After looking for examples of how set focus elements with angular, I saw that most of them use some variable to watch for then set focus, and most of them use one different variable for each field they want to set focus. In a form, with a lot of fields, that implies in a lot of different variables.
With jquery way in mind, but wanting to do that in angular way, I made a solution that we set focus in any function using the element's id, so, as I am very new in angular, I'd like to get some opinions if that way is right, have problems, whatever, anything that could help me do this the better way in angular.
Basically, I create a directive that watch a scope value defined by the user with directive, or the default's focusElement, and when that value is the same as the element's id, that element set focus itself.
angular.module('appnamehere')
.directive('myFocus', function () {
return {
restrict: 'A',
link: function postLink(scope, element, attrs) {
if (attrs.myFocus == "") {
attrs.myFocus = "focusElement";
}
scope.$watch(attrs.myFocus, function(value) {
if(value == attrs.id) {
element[0].focus();
}
});
element.on("blur", function() {
scope[attrs.myFocus] = "";
scope.$apply();
})
}
};
});
An input that needs to get focus by some reason, will do this way
<input my-focus id="input1" type="text" />
Here any element to set focus:
<a href="" ng-click="clickButton()" >Set focus</a>
And the example function that set focus:
$scope.clickButton = function() {
$scope.focusElement = "input1";
}
Is that a good solution in angular? Does it have problems that with my poor experience I don't see yet?
The problem with your solution is that it does not work well when tied down to other directives that creates a new scope, e.g. ng-repeat. A better solution would be to simply create a service function that enables you to focus elements imperatively within your controllers or to focus elements declaratively in the html.
DEMO
JAVASCRIPT
Service
.factory('focus', function($timeout, $window) {
return function(id) {
// timeout makes sure that it is invoked after any other event has been triggered.
// e.g. click events that need to run before the focus or
// inputs elements that are in a disabled state but are enabled when those events
// are triggered.
$timeout(function() {
var element = $window.document.getElementById(id);
if(element)
element.focus();
});
};
});
Directive
.directive('eventFocus', function(focus) {
return function(scope, elem, attr) {
elem.on(attr.eventFocus, function() {
focus(attr.eventFocusId);
});
// Removes bound events in the element itself
// when the scope is destroyed
scope.$on('$destroy', function() {
elem.off(attr.eventFocus);
});
};
});
Controller
.controller('Ctrl', function($scope, focus) {
$scope.doSomething = function() {
// do something awesome
focus('email');
};
});
HTML
<input type="email" id="email" class="form-control">
<button event-focus="click" event-focus-id="email">Declarative Focus</button>
<button ng-click="doSomething()">Imperative Focus</button>
About this solution, we could just create a directive and attach it to the DOM element that has to get the focus when a given condition is satisfied. By following this approach we avoid coupling controller to DOM element ID's.
Sample code directive:
gbndirectives.directive('focusOnCondition', ['$timeout',
function ($timeout) {
var checkDirectivePrerequisites = function (attrs) {
if (!attrs.focusOnCondition && attrs.focusOnCondition != "") {
throw "FocusOnCondition missing attribute to evaluate";
}
}
return {
restrict: "A",
link: function (scope, element, attrs, ctrls) {
checkDirectivePrerequisites(attrs);
scope.$watch(attrs.focusOnCondition, function (currentValue, lastValue) {
if(currentValue == true) {
$timeout(function () {
element.focus();
});
}
});
}
};
}
]);
A possible usage
.controller('Ctrl', function($scope) {
$scope.myCondition = false;
// you can just add this to a radiobutton click value
// or just watch for a value to change...
$scope.doSomething = function(newMyConditionValue) {
// do something awesome
$scope.myCondition = newMyConditionValue;
};
});
HTML
<input focus-on-condition="myCondition">
I like to avoid DOM lookups, watches, and global emitters whenever possible, so I use a more direct approach. Use a directive to assign a simple function that focuses on the directive element. Then call that function wherever needed within the scope of the controller.
Here's a simplified approach for attaching it to scope. See the full snippet for handling controller-as syntax.
Directive:
app.directive('inputFocusFunction', function () {
'use strict';
return {
restrict: 'A',
link: function (scope, element, attr) {
scope[attr.inputFocusFunction] = function () {
element[0].focus();
};
}
};
});
and in html:
<input input-focus-function="focusOnSaveInput" ng-model="saveName">
<button ng-click="focusOnSaveInput()">Focus</button>
or in the controller:
$scope.focusOnSaveInput();
angular.module('app', [])
.directive('inputFocusFunction', function() {
'use strict';
return {
restrict: 'A',
link: function(scope, element, attr) {
// Parse the attribute to accomodate assignment to an object
var parseObj = attr.inputFocusFunction.split('.');
var attachTo = scope;
for (var i = 0; i < parseObj.length - 1; i++) {
attachTo = attachTo[parseObj[i]];
}
// assign it to a function that focuses on the decorated element
attachTo[parseObj[parseObj.length - 1]] = function() {
element[0].focus();
};
}
};
})
.controller('main', function() {});
<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/angularjs/1.4.3/angular.min.js"></script>
<body ng-app="app" ng-controller="main as vm">
<input input-focus-function="vm.focusOnSaveInput" ng-model="saveName">
<button ng-click="vm.focusOnSaveInput()">Focus</button>
</body>
Edited to provide more explanation about the reason for this approach and to extend the code snippet for controller-as use.
You can try
angular.element('#<elementId>').focus();
for eg.
angular.element('#txtUserId').focus();
its working for me.
Another option would be to use Angular's built-in pub-sub architecture in order to notify your directive to focus. Similar to the other approaches, but it's then not directly tied to a property, and is instead listening in on it's scope for a particular key.
Directive:
angular.module("app").directive("focusOn", function($timeout) {
return {
restrict: "A",
link: function(scope, element, attrs) {
scope.$on(attrs.focusOn, function(e) {
$timeout((function() {
element[0].focus();
}), 10);
});
}
};
});
HTML:
<input type="text" name="text_input" ng-model="ctrl.model" focus-on="focusTextInput" />
Controller:
//Assume this is within your controller
//And you've hit the point where you want to focus the input:
$scope.$broadcast("focusTextInput");
I prefered to use an expression. This lets me do stuff like focus on a button when a field is valid, reaches a certain length, and of course after load.
<button type="button" moo-focus-expression="form.phone.$valid">
<button type="submit" moo-focus-expression="smsconfirm.length == 6">
<input type="text" moo-focus-expression="true">
On a complex form this also reduces need to create additional scope variables for the purposes of focusing.
See https://stackoverflow.com/a/29963695/937997
I have a directive disable-ng-clicks and under certain conditions, I want to prevent all ng-clicks that are children of the directive. Here is some example markup:
<div disable-ng-clicks> <!-- directive -->
<a ng-click="someAction()"></a>
<div ng-controller="myController">
<a ng-click="anotherAction()"></a>
<a ng-click="moreActions()"></a>
</div>
</div>
If these were normal hyperlinks, I could do something like this in the link function:
function(scope, iElement, iAttrs) {
var ngClicks = angular.element(iElement[0].querySelectorAll('[ng-click]'));
ngClicks.on('click', function(event) {
if(trigger) { // a dynamic variable that triggers disabling the clicks
event.preventDefault();
}
});
}
But this does not work for ng-click directives. Is there another way to accomplish this?
Here is the best I could come up with. I created a new directive to replace ng-click:
directive('myClick', ['$parse', function($parse) {
return {
restrict: 'A',
compile: function($element, attrs) {
var fn = $parse(attrs.myClick);
return function (scope, element, attrs) {
var disabled = false;
scope.$on('disableClickEvents', function () {
disabled = true;
});
scope.$on('enableClickEvents', function () {
disabled = false;
});
element.on('click', function (event) {
if (!disabled) {
scope.$apply(function () {
fn(scope, { $event: event });
});
}
});
};
}
}
}]);
So in a different directive, I can have:
if (condition) {
scope.$broadcast('disableClickEvents');
}
and when I want to re-enable:
if (otherCondition) {
scope.$broadcast('enableClickEvents');
}
I don't like having to use a different directive for ng-click, but this is the best plan I could think of.
You are catching 'click' event on parent only because of JS events bubbling, so if you want to intercept it on all descendants, so your directive should get all descendants of current element, listen their 'click' event and prevent it if necessary.
This directive will iterate over all child elements, check to see if they have an ng-click attribute, and if they do, it will disable any registered click event handlers:
directive('disableNgClicks', function(){
return {
restrict: 'E',
link: function(scope, elem, attrs){
angular.forEach(elem.children(), function(childElem) {
if (childElem.outerHTML.indexOf("ng-click") > -1) {
angular.element(childElem).off('click');
}
});
}
}
})
Plunker demo
I know this is 2 years ago but I needed to do something similar and came up with a rather simple solution.
The object:
items: {
item1 : {
selected: 0,
other: 'stuff'
},
item2 : {
selected : 1,
other: 'stuff'
}
}
The HTML:
<div ng-repeat="item in items" ng-model="item.selected" ng-click="selectParent($event)">
<div ng-click="item.selected ? selectChild($event) : null">Child</div>
</div>
The functions:
$scope.selectParent = function($event) {
var itemScope = angular.element($event.currentTarget)scope().item;
itemScope.selected = !itemScope.selected;
}
$scope.selectChild = function($event) {
$event.stopPropagation;
console.log('I only get triggered if parent item is selected');
}
This is a pretty raw example of what I did. You should probably be using a directive that gives you $scope rather than angular.element($event.currentTarget).scope... either way the simplistic inline if logic is what I was really getting at. You can call a function or not based on some value.
I have places in my code where I have this:
<input data-ng-disabled="SOME_SCOPE_VARIABLE" />
I would like to be able to use it like this too:
<input data-ng-autofocus="SOME_SCOPE_VARIABLE" />
Or even better, mimicking how ng-style is done:
<input data-ng-attribute="{autofocus: SOME_SCOPE_VARIABLE}" />
Does this exist in the current version of AngularJS? I noticed in the code there's a BOOLEAN_ATTR which gets all the attr's that AngularJS supports. I don't want to modify that in fear of changing versions and forgetting to update.
Update: AngularJS now has an ngFocus directive that evaluates an expression on focus, but I mention it here for the sake of completeness.
The current version of AngularJS doesn't have a focus directive, but it's in the roadmap. Coincidentally, we were talking about this on the mailing list yesterday, and I came up with this:
angular.module('ng').directive('ngFocus', function($timeout) {
return {
link: function ( scope, element, attrs ) {
scope.$watch( attrs.ngFocus, function ( val ) {
if ( angular.isDefined( val ) && val ) {
$timeout( function () { element[0].focus(); } );
}
}, true);
element.bind('blur', function () {
if ( angular.isDefined( attrs.ngFocusLost ) ) {
scope.$apply( attrs.ngFocusLost );
}
});
}
};
});
Which works off a scope variable as you requested:
<input type="text" ng-focus="isFocused" ng-focus-lost="loseFocus()">
Here's a fiddle: http://jsfiddle.net/ANfJZ/39/
You can do this with the built-in ngAttr attribute bindings.
<input ng-attr-autofocus="{{SOME_SCOPE_VARIABLE}}">
The autofocus attribute will be added if SOME_SCOPE_VARIABLE is defined (even if it's false), and will be removed if it's undefined. So I force falsy values to be undefined.
$scope.SOME_SCOPE_VARIABLE = someVar || undefined;
This directive should do the trick:
angular.module('utils.autofocus', [])
.directive('autofocus', ['$timeout', function($timeout) {
return {
restrict: 'A',
scope: {'autofocus':'='}
link : function($scope, $element) {
$scope.$watch 'autofocus', function(focus){
if(focus){
$timeout(function() {
$element[0].focus();
});
}
}
}
}
}]);
Taken from here: https://gist.github.com/mlynch/dd407b93ed288d499778
scope.doFocus = function () {
$timeout(function () {
document.getElementById('you_input_id').focus();
});
};
Create a directive like this
.directive('autoFocus', ['$timeout', function ($timeout) {
return {
restrict: 'A',
link: function ($scope, $element) {
$timeout(function () {
$element[0].focus();
});
}
}
<input type="text" auto-focus class="form-control msd-elastic" placeholder="">
What I did is using regular autofocus on my inputs: <input autofocus>
And then I set the focus on the first visible input with autofocus when angular is ready:
angular.element(document).ready(function() {
$('input[autofocus]:visible:first').focus();
});
Hope this helps.
I did it with two custom directives, something like this:
(function(angular) {
'use strict';
/* #ngInject */
function myAutoFocus($timeout) {
return {
restrict: 'A',
link: function(scope, element) {
$timeout(function() {
element[0].focus();
}, 300);
}
};
}
function myFocusable() {
return {
restrict: 'A',
link: function(scope, element, attrs) {
var focusMethodName = attrs.myFocusable;
scope[focusMethodName] = function() {
element[0].focus();
};
}
};
}
angular
.module('myFocusUtils', [])
.directive('myAutoFocus', myAutoFocus)
.directive('myFocusable', myFocusable);
}(angular));
If you add attribute my-auto-focus to an element, it will receive focus after 300ms. I set the value to 300 instead of 0 to let other async components to load before setting the focus.
The attribute my-focusable will create a function in the current scope. This function will set focus to the element when called. As it creates something in the scope, be cautious to avoid overriding something.
This way you don't need to add something to Angular's digest cycle (watch) and can do it entirely in the view:
<input my-focusable="focusOnInput"></input>
<button ng-click="focusOnInput()">Click to focus</button>
I created a JSFiddle to show the myFocusable directive: http://jsfiddle.net/8shLj3jc/
For some reason I don't know, the myAutoFocus directive does not work in JSFiddle, but it works in my page.
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/angularjs/1.6.4/angular.min.js"></script>
<body>
<div ng-app="myApp" ng-controller="namesCtrl">
<div ng-repeat="x in names">
<input ng-attr-focus={{$first}} value="{{x.name + ', ' + x.country }}" />
</div>
</div>
<script>
var myApp = angular.module('myApp', []);
myApp.controller('namesCtrl', function($scope) {
$scope.names = [
{name:'x1',country:'y1'},
{name:'x2',country:'y2'},
{name:'x3',country:'y3'}
];
});
myApp.directive("focus", function(){
return {
restrict: "A",
link: function link(scope, element, attrs) {
if(JSON.parse(attrs.focus)){
element[0].focus();
}
}
};
});
</script>
</body>
</html>
had created above custom directive for one of my use case.
always focusses on first input element.
works for ajax data, browser back/forward buttons.
Tested on chrome and firefox(default autofocus is not supported here)
JSON.parse is used to parse string "true" returned from html to boolean true in JS.
another way to use attrs.focus === "true" for if condition.
so without $timeout you can also use auto focus like this -
<input type="text" ng-show="{{condition}}" class='input-class'></input>
angular.element(document).ready(function(){
angular.element('.input-class')[0].focus();
});
Combining whar others mentioned above:
JS Code:
myApp.directive('ngAutofocus', ['$timeout', function ($timeout) {
var linker = function ($scope, element, attrs) {
$scope.$watch('pageLoaded', function (pageLoaded) {
if (pageLoaded) {
$timeout(function () {
element[0].focus();
});
}
});
};
return {
restrict: 'A',
link: linker
};
}]);
HTML:
<input type="text" ng-model="myField" class="input-block-level edit-item" ng-autofocus>
Set pageLoaded to true from your initial load method of the page get:
var loadData = function () {
..
return $http.get(url).then(function (requestResponse) {
$scope.pageLoaded = true;
......
}
What is the 'Angular way' to set focus on input field in AngularJS?
More specific requirements:
When a Modal is opened, set focus on a predefined <input> inside this Modal.
Every time <input> becomes visible (e.g. by clicking some button), set focus on it.
I tried to achieve the first requirement with autofocus, but this works only when the Modal is opened for the first time, and only in certain browsers (e.g. in Firefox it doesn't work).
When a Modal is opened, set focus on a predefined <input> inside this Modal.
Define a directive and have it $watch a property/trigger so it knows when to focus the element:
Name: <input type="text" focus-me="shouldBeOpen">
app.directive('focusMe', ['$timeout', '$parse', function ($timeout, $parse) {
return {
//scope: true, // optionally create a child scope
link: function (scope, element, attrs) {
var model = $parse(attrs.focusMe);
scope.$watch(model, function (value) {
console.log('value=', value);
if (value === true) {
$timeout(function () {
element[0].focus();
});
}
});
// to address #blesh's comment, set attribute value to 'false'
// on blur event:
element.bind('blur', function () {
console.log('blur');
scope.$apply(model.assign(scope, false));
});
}
};
}]);
Plunker
The $timeout seems to be needed to give the modal time to render.
'2.' Everytime <input> becomes visible (e.g. by clicking some button), set focus on it.
Create a directive essentially like the one above. Watch some scope property, and when it becomes true (set it in your ng-click handler), execute element[0].focus(). Depending on your use case, you may or may not need a $timeout for this one:
<button class="btn" ng-click="showForm=true; focusInput=true">show form and
focus input</button>
<div ng-show="showForm">
<input type="text" ng-model="myInput" focus-me="focusInput"> {{ myInput }}
<button class="btn" ng-click="showForm=false">hide form</button>
</div>
app.directive('focusMe', function($timeout) {
return {
link: function(scope, element, attrs) {
scope.$watch(attrs.focusMe, function(value) {
if(value === true) {
console.log('value=',value);
//$timeout(function() {
element[0].focus();
scope[attrs.focusMe] = false;
//});
}
});
}
};
});
Plunker
Update 7/2013: I've seen a few people use my original isolate scope directives and then have problems with embedded input fields (i.e., an input field in the modal). A directive with no new scope (or possibly a new child scope) should alleviate some of the pain. So above I updated the answer to not use isolate scopes. Below is the original answer:
Original answer for 1., using an isolate scope:
Name: <input type="text" focus-me="{{shouldBeOpen}}">
app.directive('focusMe', function($timeout) {
return {
scope: { trigger: '#focusMe' },
link: function(scope, element) {
scope.$watch('trigger', function(value) {
if(value === "true") {
$timeout(function() {
element[0].focus();
});
}
});
}
};
});
Plunker.
Original answer for 2., using an isolate scope:
<button class="btn" ng-click="showForm=true; focusInput=true">show form and
focus input</button>
<div ng-show="showForm">
<input type="text" focus-me="focusInput">
<button class="btn" ng-click="showForm=false">hide form</button>
</div>
app.directive('focusMe', function($timeout) {
return {
scope: { trigger: '=focusMe' },
link: function(scope, element) {
scope.$watch('trigger', function(value) {
if(value === true) {
//console.log('trigger',value);
//$timeout(function() {
element[0].focus();
scope.trigger = false;
//});
}
});
}
};
});
Plunker.
Since we need to reset the trigger/focusInput property in the directive, '=' is used for two-way databinding. In the first directive, '#' was sufficient. Also note that when using '#' we compare the trigger value to "true" since # always results in a string.
##(EDIT: I've added an updated solution below this explanation)
Mark Rajcok is the man... and his answer is a valid answer, but it has had a defect (sorry Mark)...
...Try using the boolean to focus on the input, then blur the input, then try using it to focus the input again. It won't work unless you reset the boolean to false, then $digest, then reset it back to true. Even if you use a string comparison in your expression, you'll be forced to change the string to something else, $digest, then change it back. (This has been addressed with the blur event handler.)
So I propose this alternate solution:
Use an event, the forgotten feature of Angular.
JavaScript loves events after all. Events are inherently loosely coupled, and even better, you avoid adding another $watch to your $digest.
app.directive('focusOn', function() {
return function(scope, elem, attr) {
scope.$on(attr.focusOn, function(e) {
elem[0].focus();
});
};
});
So now you could use it like this:
<input type="text" focus-on="newItemAdded" />
and then anywhere in your app...
$scope.addNewItem = function () {
/* stuff here to add a new item... */
$scope.$broadcast('newItemAdded');
};
This is awesome because you can do all sorts of things with something like this. For one, you could tie into events that already exist. For another thing you start doing something smart by having different parts of your app publish events that other parts of your app can subscribe to.
Anyhow, this type of thing screams "event driven" to me. I think as Angular developers we try really hard to hammer $scope shaped pegs into event shape holes.
Is it the best solution? I don't know. It is a solution.
Updated Solution
After #ShimonRachlenko's comment below, I've changed my method of doing this slightly. Now I use a combination of a service and a directive that handles an event "behind the scenes":
Other than that, it's the same principal outlined above.
Here is a quick demo Plunk
###Usage
<input type="text" focus-on="focusMe"/>
app.controller('MyCtrl', function($scope, focus) {
focus('focusMe');
});
###Source
app.directive('focusOn', function() {
return function(scope, elem, attr) {
scope.$on('focusOn', function(e, name) {
if(name === attr.focusOn) {
elem[0].focus();
}
});
};
});
app.factory('focus', function ($rootScope, $timeout) {
return function(name) {
$timeout(function (){
$rootScope.$broadcast('focusOn', name);
});
}
});
I have found some of the other answers to be overly complicated when all you really need is this
app.directive('autoFocus', function($timeout) {
return {
restrict: 'AC',
link: function(_scope, _element) {
$timeout(function(){
_element[0].focus();
}, 0);
}
};
});
usage is
<input name="theInput" auto-focus>
We use the timeout to let things in the dom render, even though it is zero, it at least waits for that - that way this works in modals and whatnot too
HTML has an attribute autofocus.
<input type="text" name="fname" autofocus>
http://www.w3schools.com/tags/att_input_autofocus.asp
You can also use the jqlite functionality built into angular.
angular.element('.selector').trigger('focus');
This works well and an angular way to focus input control
angular.element('#elementId').focus()
This is although not a pure angular way of doing the task yet the syntax follows angular style. Jquery plays role indirectly and directly access DOM using Angular (jQLite => JQuery Light).
If required, this code can easily be put inside a simple angular directive where element is directly accessible.
I don't think $timeout is a good way to focus the element on creation. Here is a method using built-in angular functionality, dug out from the murky depths of the angular docs. Notice how the "link" attribute can be split into "pre" and "post", for pre-link and post-link functions.
Working Example: http://plnkr.co/edit/Fj59GB
// this is the directive you add to any element you want to highlight after creation
Guest.directive('autoFocus', function() {
return {
link: {
pre: function preLink(scope, element, attr) {
console.debug('prelink called');
// this fails since the element hasn't rendered
//element[0].focus();
},
post: function postLink(scope, element, attr) {
console.debug('postlink called');
// this succeeds since the element has been rendered
element[0].focus();
}
}
}
});
<input value="hello" />
<!-- this input automatically gets focus on creation -->
<input value="world" auto-focus />
Full AngularJS Directive Docs: https://docs.angularjs.org/api/ng/service/$compile
Here is my original solution:
plunker
var app = angular.module('plunker', []);
app.directive('autoFocus', function($timeout) {
return {
link: function (scope, element, attrs) {
attrs.$observe("autoFocus", function(newValue){
if (newValue === "true")
$timeout(function(){element[0].focus()});
});
}
};
});
And the HTML:
<button ng-click="isVisible = !isVisible">Toggle input</button>
<input ng-show="isVisible" auto-focus="{{ isVisible }}" value="auto-focus on" />
What it does:
It focuses the input as it becomes visible with ng-show. No use of $watch or $on here.
I've written a two-way binding focus directive, just like model recently.
You can use the focus directive like this:
<input focus="someFocusVariable">
If you make someFocusVariable scope variable true in anywhere in your controller, the input get focused. And if you want to "blur" your input then, someFocusVariable can be set to false. It's like Mark Rajcok's first answer but with two-way binding.
Here is the directive:
function Ctrl($scope) {
$scope.model = "ahaha"
$scope.someFocusVariable = true; // If you want to focus initially, set this to true. Else you don't need to define this at all.
}
angular.module('experiement', [])
.directive('focus', function($timeout, $parse) {
return {
restrict: 'A',
link: function(scope, element, attrs) {
scope.$watch(attrs.focus, function(newValue, oldValue) {
if (newValue) { element[0].focus(); }
});
element.bind("blur", function(e) {
$timeout(function() {
scope.$apply(attrs.focus + "=false");
}, 0);
});
element.bind("focus", function(e) {
$timeout(function() {
scope.$apply(attrs.focus + "=true");
}, 0);
})
}
}
});
Usage:
<div ng-app="experiement">
<div ng-controller="Ctrl">
An Input: <input ng-model="model" focus="someFocusVariable">
<hr>
<div ng-click="someFocusVariable=true">Focus!</div>
<pre>someFocusVariable: {{ someFocusVariable }}</pre>
<pre>content: {{ model }}</pre>
</div>
</div>
Here is the fiddle:
http://fiddle.jshell.net/ubenzer/9FSL4/8/
For those who use Angular with the Bootstrap plugin:
http://angular-ui.github.io/bootstrap/#/modal
You can hook into the opened promise of the modal instance:
modalInstance.opened.then(function() {
$timeout(function() {
angular.element('#title_input').trigger('focus');
});
});
modalInstance.result.then(function ( etc...
I found it useful to use a general expression. This way you can do stuff like automatically move focus when input text is valid
<button type="button" moo-focus-expression="form.phone.$valid">
Or automatically focus when the user completes a fixed length field
<button type="submit" moo-focus-expression="smsconfirm.length == 6">
And of course focus after load
<input type="text" moo-focus-expression="true">
The code for the directive:
.directive('mooFocusExpression', function ($timeout) {
return {
restrict: 'A',
link: {
post: function postLink(scope, element, attrs) {
scope.$watch(attrs.mooFocusExpression, function (value) {
if (attrs.mooFocusExpression) {
if (scope.$eval(attrs.mooFocusExpression)) {
$timeout(function () {
element[0].focus();
}, 100); //need some delay to work with ng-disabled
}
}
});
}
}
};
});
Not to resurrect a zombie or plug my own directive (ok that's exactly what I'm doing):
https://github.com/hiebj/ng-focus-if
http://plnkr.co/edit/MJS3zRk079Mu72o5A9l6?p=preview
<input focus-if />
(function() {
'use strict';
angular
.module('focus-if', [])
.directive('focusIf', focusIf);
function focusIf($timeout) {
function link($scope, $element, $attrs) {
var dom = $element[0];
if ($attrs.focusIf) {
$scope.$watch($attrs.focusIf, focus);
} else {
focus(true);
}
function focus(condition) {
if (condition) {
$timeout(function() {
dom.focus();
}, $scope.$eval($attrs.focusDelay) || 0);
}
}
}
return {
restrict: 'A',
link: link
};
}
})();
First, an official way to do focus is on the roadmap for 1.1. Meanwhile, you can write a directive to implement setting focus.
Second, to set focus on an item after it has become visible currently requires a workaround. Just delay your call to element focus() with a $timeout.
Because the same controller-modifies-DOM problem exists for focus, blur and select, I propose having an ng-target directive:
<input type="text" x-ng-model="form.color" x-ng-target="form.colorTarget">
<button class="btn" x-ng-click="form.colorTarget.focus()">do focus</button>
Angular thread here: http://goo.gl/ipsx4 , and more details blogged here: http://goo.gl/4rdZa
The following directive will create a .focus() function inside your controller as specified by your ng-target attribute. (It creates a .blur() and a .select() too.) Demo: http://jsfiddle.net/bseib/WUcQX/
Instead of creating your own directive, it's possible to simply use javascript functions to accomplish a focus.
Here is an example.
In the html file:
<input type="text" id="myInputId" />
In a file javascript, in a controller for example, where you want to activate the focus:
document.getElementById("myInputId").focus();
If you just wanted a simple focus that was controlled by an ng-click.
Html:
<input ut-focus="focusTigger">
<button ng-click="focusTrigger=!focusTrigger" ng-init="focusTrigger=false"></button>
Directive:
'use strict'
angular.module('focus',['ng'])
.directive('utFocus',function($timeout){
return {
link:function(scope,elem,attr){
var focusTarget = attr['utFocus'];
scope.$watch(focusTarget,function(value){
$timeout(function(){
elem[0].focus();
});
});
}
}
});
A simple one that works well with modals:
.directive('focusMeNow', ['$timeout', function ($timeout)
{
return {
restrict: 'A',
link: function (scope, element, attrs)
{
$timeout(function ()
{
element[0].focus();
});
}
};
}])
Example
<input ng-model="your.value" focus-me-now />
You could just create a directive that forces focus on the decorated element on postLinking:
angular.module('directives')
.directive('autoFocus', function() {
return {
restrict: 'AC',
link: function(_scope, _element) {
_element[0].focus();
}
};
});
Then in your html:
<input type="text" name="first" auto-focus/> <!-- this will get the focus -->
<input type="text" name="second"/>
This would work for modals and ng-if toggled elements, not for ng-show since postLinking happens only on HTML processing.
Mark and Blesh have great answers; however, Mark's has a flaw that Blesh points out (besides being complex to implement), and I feel that Blesh's answer has a semantic error in creating a service that's specifically about sending focus request to the frontend when really all he needed was a way to delay the event until all the directives were listening.
So here is what I ended up doing which steals a lot from Blesh's answer but keeps the semantics of the controller event and the "after load" service separate.
This allows the controller event to easily be hooked for things other than just focusing a specific element and also allows to incur the overhead of the "after load" functionality only if it is needed, which it may not be in many cases.
Usage
<input type="text" focus-on="controllerEvent"/>
app.controller('MyCtrl', function($scope, afterLoad) {
function notifyControllerEvent() {
$scope.$broadcast('controllerEvent');
}
afterLoad(notifyControllerEvent);
});
Source
app.directive('focusOn', function() {
return function(scope, elem, attr) {
scope.$on(attr.focusOn, function(e, name) {
elem[0].focus();
});
};
});
app.factory('afterLoad', function ($rootScope, $timeout) {
return function(func) {
$timeout(func);
}
});
This is also possible to use ngModelController. Working with 1.6+ (don't know with older versions).
HTML
<form name="myForm">
<input type="text" name="myText" ng-model="myText">
</form>
JS
$scope.myForm.myText.$$element.focus();
--
N.B.: Depending of the context, you maybe have to wrap in a timeout function.
N.B.²: When using controllerAs, this is almost the same. Just replace name="myForm" with name="vm.myForm" and in JS, vm.myForm.myText.$$element.focus();.
Probably, the simplest solution on the ES6 age.
Adding following one liner directive makes HTML 'autofocus' attribute effective on Angular.js.
.directive('autofocus', ($timeout) => ({link: (_, e) => $timeout(() => e[0].focus())}))
Now, you can just use HTML5 autofocus syntax like:
<input type="text" autofocus>
Just a newbie here, but I was abble to make it work in a ui.bootstrap.modal with this directive:
directives.directive('focus', function($timeout) {
return {
link : function(scope, element) {
scope.$watch('idToFocus', function(value) {
if (value === element[0].id) {
$timeout(function() {
element[0].focus();
});
}
});
}
};
});
and in the $modal.open method I used the folowing to indicate the element where the focus should be putted:
var d = $modal.open({
controller : function($scope, $modalInstance) {
...
$scope.idToFocus = "cancelaAteste";
}
...
});
on the template I have this:
<input id="myInputId" focus />
The following directive did the trick for me. Use the same autofocus html attribute for input.
.directive('autofocus', [function () {
return {
require : 'ngModel',
restrict: 'A',
link: function (scope, element, attrs) {
element.focus();
}
};
}])
If you are using modalInstance and have the object you can use "then" to do actions after opening the modal. If you are not using the modalInstance, and hard coded to open the modal you can use the event. The $timeout is not a good solution.
You can do (Bootstrap3):
$("#" + modalId).on("shown.bs.modal", function() {
angular.element("[name='name']").focus();
});
At modalInstance you can look at library to how execute the code after open modal.
Don't use $timeout like this, the $timeout can be 0, 1, 10, 30, 50, 200 or more this will depend on client computer, and the process to open modal.
Don't use $timeout let the method tell you when you can focus ;)
I hope that this help! :)
All of the previous answer doesn't work if the desired focus element is injected in a directive template.
The following directive fit to both simple element or directive injected element (I wrote it in typescript). it accept selector for inner focusable element. if you just need to focus the self element - don't send any selector parameter to the directive :
module APP.Directives {
export class FocusOnLoadDirective implements ng.IDirective {
priority = 0;
restrict = 'A';
constructor(private $interval:any, private $timeout:any) {
}
link = (scope:ng.IScope, element:JQuery, attrs:any) => {
var _self = this;
var intervalId:number = 0;
var clearInterval = function () {
if (intervalId != 0) {
_self.$interval.cancel(intervalId);
intervalId = 0;
}
};
_self.$timeout(function(){
intervalId = _self.$interval(function () {
let focusableElement = null;
if (attrs.focusOnLoad != '') {
focusableElement = element.find(attrs.focusOnLoad);
}
else {
focusableElement = element;
}
console.debug('focusOnLoad directive: trying to focus');
focusableElement.focus();
if (document.activeElement === focusableElement[0]) {
clearInterval();
}
}, 100);
scope.$on('$destroy', function () {
// Make sure that the interval is destroyed too
clearInterval();
});
});
};
public static factory = ():ng.IDirectiveFactory => {
let directive = ($interval:any, $timeout:any) => new FocusOnLoadDirective($interval, $timeout);
directive.$inject = ['$interval', '$timeout'];
return directive;
};
}
angular.module('common').directive('focusOnLoad', FocusOnLoadDirective.factory());
}
usage example for simple element:
<button tabindex="0" focus-on-load />
usage example for inner element (usually for dynamic injected element like directive with template):
<my-directive focus-on-load="input" />
you can use any jQuery selector instead of "input"
If you wish to set focus on particular element, you can use below approach.
Create a service called focus.
angular.module('application')
.factory('focus', function ($timeout, $window) {
return function (id) {
$timeout(function () {
var element = $window.document.getElementById(id);
if (element)
element.focus();
});
};
});
Inject it into the controller from where you wish to call.
Call this service.
I edit Mark Rajcok's focusMe directive to work for multiple focus in one element.
HTML:
<input focus-me="myInputFocus" type="text">
in AngularJs Controller:
$scope.myInputFocus= true;
AngulaJS Directive:
app.directive('focusMe', function ($timeout, $parse) {
return {
link: function (scope, element, attrs) {
var model = $parse(attrs.focusMe);
scope.$watch(model, function (value) {
if (value === true) {
$timeout(function () {
scope.$apply(model.assign(scope, false));
element[0].focus();
}, 30);
}
});
}
};
});
I want to contribute to this discussion after searching for at better solution and not finding it, having to create it instead.
Criteria:
1. Solution should be independent of parent controller scope to increase re-usability.
2. Avoid the use of $watch to monitor some condition, this is both slow, increases the size of the digest loop and makes testing harder.
3. Avoid $timeout or $scope.$apply() to trigger a digest loop.
4. An input element is present within the element where the Directive is used open.
This is the solution I liked the most:
Directive:
.directive('focusInput', [ function () {
return {
scope: {},
restrict: 'A',
compile: function(elem, attr) {
elem.bind('click', function() {
elem.find('input').focus();
});
}
};
}]);
Html:
<div focus-input>
<input/>
</div>
I hope this will help someone out there!
I think the directive is unnecessary. Use HTML id and class attributes to select the required element and have the service use document.getElementById or document.querySelector to apply focus (or jQuery equivalents).
Markup is standard HTML/angular directives with added id/classes for selection
<input id="myInput" type="text" ng-model="myInputModel" />
Controller broadcasts event
$scope.$emit('ui:focus', '#myInput');
In UI service uses querySelector - if there are multiple matches (say due to class) it will only return the first
$rootScope.$on('ui:focus', function($event, selector){
var elem = document.querySelector(selector);
if (elem) {
elem.focus();
}
});
You may want to use $timeout() to force a digest cycle
Just throwing in some coffee.
app.directive 'ngAltFocus', ->
restrict: 'A'
scope: ngAltFocus: '='
link: (scope, el, attrs) ->
scope.$watch 'ngAltFocus', (nv) -> el[0].focus() if nv
Not sure if relying on the timeout is a good idea, but this works for ng-repeat because this code runs AFTER angularjs updates the DOM, so you make sure all objects are there:
myApp.directive('onLastRepeat', [function () {
return function (scope, element, attrs) {
if (scope.$last) setTimeout(function () {
scope.$emit('onRepeatLast', element, attrs);
}, 1);
};
}]);
//controller for grid
myApp.controller('SimpleController', ['$scope', '$timeout', '$http', function ($scope, $timeout, $http)
{
var newItemRemoved = false;
var requiredAlert = false;
//this event fires up when angular updates the dom for the last item
//it's observed, so here, we stop the progress bar
$scope.$on('onRepeatLast', function (scope, element, attrs) {
//$scope.complete();
console.log('done done!');
$("#txtFirstName").focus();
});
}]);