Nest input inside f.label ( rails form generation )

Question

I want to use the f.label method to create my form element labels, however - i want to have the form element nested inside the label. Is this possible?

-- From W3C --

To associate a label with another control implicitly, the control element must be within the contents of the LABEL element. In this case, the LABEL may only contain one control element. The label itself may be positioned before or after the associated control.

In this example, we implicitly associate two labels with two text input controls:

<FORM action="..." method="post">
<P>
<LABEL>
   First Name
   <INPUT type="text" name="firstname">
</LABEL>
<LABEL>
   <INPUT type="text" name="lastname">
   Last Name
</LABEL>
</P>
</FORM>

Answer 1

You can use a custom FormBuilder to allow the label helper to accept a block. It's as simple as this:

class SmartLabelFormBuilder < ActionView::Helpers::FormBuilder
  def label(method, content_or_options_with_block = nil, options = {}, &block)
    if !block_given?
      super(method, content_or_options_with_block, options)
    else
      options = content_or_options_with_block.is_a?(Hash) ? content_or_options_with_block.stringify_keys : {}

      @template.content_tag(:label, options, &block)
    end
  end
end

Then you can use your form builder like this:

<% form_for(@article, :builder => SmartLabelFormBuilder) do |form| %>
  <% form.label(:title) do %>
    Title
    <%= form.text_field(:title) %>
  <% end %>
<% end %>

Done. I've actually written a blog post about label helpers with blocks that includes a little more detail, like customising how your form should display when your fields have errors (I don't like wrapping everything in fieldWithErrors divs). Check it out.