React input defaultValue doesn't update with state

Question

I\'m trying to create a simple form with react, but facing difficulty having the data properly bind to the defaultValue of the form.

The behavior I\'m looking for is

Answer 1

defaultValue is only for the initial load

If you want to initialize the input then you should use defaultValue, but if you want to use state to change the value then you need to use value. Personally I like to just use defaultValue if I'm just initializing it and then just use refs to get the value when I submit. There's more info on refs and inputs on the react docs, https://facebook.github.io/react/docs/forms.html and https://facebook.github.io/react/docs/working-with-the-browser.html.

Here's how I would rewrite your input:

awayMessageText = if this.state.awayMessage then this.state.awayMessage.text else ''

Also you don't want to pass placeholder text like you did because that will actually set the value to 'placeholder text'. You do still need to pass a blank value into the input because undefined and nil turns value into defaultValue essentially. https://facebook.github.io/react/tips/controlled-input-null-value.html.

getInitialState can't make api calls

You need to make api calls after getInitialState is run. For your case I would do it in componentDidMount. Follow this example, https://facebook.github.io/react/tips/initial-ajax.html.

I'd also recommend reading up on the component lifecycle with react. https://facebook.github.io/react/docs/component-specs.html.

Rewrite with modifications and loading state

Personally I don't like to do the whole if else then logic in the render and prefer to use 'loading' in my state and render a font awesome spinner before the form loads, http://fortawesome.github.io/Font-Awesome/examples/. Here's a rewrite to show you what I mean. If I messed up the ticks for cjsx, it's because I normally just use coffeescript like this, .

window.Pages ||= {}

Pages.AwayMessages = React.createClass

  getInitialState: ->
    { loading: true, awayMessage: {} }

  componentDidMount: ->
    App.API.fetchAwayMessage (data) =>
      @setState awayMessage:data.away_message, loading: false

  onToggleCheckbox: (event)->
    @state.awayMessage.master_toggle = event.target.checked
    @setState(awayMessage: @state.awayMessage)

  onTextChange: (event) ->
    @state.awayMessage.text = event.target.value
    @setState(awayMessage: @state.awayMessage)

  onSubmit: (e) ->
    # Not sure what this is for. I'd be careful using globals like this
    window.a = @
    @submitAwayMessage(@state.awayMessage)

  submitAwayMessage: (awayMessage)->
    console.log "I'm saving", awayMessage
    App.API.saveAwayMessage awayMessage, (data) =>
      if data.status == 'ok'
        App.modal.closeModal()
        notificationActions.notify("Away Message saved.")
        @setState awayMessage:awayMessage

  render: ->
    if this.state.loading
      ``
    else
    `

       

         
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That should about cover it. Now that is one way to go about forms which uses state and value. You can also just use defaultValue instead of value and then use refs to get the values when you submit. If you go that route I would recommend you have an outer shell component (usually referred to as high order components) to fetch the data and then pass it to the form as props.

Overall I'd recommend reading the react docs all the way through and do some tutorials. There's lots of blogs out there and http://www.egghead.io had some good tutorials. I have some stuff on my site as well, http://www.openmindedinnovations.com.