Adding a string in front of a parameter for a form

Question

I want to add a string in front of a paramemter on my form so that when the user submits something on the form, it posts to an external API and my client can log in to freshdesk

Answer 1

Your view should have straightforward fields with no magic. We'll use the Form class to do the complicated stuff.

= f.text_field :subject

The method call to post_tickets does not need to receive the params because the Form object has already been initialized with the params values. Also, you shouldn't post the ticket, I think, unless the object is valid, right?

def create
  @contacts = Form.new(params[:contacts])
  if @contacts.valid?
    @contacts.post_tickets
    flash[:success] = "Message sent! Thank you for contacting us."
    redirect_to new_contact_path
  else
    flash[:alert] = "Please fill in the required fields"
    render action: 'new'
  end
end

Your Form model should be responsible for modifying the :subject parameter to include the prefix:

class Form
  # Some code omitted

  def initialize(attributes = {})
    attributes.each do |name, value|
      send("#{name}=", value)
    end
  end

  def post_tickets
    client.post_tickets({
      :whatever_fields => whatever_attribute, 
      :username => username, 
      :subject => "Hello from, #{subject}", 
      :email => email, 
      :description => description
    })
  end

end

That way, the Form object has the correct values as submitted by the user, but you've overwritten the posted subject so that it will return the combined string you want, with "Hello from..."

In post_tickets, reference directly the parameters you want to send, via the attributes with which the Form object has been initialized. In the case of subject, you'll send a combined value instead.

Please note, I've rewritten your initialize to use a more classic attribute setting method.

Thoughts, questions?

Answer 2

You should do this in your model by adding your substring before the value que form will send you. This seems business logic, it shouldn't be in the view.

def post_tickets(params)
   client.username = "Hello From, " + client.username
   client.post_tickets(params)
end