How does one add a 'plain text node' to a zend form?

Question

I'm trying to add a plain text node in a zend form - the purpose is to only dispay some static text.

The problem is - im not aware of any such way to do it.

I have used 'description' but that HAS to be attached to a form element.

Is there any way to simply display some text as part of a form? Zend considers everything as a form element so I cannot just print it out.

Eg:

The following will test your ability on so and so. . . .

etc...

Any thoughts?

Gavette

I think best answer is Aine's – Saberio

Answer 1

There might be a better way, but I created a paragraph by using a custom form element and view helper. Seems like alot of code for something so simple. Please let me know if you've found a more simplistic way to do it.

//From your form, add the MyParagraph element
$this->addElement(new Zend_Form_Element_MyParagraph('myParagraph'));

class Zend_Form_Element_MyParagraph extends Zend_Form_Element
{
    public $helper = 'myParagraph';
    public function init()
    {
        $view = $this->getView();
    }
}

class Zend_View_Helper_MyParagraph extends Zend_View_Helper_FormElement {

    public function init() {
    }

    public function myParagraph() {
        $html = '<p>hello world</p>';
        return $html;
    }

}

Hent

Answer 2

Zend has a form note view helper (Zend_View_Helper_FormNote), which you can use to add text.

Just create a new form element (/application/forms/Element/Note.php):

class Application_Form_Element_Note extends Zend_Form_Element_Xhtml  
{  
    public $helper = 'formNote';  
}

In your form:

$note = new Application_Form_Element_Note(
    'test',
    array('value' => 'This is a <b>test</b>')
);
$this->addElement($note);

Deferent

Add this function in the class: public function isValid($value){ return true; } In that way the element will not disappear in the validation process. – Rubellite

I think this should be the correct answer according to the reputations and the simplicity of this solution :) – Constitutional

I tried this and a bunch of related approaches and couldn't get them to work. https://mcmap.net/q/628260/-how-does-one-add-a-39-plain-text-node-39-to-a-zend-form worked for me, however. – Pancreatin

Answer 3

Adding a hidden element with non-escaped description does the thing.

$form->addElement('hidden', 'plaintext', array(
    'description' => 'Hello world! <a href="#">Check it out</a>',
    'ignore' => true,
    'decorators' => array(
        array('Description', array('escape'=>false, 'tag'=>'')),
    ),
));

Works perfectly. It is still attached to an element, which is, however, not rendered this way.

Code taken from: http://paveldubinin.com/2011/04/7-quick-tips-on-zend-form/

Wiltz

This is why I love Zend. No, not really. – Pension

This is for me the best answer as the formNote (helper) element disappears when the form is POST-ed. – Ly

Answer 4

A little late but thought I'd throw it in anyway for the benefit of the community.

Aine has hit the nail on the head. FormNote is what you need if you want to use text in Zend_Form. However, you can use it without needing to extend Zend_Form_Element_Xhtml. See example below:

$text = new Zend_Form_Element_Text('myformnote');
$text->setValue("Text goes here")
     ->helper = 'formNote';

Note that you can use both text and html with the formNote helper.

Hogen

Thanks. This was the only approach that worked for me. – Pancreatin

This works but the element will disappear when you validate the form, which may or may not be what you want. See axiom82 answer above for the solution. – Aventine

Answer 5

This functionality is built into Zend via Zend_Form_Element_Note.

$note = new Zend_Form_Element_Note('forgot_password');
$note->setValue('<a href="' . $this->getView()->serverUrl($this->getView()->url(array('action' => 'forgot-password'))) . '">Forgot Password?</a>');

Stellarator

This is the correct answer. No need to uselessly extend it and override $helper with the same value as is done in the most upvoted answer. – Verruca

Yes, much more elegant and simple than the other answers. Works perfectly and avoids the disappearance on validation. – Aventine

Answer 6

I faced the same problem and decided is better not to use Zend_Form at all, but to use directly view helpers (like Ruby on Rails does) and validate on the model.

Beehive

Answer 7

This one-liner works for me:

$objectForm->addElement(new Zend_Form_Element_Note('note', array('value' => 'Hello World')));

Quixote