Getting a remote form to submit within a partial collection when any select changes in Ruby on Rails

Streamline remote form submissions in Ruby on Rails with dynamic select changes using JavaScript callbacks for smoother user interactions.

This one is harder than it seems. But, I figured out a way. The trick and breakthrough came from Teflon Ted.

With a regular form, you could do this in your select statement:

:onChange=>"this.form.submit();"

This won’t work with a remote form, because the submission is not handled with the submit method but rather within the JavaScript callback in onsubmit. So, with a remote form, you have to change it to this:

:onChange=>"this.form.onsubmit();"

So, here is my code.

<%- remote_form_for
  :user,
  user,
  :url=>{:action=>'update_remote', :id=>user.id},
  :html=>{:id=>'form_'+user.id.to_s},
  :loading=>"Element.show('spinner_"+user.id.to_s+"'); Form.disable('form_"+user.id.to_s+"')"
  do |f|
-%>

<%= f.select
  :project_id,
  Project.find(:all).collect{|p| [p.name,p.id]},
  {:include_blank=>false, :selected=>user.project_id},
  {:onChange=>"this.form.onsubmit();", :id=>'user_project_id_'+user.id.to_s}
%>

<%- end -%>

	>%= image_tag 'spinner_arrows.gif' %< Saving...

Note that this is in a partial that gets iterated over a collection. So, I have to give everything a unique id in the HTML. Also, note that this includes the user of a spinner to show activity is taking place. I also like to disable the form temporarily to make sure nothing else gets selected. I don’t have to hide the spinner or reactivate the form because when the table row gets regenerated via RJS, it goes back to the default condition.

Featured writing

Why customer tools are organized wrong

This article reveals a fundamental flaw in how customer support tools are designed—organizing by interaction type instead of by customer—and explains why this fragmentation wastes time and obscures the full picture you need to help users effectively.

Infrastructure shapes thought

The tools you build determine what kinds of thinking become possible. On infrastructure, friction, and building deliberately for thought rather than just throughput.

Server-side dashboard architecture: Why moving data fetching off the browser changes everything

How choosing server-side rendering solved security, CORS, and credential management problems I didn't know I had.

Books

The work of being available now

A book on AI, judgment, and staying human at work.

The practice of work in progress

Practical essays on how work actually gets done.

Recent writing

The first real user breaks everything

Your product works until someone actually uses it. The gap between 'works in dev' and 'works for a person' is where most systems fail — and most organizations avoid looking.

The loop nobody bothers to close

Most systems observe. Almost none learn. The difference is a feedback loop — and the boring cleanup work that makes it possible.

Your process was built for a different speed

When work changes velocity, governance systems don't just fall behind. They become theater. And theater is worse than nothing—it gives you the feeling of control without any of the substance.

View all writing →

Related thinking