Keeping Your Lists Sortable: Re-Initializing jQuery Sortable After AJAX Updates with Yii-Jui
Problem: You've built a dynamic web application using Yii2 and the powerful jQuery UI library. You're using yii-jui to create sortable lists. But after a successful AJAX update (e.g., adding a new item), your newly added items aren't sortable. The jQuery Sortable functionality seems to be lost.
Rephrased: Imagine a dynamic to-do list where users can add new tasks. After adding a task, you want the newly added task to be instantly draggable and sortable within the list. However, your jQuery Sortable functionality isn't working on the newly added elements.
Scenario:
Let's assume you have a tasks controller and a index action that displays a list of tasks. The following code snippet shows the basic implementation of the sortable list using yii-jui in the index view:
<?php
use yii\jui\Sortable;
echo Sortable::widget([
'items' => $tasks,
'options' => [
'update' => new yii\web\JsExpression("function(event, ui) {
// Handle sorting logic here
}")
],
]);
?>
This code renders a sortable list using yii-jui with an update event handler.
The Issue:
The problem arises because the Sortable widget is only initialized once when the page loads. After an AJAX update, the HTML structure of the page changes, and the jQuery Sortable plugin is unaware of these new elements.
Solution:
To fix this, we need to re-initialize the jQuery Sortable plugin after the AJAX update. We can achieve this using the yii\widgets\ActiveForm and yii\web\JsExpression:
<?php
use yii\helpers\Html;
use yii\jui\Sortable;
use yii\widgets\ActiveForm;
// ... Your code for the form and model
// Inside the ActiveForm widget
ActiveForm::begin([
'id' => 'tasks-form',
'clientOptions' => [
'afterValidate' => new yii\web\JsExpression('function(form, data, hasError, validator){
if (!hasError){
$.ajax({
type: "POST",
url: "/tasks/create", // Your AJAX endpoint
data: $(form).serialize(),
success: function(data) {
$("#tasks-list").html(data); // Update the list container
$("#tasks-list").sortable("refresh"); // Re-initialize Sortable
},
error: function() {
// Handle errors
}
});
}
}')
]
]);
echo Sortable::widget([
'id' => 'tasks-list',
'items' => $tasks,
'options' => [
'update' => new yii\web\JsExpression("function(event, ui) {
// Handle sorting logic here
}")
],
]);
ActiveForm::end();
Explanation:
- ActiveForm Widget: We wrap our form inside the
ActiveFormwidget. This provides us with theafterValidateevent, which is triggered after a successful form submission. - AJAX Update: We use AJAX to send the form data to our
createaction, which handles the task creation logic. - List Container: We update the HTML content of our
tasks-listcontainer with the response from the server. - Re-Initialization: After the AJAX success, we call the
sortable("refresh")method on ourtasks-listcontainer. This re-initializes the jQuery Sortable plugin, making the newly added elements sortable.
Key Points:
- Ensure you have the necessary CSS and JavaScript files for
jquery-uiincluded in your project. - You can customize the AJAX call and the way you update the HTML based on your application's requirements.
- Consider using a dedicated JavaScript library like
jQuery-ui-touch-punchto make the sortable list touch-friendly.
Additional Value:
By re-initializing the jQuery Sortable plugin, you ensure that your dynamic lists remain interactive and user-friendly. This is crucial for creating a seamless and enjoyable experience for your users.
References:
