Update large CakePHP model, but *don't* touch certain fields?

Question

Using CakePHP 1.3

I have a fairly large model in CakePHP, and I'd like to have some hidden elements on the form page to (manually) compare/validate against before saving, but when doing a saveAll() (with validation), I don't want these fields present (essentially to avoid them being updated).

What's the proper way to handle this? Remove them from $this->data before handing that to saveAll()?

Answer 1

I'll usually use unset() prior to the saveAll(). If you think about it, it's the smarest/easiest way. That is, unless you want to manually name the hidden input fields different than the default data[Model][field] that is generated by the form helper.

But then you'd have to access them manually and validate them manually.

unset() is fast and clear.

Answer 2

Use the 'fieldlist' option:

$this->Model->saveAll($data, array('fieldlist' => array('fields', 'to', 'save')));

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$fields = array_keys($this->Model->_schema);
$fieldsNotToSave = array('field1', 'field2');
$fieldsToSave = array_diff($fields, $fieldsNotToSave);