Is there a way to have a button function as a submit button for a form even when it is located in a separate component within a react application?

Question

Is there a way to have a button function as a submit button for a form even when it is located in a separate component within a react application?

I am in the process of creating a user-friendly "My Account" page using react, where users can easily update their account information. I have divided my components into two sections: the navbar and the form itself. However, I am facing an issue with the submit button for the form being located in the navbar component, while the actual form is within the accountdetails component. Both components share a common parent component (App.js). How can I make the edit button in the top right corner of the screen function as a submit button for the form, ensuring that all form validations are met to prevent users from submitting incorrect data?

You can access the corresponding code here: https://github.com/bazuka1995/LeapDev-User-Account

javascript css reactjs forms validation

Answer 1

Answer №1

If you want to trigger form submission programmatically, one way is to create an invisible submit button in the form component and pass a reference to it from your App.js file. Then, in your App.js, you can set up a function that clicks this invisible button when needed. This function can be passed to another visible button on the navbar for easy triggering. Check out the example below:

App.js

...
export default App = () => {
    const submitButtonRef = useRef(null);
    
    const submitForm = () => {
        if (submitButtonRef) {
            submitButtonRef.current.click();
        }
    }
    
    return (
        ...
            <Navbar submitForm={submitForm} />
            <FormComponent submitButtonRef={submitButtonRef} />
        ...
    )
}

Navbar component

...
export default Navbar = ({submitForm}) => {

    return (
       ...
            <button onClick={() => submitForm()}>Submit</button
        ...
    )

Form component

...
export default FormComponent = ({submitButtonRef}) => {

    return (
        ...
           <button 
                style={{display: "none"}} 
                htmlType="submit" 
                ref={submitButtonRef}
            >
                Submit
            </button>
        ...
    )

I'm still learning, so any feedback or suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Answer 2

If you want to trigger form submission programmatically, one way is to create an invisible submit button in the form component and pass a reference to it from your App.js file. Then, in your App.js, you can set up a function that clicks this invisible button when needed. This function can be passed to another visible button on the navbar for easy triggering. Check out the example below:

App.js

...
export default App = () => {
    const submitButtonRef = useRef(null);
    
    const submitForm = () => {
        if (submitButtonRef) {
            submitButtonRef.current.click();
        }
    }
    
    return (
        ...
            <Navbar submitForm={submitForm} />
            <FormComponent submitButtonRef={submitButtonRef} />
        ...
    )
}

Navbar component

...
export default Navbar = ({submitForm}) => {

    return (
       ...
            <button onClick={() => submitForm()}>Submit</button
        ...
    )

Form component

...
export default FormComponent = ({submitButtonRef}) => {

    return (
        ...
           <button 
                style={{display: "none"}} 
                htmlType="submit" 
                ref={submitButtonRef}
            >
                Submit
            </button>
        ...
    )

I'm still learning, so any feedback or suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Is there a way to have a button function as a submit button for a form even when it is located in a separate component within a react application?

Answer №1

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