I am using sessions to store data from my multi step form so that when the user completes all three sections of the form then the information is inserted in to the database. I have built the form so that the user can go back to any stage and modify the information they have submitted, the thing is though, the values that repopulate the form are stored in sessions so if the user leaves the form page and goes elsewhere in the website and then returns to the form the information is still in the form…is there a better way to do this? I want the data destroyed if they leave the form…
Thanks
Assuming your form exists only in one controller and isn't spread across multiple ones, you could simply unset all session values in the __construct of every other controller. (You could extend the base controller if you have lots to save the hassle of adding this functionality to many.
That way if the user visits another section, the values will be lost, but providing they remain within the "form" they can remain intact.
You could with JavaScript and the unload event, but it'll prove tricky since unload may fire with each "section" of the form.
Related
How would I go about creating a multipage registration process in Laravel 5? I know I need to use Middleware, but I don't know how to use it for multiple views.
Add an extra column to your user's table, name it step to keep track of their registration process. Then after every successful form submit increment the step value.
You'd want to signup/register the user in the first step just so if they decide to come back you can redirect them to the correct step/view. This is also useful to remind the users by email to complete their registration.
If you don't use Ajax or any javascript related stuffs to go to the next page without reloading, store the inputs to the session and just get all the data from there.
Else if you're using Ajax/javscript/jquery, just make one big form and send all the data from the inputs.
I face a problem with a Form in several step.
I would like create a register form in many steps (3-4), and then save my FOSUser at the last step.
The principle would be to create an empty User in step 1, and fill it part by part until the last step.
My problem is that it's not recommended to store object in session.
So, I wanted to know if Symfony2 proposed an alternative.
You could put the data of the previous steps in hidden fields and submit it with every step again.
Why do you thing saving objects in the sessions is not good? If you write proper serialization handlers this should not be a big problem.
Entites are indeed a bit problematic to store in the session (i had problems with that as well) but you could create a delegate object containing only the user inputs and store that in the session and then after the last step build a symfony user object out of it. Just be sure not to leave masses of unused objects in the session.
I have a series of pages that an end user must fill out (check boxes) and when they are finished with each page I attempt to create a List of the check boxes they selected. At the end of the series of pages, I would like to show them everything that they have selected in a confirmation page. I have noticed that between requests the information in the List<> I create on each page is not available to the final confirmation page. I've tried a few different solutions (private globals) to no avail. How would I pass data across ActionResults to accomplish displaying all the selected data on the confirmation page? Thanks.
One potential solution. Others?
The web is stateless, meaning you have to store things if you want to keep them around for later use. That's true for any web framework. You'll need to store each page's results somewhere.
Options for building a wizard:
Store all of the selected answers in session and keep building it up from page to page. The final confirmation would get the results from session.
Store them in a database.
Store results in in a cookie.
Store them in HTML5 local storage
Carry them through on each page with hidden fields. Page 2 would have Page 1's answers in hidden fields, etc.
You need to save a state between the requests. You can do this with:
Query string parameters
Session state
Hidden fields
Db (if you wanna persist the intermediate choices after each request)
Local storage
Cookies
Anything else?
I'd guess, as RyanW points out, that storing them in session state is the usual way to do it. You could however fetch all steps in one request, do some fancy JS / store the intermediary results locally and make a final post when the questionnaire is complete.
Is it possible to have one model that you break up into several views so that the user is not overwhelmed by the amount of data they will need to input? I'm trying to build a turbo tax like interface where a question or two are asked, then the user clicks next to answer the next set of questions and so on.
The Model doesn't seem make sense to break up into more models. Since it is a single distinct entity, like a questionnare.
See similar question for a nice example:
multi-step registration process issues in asp.net mvc (splitted viewmodels, single model)
It is possible to use the same model for multiple views, but you should decide how you want to preserve the state as you go though this "wizard". One approach can be to cross-post between the views and keep the state in post data, but in that case you have to add a lot of hidden fields for all model properties that are otherwise not displayed in an input on the current view. Another approach can be to persist the partially filled model, with the additional benefit, that the user might be able to continue after a session timeout or another problem, but then you might need to clean up stale data and be flexible in the validation on the database level. You can also preserve the state in the session if you want. Finally, you can also keep the state in the browser independent from the post data and do only AJAX calls with the server until you reach the point when you want to save everything.
Throughout the application I need to access User object (Doctrine) several times per execution (I mean each time page is displayed) so on some, and instead of retrieving it from database every time, I thought it would be better to store it once and then reuse it.
Can I store it in sfContext?
Symfony discourages saving objects into the session, see here for example: http://www.symfony-project.org/gentle-introduction/1_4/en/06-Inside-the-Controller-Layer#chapter_06_sub_accessing_the_user_session
... But you can save user_ids and other bits that save on queries. It really depends on whether the things you need to do on all those pages require the entire user object. If yes, $this->getUser()->getGuardUser() is what you'll end up using everywhere.
If you're referring to the currently logged in user object, it should already automatically be loaded for you. At the point of authentication, the system loads the user record and it will remain there in the session.
In actions, you can retrieve the user object with:
$this->getUser()
In a view, it's already loaded into the variable:
$sf_user