Zend Framework: isValid() clears values from disabled form fields!

Question

When you submit a form, disabled form fields are not submitted in the request.

So if your form has a disabled form field, it makes working with Zend_Form::isValid() a little frustrating.

$form->populate($originalData);
$form->my_text_field->disabled = 'disabled';
if (!$form->isValid($_POST)) {
    //form is not valid
    //since my_text_field is disabled, it doesn't get submitted in the request
    //isValid() will clear the disabled field value, so now we have to re-populate the field
    $form->my_text_field->value($originalData['my_text_field']);
    $this->view->form = $form;
    return;
}

// if the form is valid, and we call $form->getValues() to save the data, our disabled field value has been cleared!

Without having to re-populate the form, and create duplicate lines of code, what is the best way to approach this problem?

Answer 1

I use a custom class inherited from Zend_Form. Class adds some features and solves this problem by replacing the method isValid as follows:

class Murdej_Form extends Zend_Form {
    function isValid($data) {
        $_data = $this->getValues();
        $valid = parent::isValid($data);
        $this->populate($_data);
        return $valid;
    };
};

Answer 2

Are you setting the element to disabled so that the user can't edit it's contents but only to see it? If so, just set the element's readonly attribute to true, I think it'll work that way.