placeholder to a text element), simply chain the calls you need to make and they will fall through to the underlying form element.
Attributes can be added either via the `attribute` method, or by simply using the attribute name as the method name.
```php
// <div class="form-group">
// <label for="first_name">First Name</label>
// <input type="text" class="form-control" id="first_name" name="first_name" placeholder="John Doe">
// </div>
BootForm::text('First Name', 'first_name')->placeholder('John Doe');
// <div class="form-group">
// <label for="color">Color</label>
// <select class="form-control" id="color" name="color">
// <option value="red">Red</option>
// <option value="green" selected>Green</option>
// </select>
// </div>
BootForm::select('Color', 'color')->options(['red' => 'Red', 'green' => 'Green'])->select('green');
// <form method="GET" action="/users">
BootForm::open()->get()->action('/users');
// <div class="form-group">
// <label for="first_name">First Name</label>
// <input type="text" class="form-control" id="first_name" name="first_name" value="John Doe">
// </div>
BootForm::text('First Name', 'first_name')->defaultValue('John Doe');
```
For more information about what's possible, check out the documentation for [my basic Form package.](https://github.com/adamwathan/form)
### Reduced Boilerplate
Typical Bootstrap form boilerplate might look something like this:
```html
<form>
<div class="form-group">
<label for="first_name">First Name</label>
<input type="text" class="form-control" name="first_name" id="first_name">
</div>
<div class="form-group">
<label for="last_name">Last Name</label>
<input type="text" class="form-control" name="last_name" id="last_name">
</div>
<div class="form-group">
<label for="date_of_birth">Date of Birth</label>
<input type="date" class="form-control" name="date_of_birth" id="date_of_birth">
</div>
<div class="form-group">
<label for="email">Email address</label>
<input type="email" class="form-control" name="email" id="email">
</div>
<div class="form-group">
<label for="password">Password</label>
<input type="password" class="form-control" name="password" id="password">
</div>
<button type="submit" class="btn btn-default">Submit</button>
</form>
```
BootForms makes a few decisions for you and allows you to pare it down a bit more:
```php
{!! BootForm::open() !!}
{!! BootForm::text('First Name', 'first_name') !!}
{!! BootForm::text('Last Name', 'last_name') !!}
{!! BootForm::date('Date of Birth', 'date_of_birth') !!}
{!! BootForm::email('Email', 'email') !!}
{!! BootForm::password('Password', 'password') !!}
{!! BootForm::submit('Submit') !!}
{!! BootForm::close() !!}
```
### Automatic Validation State
Another nice thing about BootForms is that it will automatically add error states and error messages to your controls if it sees an error for that control in the error store.
Essentially, this takes code that would normally look like this:
```php
<div class="form-group {!! $errors->has('first_name') ? 'has-error' : '' !!}">
<label for="first_name">First Name</label>
<input type="text" class="form-control" id="first_name">
{!! $errors->first('first_name', '<p class="help-block">:message</p>') !!}
</div>
```
And reduces it to this:
```php
{!! BootForm::text('First Name', 'first_name') !!}
```
...with the `has-error` class being added automatically if there is an error in the session.
### Horizontal Forms
To use a horizontal form instead of the standard basic form, simply swap the `BootForm::open()` call with a call to `openHorizontal($columnSizes)` instead:
```php
// Width in columns of the left and right side
// for each breakpoint you'd like to specify.
$columnSizes = [
'sm' => [4, 8],
'lg' => [2, 10]
];
{!! BootForm::openHorizontal($columnSizes) !!}
{!! BootForm::text('First Name', 'first_name') !!}
{!! BootForm::text('Last Name', 'last_name') !!}
{!! BootForm::text('Date of Birth', 'date_of_birth') !!}
{!! BootForm::email('Email', 'email') !!}
{!! BootForm::password('Password', 'password') !!}
{!! BootForm::submit('Submit') !!}
{!! BootForm::close() !!}
```
### Additional Tips
#### Hiding Labels
You can hide labels by chaining the `hideLabel()` helper off of any element definition.
`BootForm::text('First Name', 'first_name')->hideLabel()`
The label will still be generated in the markup, but hidden using Bootstrap's `.sr-only` class, so you don't reduce the accessibility of your form.
#### Help Blocks
You can add a help block underneath a form element using the `helpBlock()` helper.
`BootForm::text('Password', 'password')->helpBlock('A strong password should be long and hard to guess.')`
> Note: This help block will automatically be overridden by errors if there are validation errors.
#### Model Binding
BootForms makes it easy to bind an object to a form to provide default values. Read more about it [here](https://github.com/adamwathan/form#model-binding).
```php
BootForm::open()->action( route('users.update', $user) )->put()
BootForm::bind($user)
BootForm::close()
```
## Related Resources
- [Laravel Translatable BootForms](https://github.com/Propaganistas/Laravel-Translatable-Bootforms), integrates BootForms with Dimsav's [Laravel Translatable](https://github.com/dimsav/laravel-translatable) package