Angularjs: access template in directive - angularjs

What I want to do is to append compiled template to some other DOM element in Angualrjs directive. Is it possible? How?
I know you can use transclude to include the template and keep content in the tag, but how do I attach my compiled template to other DOM element?
angular.module("my.directive")
.directive('passwordStrength', [function(){
return {
templateUrl: '/tpl/directive/passwordStrength.html',
restrict: 'A',
link: function postLink(scope, iElement, iAttrs){
console.log('password strength is running');
iElement.append($template) // problem here!!!
}
};
}]);

I'm not sure what you're trying to accomplish overall. You may want to use ng-include to pull in markup from a url, rather than using the templateUrl property, or you may want to use the templateUrl property on one directive, then make another directive and include that directive in the second directive. I made some sample directives to help give you ideas.
.directive('myDirective', function($compile) {
return {
scope: {
path: '=myDirective'
},
link: function(scope, element) {
// rather than use `templateUrl`, I'll get markup from the path using `ng-include`
var html = '<div ng-include="path"></div>';
// manipulate the markup however you want to
html+= '<p>More stuff from "myDirective"!</p>';
// append the markup
element.append(html);
// compile the markup so that Angular will know about it (or use the directive `compile` rather than `link`)
$compile(element.contents())(scope);
}
};
})
// this is sort of like "extending" the other directive.
.directive('myOtherDirective', function() {
return {
scope: {
path: '=myOtherDirective'
},
template: '<p>Stuff from "myOtherDirective"></div><div my-directive="path"></div>'
};
})
Here's a demo you can mess around with.

Related

Passing a parent directive attribute to a child directive attribute

I'm creating directives for a library that customers can use. I need to let the customers create their own templates for a directive and pass the absolute url value of that template into my directives. One of my directives will have another custom directive inside of it, and it's template will be figured out based upon the value of one of the parent directive's attributes. Here's an example:
<parent-dir menu-template="this.html" item-template="that.html"></parent-dir>
I have a template for this directive that looks like this:
<ul style="list: none" ng-repeat="item in menu">
<child-dir template="{{itemTemplate}}"></child-dir>
</ul>
My directives look like this:
angular.module('myApp')
.directive('parentDir', function () {
return {
restrict: 'E',
scope: {
menuTemplate: '#',
itemTemplate: '#',
menuType: '#',
menuName: '#',
menuId: '#',
},
templateUrl: function (element, attrs) {
alert('Scope: ' + attrs.menuTemplate);
return attrs.menuTemplate;
},
controller: function ($scope, $element, $attrs) {
$scope.defaultSubmit = false;
alert('Menu: '+$attrs.menuTemplate);
alert('Item: ' + $attrs.itemTemplate);
$scope.itemTemplate = $attrs.itemTemplate;
if ($attrs.$attr.hasOwnProperty('defaultSubmit')) {
alert('It does');
$scope.defaultSubmit = true;
}
}
};
})
.directive('childDir', function () {
return {
restrict: 'E',
require: '^parentDir',
templateUrl: function (element, attrs) {
alert('Item Template: ' + attrs.template);
return attrs.template;
},
controller: function ($scope, $element, $attrs) {
$scope.job;
alert('Under job: ' + $scope.itemTemplate);
}
};
});
I'm not showing all of the code but this is the main piece of my problem. When I run this, I keep getting undefined for the template on the childDir.
What is the best practice in perpetuating the value of itemTemplate from the parentDir so that the childDir can use it as it's template?
The reason you're running into problems is because the function that generates the templateUrl is running before a scope has been assigned to your directive - something that has to be done before interpolated data can be replaced.
In other words: at the point that the templateUrl function runs, the value of the template attribute is still "{{itemTemplate}}". This will remain the case until the directive's link (preLink to be precise) function runs.
I created a plunker to demonstrate the point here. Be sure to open the console. You'll see that templateUrl runs before both the parent and child linking functions.
So what do you do instead?
Fortunately, angular provides a $templateRequest service which allows you to request the template in the same way it would using templateUrl (it also uses the $templateCache which is handy).
put this code in your link function:
$templateRequest(attrs.template)
.then(function (tplString){
// compile the template then link the result with the scope.
contents = $compile(tplString)(scope);
// Insert the compiled, linked element into the DOM
elem.append(contents);
})
You can then remove any reference to the template in the directive definition object, and this will safely run once the attribute has been interpolated.

Adding directives to an element using another directive

I am trying to create a directive that adds some html code but also adds additional attributes/directives.
Using the code below, an ng-class attribute is indeed added, but it seems angular does not recognize it as a directive anymore. It is there, but it has no effect.
How can I get it to work? Thanks.
The Angular code:
angular.module('myModule', [])
.directive('menuItem', function () {
return {
restrict: 'A',
template: '<div ng-if="!menuItem.isSimple" some-other-stuff>{{menuItem.name}}</div>'
+'<a ng-if="menuItem.isSimple" ng-href="{{menuItem.link}}">{{menuItem.name}}</a>',
scope: {
menuItem: '='
},
compile: function (element, attrs) {
element.attr('ng-class', '{active : menuItem.isActivated()}');
}
}
});
And the html:
<li menu-item="menuItem" ng-repeat="menuItem in getMenuItems()" />
EDIT:
The solution by #Abdul23 solves the problem, but another problem arises: when the template contains other directives (like ng-if) these are not executed. It seems the problem just moved.
Is it possible to also make the directives inside the template work?
Or perhaps insert the html using the compile function instead of the template parameter. Since I want a simple distinction based on some value menuItem.isSimple (and this value will not change), perhaps I can insert only the html specific to that case without using ng-if, but how?
You need to use $compile service to achieve this. See this answer.
For your case it should go like this.
angular.module('myModule', [])
.directive('menuItem', function ($compile) {
return {
restrict: 'A',
template: '<a ng-href="{{menuItem.link}}">{{menuItem.name}}</a>',
scope: {
menuItem: '='
},
compile: function (element, attrs) {
element.removeAttr('menu-item');
element.attr('ng-class', '{active : menuItem.isActivated()}');
var fn = $compile(element);
return function(scope){
fn(scope);
};
}
}
});

How to make this call in an angular scenario?

I'm using a youtube player called YTPlayer.
https://github.com/pupunzi/jquery.mb.YTPlayer
In this code he makes a JQuery call which works fine.
$(document).ready(function () {
$(".player").mb_YTPlayer();
});
How can i make such a call from my controller without using JQuery?
Thanks.
You create a directive. You can think of directives as extending html.
Your directive will look something like this:
.directive('ytPlayer', function() {
return {
scope: {
pathToVideo: '&'
},
link(scope, element, attr) {
//at this point, the DOM is ready and the element has been added to the page. It's safe to call mb_YTPlayer() here.
//also, element is already a jQuery object, so you don't need to wrap it in $()
element.mb_YTPlayer();
//scope.pathToVideo() will return '/video.mpg' here
}
}
}
And you'll add it to your page with this markup:
<yt-player path-to-video="/video.mpg"></yt-player>
It's OK to use jQuery inside of a directive if your video player is dependent on it. You should never need to use jQuery in an angular controller. If you find yourself doing so, you're not "thinking angular".
Many times, video players and other components require specific markup to work, so you can customize your template for the directive with the template property:
.directive('ytPlayer', function() {
return {
scope: {
pathToVideo: '&'
},
replace: true,
template: '<div><span></span></div>'
link(scope, element, attr) {
element.mb_YTPlayer();
//scope.pathToVideo() will return '/video.mpg' here
}
}
}
These two lines:
replace: true,
template: '<div><span></span></div>'
will cause angular to replace the yt-player markup with the markup in the template property.

Angular Directive Passing Template Name in as an attribute

if I wanted to pass into angular an attribute which is a template name stored on the templateCache, would doing something like the following be a good approach?
app.directive('myPopup', function() {
var directive = {
link: link,
scope {
'template': '#'
}
template: $templateCache.get(template);
restrict: 'E'
};
return directive;
function link(scope, element, attrs) {
}
});
Or should it be done on the compile statement, I guess so for performace??
I'm looking to ultimately wrap a bootstrap popover and then be able to provided html content through a template attribute allowing me to reuse popovers by providing different templates.
Can anyone offer any suggestions for the best course of action?
Thanks

Angular Directive Different Template

I have a directive myDirective with variable type. If I run <my-directive type="X"> I want the directive to use templateUrl: x-template.html.
If I do <my-directive type="Y"> I want the directive to use templateUrl: y-template.html.
This is my current directive.
app.directive('myDirective', function() {
var myDirective = {
templateUrl: 'X-template.html',
restrict: 'E',
scope: {
type: '='
},
};
return myDirective;
});
I read thru stackoverflow and angular documentation but have not found anything that I need.
I am now trying to do something along the lines of:
if ($scope.type === 'X') {
templateUrl: 'X-template.html',
}
else if ($scope.type === 'Y') {
templateUrl: 'Y-template.html',
}
But do not know where to do it.
Do you guys know if this is possible and how?
Angular will accept a function as the template option, so you could do something like so:
.directive('myDirective', function () {
return {
templateUrl: function (tElement, tAttrs) {
if (tAttrs) {
if (tAttrs.type === 'X') {
return 'X-template.html';
}
if (tAttrs.type === 'Y') {
return 'Y-template.html';
}
}
}
}
});
For more info, see the documentation for the $compile service.
You can work around this issue using ng-include inside compile:
app.directive('myDirective', function() {
return {
restrict: 'E',
compile: function(element, attrs) {
element.append('<div ng-include="\'' + attrs.type + '-template.html\'"></div>');
}
}
});
fiddle
If you're willing to live on the bleeding edge with a build on the 1.1.x code path (note the warning attached to every 1.1.x build notes entry so I don't dilute this answer by repeating it again here), you're in luck--this very feature was just added in the 1.1.4 release on April 3rd. You can find the release notes for 1.1.4 here and the feature's task log includes a Jasmine test that demonstrates how to use the new functionality.
If you're more conservative and are using a 1.0.x release, then you won't be able to accomplish this as easily, but it can be done. Mark Rajcok's solution looks like it would fit your requirements as-stated, but I would just add a few additional notes:
Aside from its 1.1.4 release, compile-time directives don't support modification at runtime.
As of 1.1.4, you can safely modify the attributes of compile-time directives, but only from another compile-time directive.
You may want to consider replaceWith() instead of append() since <my-directive> is not a standard-defined HTML element type.
If your X and Y templates contain additional directives, I don't think you'll be able to pass attributes on <my-template> through to the root element of your template so easily.
A directive with replace: true will transfer attributes from the source element to its replacement root, but I do not think that ngInclude will do the same from is host to the root of the included template.
I also seem to recall that ngInclude does not require that its template have exactly one root element.
You could perhaps preserve attributes on a replacement parent by using replaceWith() instead of append() and wrapping the <div ng-include=""> tag within a <div></div>. The outer <div> could hold attributes and would still be accessible after the <div ngInclude> element replaced itself with loaded content.
Be aware that ngInclude creates a new scope. This subjects you to a flashing yellow klaxons warning about the dangers of primitive scope models. For more information, see this fine page from Angular's GitHub depot.
I can propose another alternative for those on 1.0.x, but it involves a fair amount of code. It's a more heavy-weight operation, but it has the upside of not only being able of switching between templates, but full-fledged directives as well. Furthermore, its behavior is more readily dynamic.
app.directive('myDirective', function() {
return {
restrict: 'E',
replace: true,
templateUrl: 'partials/directive/my-directive.html',
link: function(scope, element, attrs, ctrl) {
// You can do this with isolated scope as well of course.
scope.type = attrs.type;
}
}
);
my-directive.js
<div ng-switch on="{{type}}">
<div ng-switch-where="X" ng-include="X-template.html"></div>
<div ng-switch-where="Y" ng-include="Y-template.html"></div>
</div>
my-directive.html
This is my version for optionally overriding a default template
templateUrl: function (elem, attrs) {
if (attrs.customTemplate) {
return '/path/to/components/tmpl/' + attrs.customTemplate + '.html';
} else {
return '/path/to/components/tmpl/directive.html';
}
}
e.g on a directive
<div my-directive custom-template="custom"></div>
I solve this problem so:
app.directive("post", function ($templateCache, $compile) {
function getTemplate(mode) {
switch (mode) {
case "create":
return "createPost.html";
case "view":
return "viewPost.html";
case "delete":
return "deletePost.html";
}
}
var defaultMode = "view";
return {
scope: {},
restrict: "AE",
compile: function (elem, attrs, transclude) {
return function ($scope, $element, $attr) {
function updateTemplate() {
$element.html("");
$compile($templateCache.get(getTemplate($scope.mode)).trim())($scope, function (clonedElement, scope) {
clonedElement.appendTo($element);
});
}
$scope.mode = $attr.mode || defaultMode;
$scope.$watch("mode", updateTemplate);
}
}
}
});
It's probably not the best way to do this, but I have no extra scope.
Ok, this might help someone here :-)
To inject your custom attr into your link or controller function use the following.
I'm at work right now but will post a fiddle later if I get a chance :-)
.directive('yourDirective', function() {
return {
restrict: 'EA',
template: '<div></div>', // or use templateUrl with/without function
scope: {
myAttibute: '#myAttr' // adds myAttribute to the scope
},
link: function(scope) {
console.log(scope.myAttibute);
}
}
}
// HTML ""
// Console will output "foo"

Resources