Trying to use dynamic template that should change depending on user selection.
so when a dropdown option is selected then load another html template.
I like to do this cleanly and in a modular way with controller that can be uni-tested.
I have been reading this
https://coderwall.com/p/onjxng/angular-directives-using-a-dynamic-template
Others include using
ng-include to load the template
Anyone knows of better way to implement?
You can use $templateCache and $compile in your directive. It is not always a better way, depending on what you want to achieve.
link: function (scope, element, attrs) {
$templateCache.get('yourtemplate.html').then(function(tmpl) {
element.html(tmpl);
$compile(element.contents())(scope);
});
}
You get the idea: you can also have a directive acting as a proxy to other directives by not using $templateCache and adding directly to your element the markup for another directive (and compiling it).
Related
I have a one-page site that I am building out and this is my first time using Angular on a site. Building it on top of Laravel too for the backend but that is beyond the scope of this question.
I need to be able to open a modal on a main page view which will add a new resource (e.g. a new client) or edit a resource. I want to somehow get the form's html inside the modal body when the $uibModal.open()'s controller is called and set the $scope.modalBody equal to the injected items.modalBody (the only way this works is if I use:
$scope.modalBody = $sce.trustAsHtml(items.modalBody);
The only problem now is that anything inside the HTML body, Angular will not use it's magic and do any data-binding. It is still in the raw form of
{{ object.property }} or since I'm using Laravel and avoiding conflict with the Blade template engine:
<% object.property %>
See screenshot:
screenshot
I have been banging my head against the wall on this one...I have tried putting $scope.$apply() in my directive and my controller, neither of which worked. I have a feeling that is the source of my problem though. I have also tried making the html just a <new-client></new-client> directive and using templateUrl: 'views/clients/add.php' which would be ideal, but the template is not being included inside the <new-client></new-client>.
I'm using ui-bootstrap 0.14.3 and Angular 1.4.8.
Could this be a bug? Or am I doing something wrong? Anyone have a better way of getting a form into my modal? Let me know what code you want to see so I don't clutter this post with unnecessary code blocks.
I have come across a similar issue with using jQuery's AJAX to receive template strings and append it to a server.
So when HTML is added via jQuery, bound html string, etc., angular doesn't know it needs to automagically compile this data.
What you need to do is use the $compile service, to $compile your html and then attach the correct $scope to it:
`$compile('jQuerySelectorReturningHtmlOrAnHTMLStringThatNeedsToBeCompiled')($scope);`
There are multiple examples in Angulars Documentation for $compile that can give you an idea of what is happening. I think by what you have described the same thing is happening here in your situation.
The key is to call this $compile service function after the html has been bound to the page.
EDIT:
There are a few other options based on some comments, that will serve as a viable solution to rendering this content on your view. For example a directive that takes a string attribute representing the HTML string of your desired view.
1. Modify your directive template in the compile step:
You have the ability to modify your template before the directive compiles and binds any attributes to it, to that directives scope:
app.directive('myAwesomeCompileStepDirective', [myAwesomeCompileStepDirectivef]);
function myAwesomeCompileStepDirectiveFn() {
return {
restrict: 'EA',
compile: function compileFn(tAttrs, tElement) {
//Here you can access the attrs that are passed into your directive (aka html string)
tElement.html(tAttrs['stringThatYouWantToReplaceElementWith']);
return function linkFn(scope, element, attrs, controller, transcludeFn) {
//if all you want to do is update the template you really don't have to do anything
//here but I leave it defined anyways.
}
}
}
}
You can view a file I wrote for a npm component which uses this method to modify my directive template before it is compiled on the page & you can also view the codepen for the complete component to see it in action.
2. Use $compile service to call $compile in link function using directive attrs.
In the same way as the aforementioned method, you can instead inject the $compile service, and call the function mentioned above. This provides a bit more work, for you but more flexibility to listen to events and perform scope based functions which is not available in the compile function in option 1.
I'm writing an angular.js directive, which would conditionally hide the element.
So it would look like this:
link: function(scope, elem, attrs) {
...
elem.hide()
}
I found a lot of examples that were doing exactly that, but somehow my elem attribute is an array not an element, so it does not have a hide() method.
What am I missing?
Thanks!
Most people are loading jQuery before they load angular, which extends its jqLite to the full jQuery.
The hide method doesn't seem to be part of jqLite API (https://docs.angularjs.org/api/ng/function/angular.element), hence such method is not exposed.
That doesn't mean you need jQuery, but that it is not the correct way to handle your problem. There are already the ng-show and ng-if directives to conditionnaly hide an element based on the controller, couldn't you use them?
In your html, add <div ng-show="isDisplayed">, and in your linking function scope.isDisplayed = false
I'm creating a fall back image directive that looks like this http://plnkr.co/edit/wxy4Sp2K02iXoQNsvkah
angular.module('directives').directive('myDirective', function() {
return {
restrict: 'C',
link: function(scope, element, attrs) {
console.log('linking');
}
}
});
My directive doesn't work for elements that are added to the DOM by the typeahead.js plugin (https://github.com/twitter/typeahead.js).
<div class='tt-suggestion'>
<div><span class="my-directive">bla</span></div>
</div>
I guess it's because Angular is not informed about the elements that are added by jQuery and hence it doesn't invoke the directive. How do I notify Angular of these changes?
You can use the Angular compile service to do this: http://docs.angularjs.org/api/ng/service/$compile
Basicly it works like this:
document.getElementById("test").innerHTML = $compile("")($scope);
ideally you shouldnt be mixing jquery and angular because they both are based on different philosophy.
jquery-- is event driven i.e. have event listeners which cause changes to model and then the programmer has to code numerous lines to change the view i.e. changing css,text etc
angular-- woo hoo! just change the model which is binded to $scope and :) your view is automatically updated
to automatically react on changing of such events angular has a compiler which studies entire html code before the app is loaded so even if there is a template which you might use later you must enclose it in so that angular compiles this so that all the special angular directive and controller perform as expected even when you remove or add templates to the dom.
here you are using typehead.js and jquery to manually manipulate the view which is against angular philosophy because when you do such maipulation angular compiler wouldnt be aware of it as it runs only when the app is initialized. Thats why before appending you should use $compile to make the angular compiler aware of this template .
in your case i would suggest the typehead present on this url
http://angular-ui.github.io/bootstrap/
Update: Fiddle w/ full solution: http://jsfiddle.net/langdonx/VXBHG/
In efforts to compare and contrast KnockoutJS and AngularJS, I ran through the KnockoutJS interactive tutorial, and after each section, I'd rewrite it in AngularJS using what little I already knew + the AngularJS reference.
When I got to step 3 of the Creating custom bindings tutorial, I figured it would be a good time to get spun up on Angular Directives and write a custom tag. Then I failed miserably.
I'm up against two issues that I haven't been able to figure out. I created a new Fiddle to try and wrap my head around what was going on...
1 (fiddle): I figured out my scoping issue, but, is it possible to just passthrough ng-click? The only way I could get it to work is to rename it to jqb-click which is a little annoying.
2 (fiddle): As soon as I applied .button() to my element, things went weird. My guess is because both Angular and jQuery UI are manipulating the HTML. I wouldn't expect this, but Angular seems to be providing its own span for my button (see line 21 of the JavaScript), and of course so is jQuery UI, which I would expect. I hacked up the HTML to get it looking right, but even before that, none of the functionality works. I still have the scope issue, and there's no template binding. What am I missing?
I understand that there's an AngularUI project I should be taking a look at and I can probably pull off what I'm trying to do with just CSS, but at this point it's more about learning how to use Directives rather than thinking this is a good idea.
You can create an isolated scope in a directive by setting the scope parameter, or let it use the parent scope by not setting it.
Since you want the ng-click from parent scope it is likely easiest for this instance to use the parent scope within directive:
One trick is to use $timeout within a directive before maniplulatig the DOM within a templated directive to give the DOM time to repaint before the manipulation, otherwise it seems that the elements don't exist in time.
I used an attribute to pass the text in, rather than worrying about transclusion compiling. In this manner the expression will already have been compiled when the template is added and the link callback provides easy access to the attributes.
<jqbutton ng-click="test(3)" text="{{title}} 3"></jqbutton>
angular.module('Components', [])
.directive('jqbutton', function ($timeout) {
return {
restrict: 'E', // says that this directive is only for html elements
replace: true,
template: '<button></button>',
link: function (scope, element, attrs) {
// turn the button into a jQuery button
$timeout(function () {
/* set text from attribute of custom tag*/
element.text(attrs.text).button();
}, 10);/* very slight delay, even using "0" works*/
}
};
});
Demo: http://jsfiddle.net/gWjXc/8/
Directives are very powerful, but also have a bit of a learning curve. Also in comparison of angular to knockout, angular is more of a meta framework that in the long run has far more flexibilty than knockout
Very helpful reading for understanding scope in directives:
https://github.com/angular/angular.js/wiki/The-Nuances-of-Scope-Prototypal-Inheritance
I've been researching this for a few hours now.
Let's say I have a jQuery selector of $('#bottom .downloads .links a').click.....
How can I do the same type of thing in an Angular directive?
This is what I have so far and it works, but for all tags on the page.
angular.module('directives', []).directive('a', function(mongoDB){ //Don't need ['customServices'], it can just be [] to use mongoDB
return {
restrict : 'E',
link : function(scope, element, attrs){
element.on('click', function(){
//But this gets called for all links on the page
//I just want it to be links within the #bottom .downloads .links div
//I wanted to use a directive instead of ng-click="someMethod()"
});
}
});
Is there a way to target this directive to only a certain div? I guess I could change the restrict to 'C' or 'A' and add an attribute to the links, but I was wondering if I could still layout the front end like I currently am used to with my jQuery selectors.
There is a pretty significant philosophical difference between AngularJS and jQuery. In jQuery, everything is in the DOM - including your data - and you do everything through DOM transformations. AngularJS, on the other hand, has separation of concerns built in: models, views, controllers, services, etc., are all separate. We use controllers to glue code together, but each component knows nothing about the other components.
So whereas in jQuery, one might use a selector to find all links matching a certain pattern and then add a certain functionality to it (say a click handler), in AngularJS, the HTML is the "offical record". Instead of abstracting away the attachment of a click handler into a JavaScript function, it is put right into the markup:
<a ng-click="doWhatever()">Click me!</a>
In this case, doWhatever is a method on the scope for that part of the page, probably set in your controller:
$scope.doWhatever = function () {
console.log("Hello!");
}
So the way you are approaching the problem is not going to work in AngularJS. Instead, you need to look at directives not like jQuery selectors with a function, but as an extension of HTML. You ask yourself, "what does HTML not do out of the box that I need it to?" Your answer is your directive.
But AngularJS already has a built-in directive for click handlers (the ngClick used above).
Angular already has an a directive, so you probably shouldn't create your own.
In an Angular world, to "target only a certain div" (well, <a> within the div) we declaratively target that <a> with a directive, rather than use CSS-like selectors. So yes, restrict to 'A' and add an attribute to the <a> would be best:
<a ... target-this-one>...</a>
I personally think this reads better. Looking at the HTML it is clear which <a>s have special/additional functionality.
As #Josh pointed out, you would only need to do this if ng-click isn't sufficient for your needs.