Problems with on submit and jquery - javascript

Working on a project where form changes are checked for. I'm having difficulty removing the changes have been made alert when the user submits the form.
$(document).ready(function(){
changes_made = false;
$('input, select, textarea').on('change', function() {
changes_made = true;
});
$(window).bind('beforeunload', function() {
if(changes_made) { return 'You have made changes on this page.'; }
});
$('form').each(function() {
$(this).on('submit', function() {
changes_made = false;
});
});
})

If you want to be able to revert any changes the user has made, you need to store the original contents of the form. That way, instead of waiting for change events, you can just compare the old form contents to the new contents, and replace if necessary.
Other tidbits: you need a var before your variable declaration (otherwise the variable ends up attached to the window object). And unless your form submit is an ajax call, there is no point in setting changes_made back to false. The page will reload and changes_made will be false again anyway.

Related

How to distinguish between a successful and a failed submit in JQuery?

I'm working in a legacy ASP.NET/MVC project that is using a bit of jQuery to provide an unsaved changes warning. There's a utils.js file that's included on every page that contains:
// Has the user made changes on the form?
var formHasModifications = false;
$(document).ready(function () {
// We want to trigger the unchanged dialog, if the user has changed any fields and hasn't saved
$(window).bind('beforeunload', function () {
if (formHasModifications) {
return "You haven't saved your changes.";
}
});
// If a field changes, the user has made changes
$("form:not(.noprompt)").change(function (event) {
formHasModifications = true;
});
// If the form submits, the changes are saved
$("form:not(.noprompt)").submit(function (event) {
formHasModifications = false;
});
// $(document).ready() may make changes to fields, so we need to clear the flag
// immediately after it returns
setTimeout(function() {
formHasModifications = false;
}, 1);
});
The problem? The .submit() event fires, and is caught, on every submit - including on submits that don't actually submit the data.
That is, if there is a validation error, clicking on the submit button leaves the user on the page, with unsaved changes, and displayed validation failure messages, but it also clears the formHasModifications flag.
The result is that if the user makes changes to one or more inputs, clicks "submit", gets validation errors, then navigates to a different page without fixing them, and resubmitting, they do not see the unsaved changes dialog, even though they do have unsaved changes.
This is, as I said, a legacy app, and I'm not interested in making fundamental structural changes. But if there's some way of being able to tell, in jQuery, whether a submit event succeeded or failed, I'd really like to know.
OK, as Terry pointed out, it depends upon what we're using for validation.
In our case, we're using jquery.validate. And with this, we can call .valid() on the form to determine whether the form passed validation:
// If the form successfully submits, the changes are saved
$("form:not(.noprompt)").submit(function (event) {
if ($(this).valid()) {
formHasModifications = false;
}
});

Determine value depending on input types

I have a select type dropdown, which upon selection redirects users to another page. I want them to be warned if they try to navigate away without saving when using this select dropdown.
However it needs to ignore this specific select type as one of the input types when determining that an input type has changed. This is my script, but it doesn't perform the desired action, (where .send1 references to the actual select type):
$(document).on('change', '.send1', function(){
if($(":input").not('.send1')){
$(":input").change(function(){
unsaved = true;
});
}
});
If unsaved == true then a users have a warning that there are unsaved changes.
.not() method returns a jQuery object, and an object is considered a truthy value in JavaScript, you should use the length property for checking the length of the collection. But here this is not the main problem, the whole logic doesn't sound promising. If you want to exclude an element from the selection you can use the :not in your selector:
var unsaved = false;
$(document).on('change', '.send1:not("select.specific")', function() {
unsaved = true;
});
$('select.specific').on('change', function() {
if (unsaved) {
// show a modal/alert something...
} else {
// redirect
}
});
I don't really understand what you're asking. It seems you're trying to determine if an input control has the class 'send1' - and if so, you ignore it? Why are you binding all of your inputs to your event handler? Can you post your HTML markup?
The closest I can come to helping is to recommend that you put a class on all of your inputs that COULD have unsaved data in them. Then, write an event handler for your select list that redirects to another page:
$("#ddlThatRedirects").change(function(e){
if (CheckFields()){
//Put whatever alerting you want here
}
else{
//Put redirect or postback logic here
}
});
function CheckFields(){
var UnsavedChanges = false;
$(".ClassNameOfInputs").each(function(){
if ($(this).val().length > 0)
UnsavedChanges = true;
});
return UnsavedChanges;
}

How to trigger onbeforeunload with back button in an ajax based application?

I have an ajax based application (ie no page 'reloads` when getting new data).
Initially I wanted to find a way to prevent navigation when unsaved data was present on a form.
I came across window.onbeforeunload.
That didn't work when clicking a links (where content is loaded via ajax and pop/push state changes the url).
I added some handling of the a links but need to use the default window.onbeforeunload to cover the standard means of leaving a page (ie manually entering a new URL or using the back/forwards buttons).
The code below works for:
a links
page refresh
manually entering a new url
But is not triggering window.onbeforeunload when using the back button (in Chrome and Firefox).
Is there something awry with the implementation below or is window.onbeforeunload not meant to be triggered when using the back button?
var save_state = true;
// on entering data into an input field, the save button fades in
// and the save_state changes
$(document).on('keypress', '.class1 input', function() {
if (save_state) {
$(".save_button").fadeIn();
save_state = false;
};
// bind the click event to 'a' (overiding normal link behaviour)
$( "a" ).bind( "click", function(e) {
if (save_state == false) {
e.preventDefault();
alert("Save before leaving.");
// stop the other 'a' bound handlers from being triggered
e.stopPropagation();
return;
}
});
// also cover standard actions when user tries to leave page
// (back/forward or entering a new url manually etc)
window.onbeforeunload = function() {
return 'Save before leaving.';
};
});
// when clicking save, fade out the button and revert the save_state
$(document).on('click', '.save_button button', function(e) {
e.preventDefault();
$(this).parent().fadeOut();
save_state = true;
// 'unbind' onbeforeunload
window.onbeforeunload = null;
});
Edit:
After reading this post, I think it is based on the ajax nature of the app:
As long as you stay within your app, because it's a single-page app,
it doesn't by definition unload, so there's no beforeunload event.
So I think I may need to look at other ways to trigger the event on back/forwards buttons.
I looked in to triggering window.unload on popstate but didn't have any luck with that.
I ended up changing the logic so that as soon as changes were made, they were saved in the database.
I was using selectize.js for the form input handling and just added some extra calls to it.
In selectize.js (here):
if ($target.hasClass('create')) {
self.createItem();
} else {
value = $target.attr('data-value');
became:
if ($target.hasClass('create')) {
self.createItem();
$(".saved_message_div").fadeIn(400).delay(2000).fadeOut(400); // new
updateDatabaseFunction(); // new
} else {
value = $target.attr('data-value');
$(".saved_message_div").fadeIn(400).delay(2000).fadeOut(400); // new
updateDatabaseFunction(); // new
AND (here):
while (values.length) {
self.removeItem(values.pop());
}
self.showInput();
became:
while (values.length) {
self.removeItem(values.pop());
}
$(".saved_message_div").fadeIn(400).delay(2000).fadeOut(400); // new
updateDatabaseFunction(); // new
self.showInput();
And in my own script, the prompt for deleting selectize.js items stayed the same:
onDelete: function(values) {
confirm(values.length > 1 ? 'Are you sure you want to remove these ' + values.length + ' items?' : 'Are you sure you want to remove "' + values[0] + '"?');

Preventing users from accidentally navigating away from unsaved pages

I got the snippet below from this SO post, and it works when a user tries to reload the page or close the browser etc. but if the user clicks on a link then it lets them naivagate away, and then incorrectly starts displaying the message on the wrong page. I am using pjax for the links.
$(document).ready(function () {
$('textarea').change(function () {
window.onbeforeunload = function () { return "Your changes to the survey have not been saved?" };
});
});
You should use onbeforeunload like this, inconditionally:
<script type="text/javascript">
saved=true; // initially, it is saved (no action has been done)
window.onbeforeunload = confirmExit;
function confirmExit() {
if (!saved) {
return "You did not save, do you want to do it now?";
}
}
</script>
It is not safe to handle this event only when another event is fired. The onchange event of your textarea here probably don't fire before you click on a link so the window won't handle the onbeforeunload at all. The link will work as expected: you will get redirected.
To deal with the saved flag, you could listen to what happens in your textarea, for example, when the user is actually typing something:
$('textarea').keyup(function(){
saved=false;
});
Then, if you save the data in ajax, the save button could set it back to true:
$('#btnSave').click(function(){
// ajax save
saved=true;
});
Otherwise, it will load the next page with the saved flag on.
what about something like the following?
Listening on all <a> links and then, depending on whether the variable needToSave is set to true, showing the message or letting it go.
var needToSave = false; // Set this to true on some change
// listen on all <a ...> clicks
$(document).click("a", function(event){
if (needToSave == true) {
alert("You need to save first");
event.preventDefault();
return;
}
});
UPDATE (as per Roasted's suggestion) this should trigger the unload event every time the link is clicked and perform your existing logic:
// listen on all <a ...> clicks
$(document).click("a", function(event){
$(window).trigger("unload");
});
jsFiddle here - http://jsfiddle.net/k2fYM/

Alert for unsaved changes in form

I want to write Jquery code in master file, so that if there if user changes page and there is any unsaved changes user should get alert.
I got one answer from this: link
However in most solution I will have to write code on all pages. I want it to write only at one place so that everybody dont have to worry to write it in their modules. My code is like:
<script type="text/javascript">
var isChange;
$(document).ready(function () {
$("input[type='text']").change(function () {
isChange = true;
})
});
$(window).unload(function () {
if (isChange) {
alert('Handler for .unload() called.');
}
});
</script>
But everytime i make changes in text boxes .change() event is not firing.
What can be wrong in the code?
EDIT:
I changed .change() to .click and it is fired. i am using jquery 1.4.1..is it because of jquery version that change() is not working?
This is what i am using, Put all this code in a separate JS file and load it in your header file so you will not need to copy this again and again:
var unsaved = false;
$(":input").change(function(){ //triggers change in all input fields including text type
unsaved = true;
});
function unloadPage(){
if(unsaved){
return "You have unsaved changes on this page. Do you want to leave this page and discard your changes or stay on this page?";
}
}
window.onbeforeunload = unloadPage;
EDIT for $ not found:
This error can only be caused by one of three things:
Your JavaScript file is not being properly loaded into your page
You have a botched version of jQuery. This could happen because someone edited the core file, or a plugin may have overwritten the $
variable.
You have JavaScript running before the page is fully loaded, and as such, before jQuery is fully loaded.
Make sure all JS code is being placed in this:
$(document).ready(function () {
//place above code here
});
Edit for a Save/Send/Submit Button Exception
$('#save').click(function() {
unsaved = false;
});
Edit to work with dynamic inputs
// Another way to bind the event
$(window).bind('beforeunload', function() {
if(unsaved){
return "You have unsaved changes on this page. Do you want to leave this page and discard your changes or stay on this page?";
}
});
// Monitor dynamic inputs
$(document).on('change', ':input', function(){ //triggers change in all input fields including text type
unsaved = true;
});
Add the above code in your alert_unsaved_changes.js file.
A version that use serialization of the form :
Execute this code, when dom ready :
// Store form state at page load
var initial_form_state = $('#myform').serialize();
// Store form state after form submit
$('#myform').submit(function(){
initial_form_state = $('#myform').serialize();
});
// Check form changes before leaving the page and warn user if needed
$(window).bind('beforeunload', function(e) {
var form_state = $('#myform').serialize();
if(initial_form_state != form_state){
var message = "You have unsaved changes on this page. Do you want to leave this page and discard your changes or stay on this page?";
e.returnValue = message; // Cross-browser compatibility (src: MDN)
return message;
}
});
If the user change a field then manually rollback, no warn is displayed
change event is fired once the user blurs from input not on every single character inputed.
If you need it to be called every time something is changed (even if focus is still in that input field) you would have to rely on combination of keyup and bunch of events to keep track of pasting/cuting using mouse only.
P.S.
I hope you're aware that your approach to detecting changes isn't the best one? If user input some text, leaves the field and then reverts the changes the script would still alert him about modified text.
you should register events for not only inputs but also textareas, if you mean textarea with text box. You can use keyup for isChange, so that you don't wait for user to blur from this area.
$("input[type='text'], textarea").keyup(function () {
isChange = true;
})
This is really just a different version of #AlphaMale's answer but improved in a few ways:
# Message displayed to user. Depending on browser and if it is a turbolink,
# regular link or user-driven navigation this may or may not display.
msg = "This page is asking you to confirm that you want to leave - data you have entered may not be saved."
# Default state
unsaved = false
# Mark the page as having unsaved content
$(document).on 'change', 'form[method=post]:not([data-remote]) :input', -> unsaved = true
# A new page was loaded via Turbolinks, reset state
$(document).on 'page:change', -> setTimeout (-> unsaved = false), 10
# The user submitted the form (to save) so no need to ask them.
$(document).on 'submit', 'form[method=post]', ->
unsaved = false
return
# Confirm with user if they try to go elsewhere
$(window).bind 'beforeunload', -> return msg if unsaved
# If page about to change via Turbolinks also confirm with user
$(document).on 'page:before-change', (event) ->
event.preventDefault() if unsaved && !confirm msg
This is better in the following ways:
It is coffeescript which IMHO automatically makes it better. :)
It is entirely based on event bubbling so dynamic content is automatically handled (#AlphaMale's update also has this).
It only operates on POST forms as GET forms do not have data we typically want to avoid loosing (i.e. GET forms tend to be search boxes and filtering criteria).
It doesn't need to be bound to a specific button for carrying out the save. Anytime the form is submitted we assume that submission is saving.
It is Turbolinks compatible. If you don't need that just drop the two page: event bindings.
It is designed so that you can just include it with the rest of your JS and your entire site will be protected.
Why not simply bind the event to the change callback?
$(":input").change(function()
{
$(window).unbind('unload').bind('unload',function()
{
alert('unsaved changes on the page');
});
});
As an added bonus, you can use confirm and select the last element that triggered the change event:
$(":input").change(function()
{
$(window).unbind('unload').bind('unload',(function(elem)
{//elem holds reference to changed element
return function(e)
{//get the event object:
e = e || window.event;
if (confirm('unsaved changes on the page\nDo you wish to save them first?'))
{
elem.focus();//select element
return false;//in jQuery this stops the event from completeing
}
}
}($(this)));//passed elem here, I passed it as a jQ object, so elem.focus() works
//pass it as <this>, then you'll have to do $(elem).focus(); or write pure JS
});
If you have some save button, make sure that that unbinds the unload event, though:
$('#save').click(function()
{
$(window).unbind('unload');
//rest of your code here
});
Without jQuery:
var unsaved = false;
document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", function() {
var els = document.querySelectorAll('textarea, input, select');
els.forEach( function(el) {
el.addEventListener('change', function() {
unsaved = true;
});
});
window.addEventListener('beforeunload', function(event) {
if(unsaved){
event.returnValue = "string";
}
});
var forms = document.querySelectorAll('form');
forms.forEach( function(form) {
form.addEventListener('submit', function() {
unsaved = false;
});
});
});
The weird 'string' hack explanation can be found here.
I use $('form').change etc. function to set a dirty bit variable. Not suitable to catch all changes (as per previous answers), but catches all that I'm interested in, in my app.

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