How do I edit multiple records in one Ruby on Rails form?

Question

I'm making a simple to-do list application to teach myself Ruby on Rails, however I've run into a problem. I have a simple form that lists to-do items with a check box to the left of them, and an "Update" button at the bottom, as so:

[ ] Do the dishes
[ ] Take out the garbage
[ ] Take over the world
( Update )

Each to-do item is a separate record in the database with a "completed" boolean field. I want the form to submit a list of checked-off item ids to an action in which I can set each item's "completed" field to true, which will hide them from the view.

I know how to make a form that references multiple models, but not one that references multiple records of the same model. Any tips?

Thanks!

Answer 1

Railscasts is your friend!

http://railscasts.com/episodes/52-update-through-checkboxes

It's really simple:

# routes.rb
map.resources :tasks, :collection => { :complete => :put }

# tasks_controller.rb
def complete
  Task.update_all(["completed_at=?", Time.now], :id => params[:task_ids])
end

# views\tasks\complete.html.erb
<% form_tag complete_tasks_path, :method => :put do %>
  <ul>
  <% for task in @incomplete_tasks %>
    <li>
      <%= check_box_tag "task_ids[]", task.id %>
      <%= task.name %>
    </li>
  <% end %>
  </ul>
  <%= submit_tag "Mark as Complete" %>
<% end %>