Symfony 3 - Form model data loses property values which are not represented by fields

Question

I have a controller action method which should handle a two-splitted form. Each form handles just a few properties of my Entity Workflow. After submitting the first

Answer 1

How can I hold the property values of the $workflow submitted in the $firstFormPart when submitting the $secondFormPart?

So here is my (unsatisfying) solution:

1. I pass the current session as an option to my form class for the $secondFormPart which is the WorkflowTransitionsType class with passing it as an argument when calling createForm inside the Controller action method:

   $secondFormPart = $this->createForm(WorkflowTransitionsType::class, $workflow, array(
       'session'   => $this->get('session')
   ));
   

2. I save the session as a private property inside the WorkflowTransitionsType class, save the passed workflow in the current session and retrieve it when buildForm gets called a 2. time when submitting the form:

   class WorkflowTransitionsType extends AbstractType {
   
       /**
        * @var Workflow
        */
       private $workflow;
   
       /**
        * @var Session
        */
       private $session;
   
       /**
        * {@inheritdoc}
        */
       public function buildForm(FormBuilderInterface $builder, array $options) {
   
           /** @var Workflow $workflow */
           $this->workflow = $options['data'];
   
           /** @var Session $session */
           $this->session = $options['session'];
   
           // If the workflow is stored in the session we know that this method is called a 2. time!
           if($this->session->has($this->getBlockPrefix() . '_workflow')) $this->workflow = $this->session->get($this->getBlockPrefix() . '_workflow');
   
               $builder
                   ->setMethod('PATCH')
                   ->addEventListener(FormEvents::PRE_SET_DATA, function(FormEvent $event) {
                       dump($event);
                       // This always gets called AFTER storing the workflow if it is present in the current session
                       $this->session->set($this->getBlockPrefix() . '_workflow', $this->workflow);
                   })
                   ->addEventListener(FormEvents::PRE_SUBMIT, function(FormEvent $event) {
                       // Here we manipulating the passed workflow data by setting all previous values! 
                       $eventForm = $event->getForm();
   
                       /** @var Workflow $submitWorkflow */
                       $submitWorkflow = $eventForm->getData();
   
                       $submitWorkflow->setName($this->workflow->getName());
                       foreach($this->workflow->getStates() as $state) $submitWorkflow->addState($state);
   
                       $eventForm->setData($submitWorkflow);
                   })
                   ->addEventListener(FormEvents::POST_SUBMIT, function(FormEvent $event) {
                       // After submitting the workflow object is no longer required!
                       $this->session->remove($this->getBlockPrefix() . '_workflow');
                   })
                   ->add('initialState', ChoiceType::class, array(
                       ...
                       // Didn´t change (look at my question)
                   ))
                   ->add('transitions', CollectionType::class, array(
                       ...
                       // Didn´t change (look at my question)
                   ))
                   ->add('save', SubmitType::class, array(
                       ...
                       // Didn´t change (look at my question)
                   ));
       }
   
       /**
        * {@inheritdoc}
        */
       public function configureOptions(OptionsResolver $resolver) {
           $resolver->setDefaults(array(
               'data_class'            => Workflow::class,
               'translation_domain'    => 'MyBundle',
           ));
           $resolver->setRequired(array(
               // This is necessary to prevent an error about an unknown option!
               'session'
           ));
       }
   }