Question

I would like to create a simple drop down list with static values which I could reuse anywhere in my Ruby on Rails application in a form. The drop down list is really simple, something like this:

<select>
    <option value="5">5 minutes</option>
    <option value="15">15 minutes</option>
    <option value="30">30 minutes</option>
    <option value="60">1 hour</option>
</select>

What is the most convenient way in Rails to create a “control” (I don’t know if this term is even used in Rails) like this and be able to use it anywhere in a form and bind it to a property of a model class?

UPDATE: Thanks for the answers, those seems to be really nice solutions.

However, would it be possible to extend the class that the form_for returns (not sure which one, is it FormHelper or FormBuilder?), in order to be able to do this in a view:

<%= form_for(@myObj) do |f| %>
    <%= f.select_duration :duration %>
<% end %>

I started googling for how to extend the form helper, but could not figure it out yet.

UPDATE2: I can not answer my own question, so I put it here.

Finally figured out how to do it. Created a form_helper.rb file in app/helpers, and extended FormBuilder with the following code:

module FormHelper
    def self.included(base)
        ActionView::Helpers::FormBuilder.instance_eval do
            include FormBuilderMethods
        end
    end

    DURATIONS = [["5 Minutes", 5], ["15 minutes", 15], ["30 minutes", 30],["1 hour", 60]]
    module FormBuilderMethods
        def select_duration(method)
            @template.select @object_name,  method, @template.options_for_select(DURATIONS, @object.reminderTimeMinutes ? DURATIONS[@object.reminderTimeMinutes] : DURATIONS[0])
        end
    end
end

The last thing I am not sure about is whether it is a correct place for the DURATIONS constant (I am quite new to ruby, and ruby on rails).

Answer 1

Create a .rb file in app/initializers that creates your options as an array

DURATIONS = [["5 Minutes", 5], ["15 minutes", 15], ["30 minutes", 30],["1 hour", 60]]

Then, in the _forms in which you want to make use of these options,

<div class="field">
  <b>Choose a duration</b><br />
  <%= f.select :duration, options_for_select(DURATIONS, @my_table.duration ? DURATIONS[@my_table.duration] : DURATIONS[0]) %>
</div>

Good luck.