bhylu.com

Advertisements

AngularJS Form Reset

Resetting a form involves both domain values and editing state. Replacing a model does not automatically describe which dirty, touched or submitted flags should remain visible.

How it works

The repair note has a known baseline. Reset replaces the edited record with a copied baseline and explicitly restores pristine and untouched state through the form controller. This is a local reset, not cancellation of a server request. If a control has pending debounced edits, decide whether to commit or roll them back before replacing the model.

Run the code

AngularJS 1.8.3 is a legacy framework whose official support ended in January 2022. These examples teach maintenance, not a recommendation for a new application. They need a separate local browser page; Bhylu has no AngularJS playground.

In an empty folder save the HTML below as form-reset.html and the server as lab-server.mjs. Make a vendor folder and save the four pinned libraries there, retaining their MIT notices. With Node 22 or later run node lab-server.mjs form-reset.html, then open http://127.0.0.1:8136/. Stop that lab before running a different lesson. The server supplies fixed read-only HTTP fixtures; no data is saved and it does not connect to SQL. No PHP, Apache or MySQL configuration changes are needed.

Example

form-reset.html

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en" ng-app="repairLab" ng-strict-di>
  <head>
    <meta charset="utf-8" />
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width,initial-scale=1" />
    <title>AngularJS Form Reset</title>
    <style>
      :root {
        font:
          18px/1.55 system-ui,
          sans-serif;
        color: #0f3464;
        background: #fff;
        color-scheme: light;
      }
      * {
        box-sizing: border-box;
      }
      body {
        margin: 0;
      }
      main {
        max-width: 50rem;
        margin: auto;
        padding: 1.2rem;
      }
      h1 {
        font-size: 1.65rem;
      }
      label {
        display: block;
        margin: 0.6rem 0;
      }
      input,
      select,
      textarea,
      button {
        font: inherit;
        max-width: 100%;
        padding: 0.35rem;
        margin: 0.2rem;
      }
      button {
        border: 1px solid #034fa0;
        border-radius: 0.25rem;
        background: #034fa0;
        color: white;
      }
      button:disabled {
        opacity: 0.55;
      }
      output,
      [role="status"] {
        display: block;
        min-height: 1.5rem;
      }
      table {
        border-collapse: collapse;
        width: 100%;
      }
      td,
      th {
        padding: 0.4rem;
        border: 1px solid #a5bbd4;
        text-align: left;
      }
      pre {
        white-space: pre-wrap;
        overflow-wrap: anywhere;
      }
      :focus-visible {
        outline: 3px solid #0078d4;
        outline-offset: 3px;
      }
      [ng-cloak] {
        display: none !important;
      }
      .marked {
        font-weight: 700;
      }
      .error {
        color: #a02424;
      }
      :root[data-theme="dark"] {
        color: #d6e7fb;
        background: #061d30;
        color-scheme: dark;
      }
      :root[data-theme="dark"] .error {
        color: #ffb4b4;
      }
    </style>
  </head>
  <body>
    <main ng-controller="DeskController as vm" ng-cloak>
      <h1>Community repair desk</h1>
      <p>AngularJS 1.8.3 · Legacy maintenance lab · Local demonstration</p>
      <form name="repair" novalidate>
        <label>Note<input name="note" ng-model="vm.request.note" /></label
        ><button type="button" ng-click="vm.reset(repair)">Reset draft</button>
      </form>
      <p data-result>
        {{ vm.request.note }} / {{ repair.$pristine ? "pristine" : "edited" }}
      </p>
    </main>
    <script src="/vendor/angular.min.js"></script>
    <script>
      (function () {
        "use strict";
        var app = angular.module("repairLab", []);
        app.controller("DeskController", [
          function () {
            var vm = this;
            var baseline = { note: "Inspect hinge" };
            vm.request = angular.copy(baseline);
            vm.reset = function (form) {
              vm.request = angular.copy(baseline);
              form.$setPristine();
              form.$setUntouched();
            };
          },
        ]);
      })();
    </script>
  </body>
</html>
Focus on the bindings and controller

This excerpt leaves out the document shell, styles and library files. Use the complete download to run it.


<form name="repair" novalidate>
  <label>Note<input name="note" ng-model="vm.request.note" /></label
  ><button type="button" ng-click="vm.reset(repair)">Reset draft</button>
</form>
<p data-result>
  {{ vm.request.note }} / {{ repair.$pristine ? "pristine" : "edited" }}
</p>
<script>
  (function () {
    "use strict";
    var app = angular.module("repairLab", []);
    app.controller("DeskController", [
      function () {
        var vm = this;
        var baseline = { note: "Inspect hinge" };
        vm.request = angular.copy(baseline);
        vm.reset = function (form) {
          vm.request = angular.copy(baseline);
          form.$setPristine();
          form.$setUntouched();
        };
      },
    ]);
  })();
</script>

Expected result

Inspect hinge / pristine

Editing changes the state label to edited. Reset restores the original note and pristine state. angular.copy separates this simple plain record from the baseline, but it is not a universal serializer for arbitrary application objects or class instances.

Advertisements