`form_for` is bypassing model accessors. How to make it stop? (Or: How to make a custom attribute serializer?)

Question

I set these methods to automatically encrypt values.

class User < ApplicationRecord
  def name=(val)
    super val.encrypt
  end
  def name
    (super()          


        

Answer 1

I found this similar question: How do input field methods (text_area, text_field, etc.) get attribute values from a record within a form_for block?

I added

  def name_before_type_cast
    (super() || '').decrypt
  end

And now it works!

Here is the full solution:

  @@encrypted_fields = [:name, :phone, :address1, :address2, :ssn, ...]
  @@encrypted_fields.each do |m|
    setter = (m.to_s+'=').to_sym
    getter = m
    getter_btc = (m.to_s+'_before_type_cast').to_sym
    define_method(setter) do |v|
      super v.encrypt
    end
    define_method(getter) do
      (super() || '').decrypt
    end
    define_method(getter_btc) do
      (super() || '').decrypt
    end
  end

Some docs: http://api.rubyonrails.org/classes/ActiveRecord/AttributeMethods/BeforeTypeCast.html