Solspace freeform composer fieldtype - inline errors

Question

I couldn't see it in the docs - is there a way to do inline error handling with a Freeform Composer form when you've selected the form in a fieldtype? I want the authors to be able to add a form of their choice to a page by selecting the form in the dropdown, but also have the error handling done inline.

The docs simply suggest using the field's short name which outputs the form, but the errors go to the ugly error screen and the info added is lost when you go back.

I can see there's a {exp:freeform:composer} tag, but I'm not sure how to grab the relevant form ID from the selected option in the fieldtype?

Cheers

Answer 1

To have inline errors in Freeform Composer, you need to create a custom Composer Template since the default template does not contain inline error code.

1. Go to CP => Add-Ons => Modules => Freeform => Composer Templates and create a new Composer Template.
2. Under the Template Params setting, add your parameters, in particular inline_errors / yes. You can add other parameters if you need more.

3. In the Composer Template section, you should see the code for a default Composer Template. You will need to add inline error template code similar to what is in the documentation (see http://www.solspace.com/docs/freeform/form/#freeform_error_field_name). Find the part that says:

   {if:else}
       <p>{composer:field_output}</p>
   {/if}
   

   and add the inline error code (arrange to your liking):

   {if:else}
       <p>
           {composer:field_output}
   
           {!-- composer:field_name will parse first to the field's name --}
           {if "{freeform:error:{composer:field_name}}"} 
               <strong>{freeform:error:{composer:field_name}}</strong>
           {/if}
       </p>
   {/if}
   

   If you need inline errors for general errors (eg. captcha not filled in, etc), feel free to also add the {freeform:general_errors} code (see docs) as well in the Composer template where appropriate (eg. at the top of the Composer Template).

4. Go to the Forms section and click the icon in the "Composer" column to edit your Composer form.
5. In the top left of the screen, select your newly created Composer Template from the dropdown. Save you form.
6. Add the Freeform custom field to your custom field group. For this example, let's use my_freeform_field
7. Now your users can select the Composer form from the Freeform custom field when filling out the entry form.

In your template, you can display the Composer form selected in the Channel Entry my simply calling its name:

{exp:channel:entries /* your parameters */}
   <h3>The form:</h3>
   {my_freeform_field}
{/exp:channel:entries}

Unfortunately there are no parameters for the Freeform custom field. If you need to use different parameters or a different Composer Template (and have these options available in the Freeform custom field), unfortunately that requires a new Composer form to link a new Composer Template. (Feature Requests can be written here)