Field Elements

Methods for rendering individual form fields.

The field element methods are the basic building blocks of your form. Most of them accept the same four parameters:

1. name - string|array (required) - The field name or array configuration
2. label - string (optional) - The label text
3. value - string (optional) - Default value
4. attributes - string|array (optional) - Additional attributes

Two are shaped differently: hidden takes only a name and a value, and datalist adds its options array as a fourth parameter, pushing attributes to fifth.

text

Creates a standard text input field.

$form->text('username', 'Username', '', ['required' => true, 'maxlength' => 20]);

email

Creates an email input field.

$form->email('user_email', 'Email Address', '', ['required' => true]);

password

Creates a password input field.

$form->password('password', 'Password');

textarea

Creates a textarea input field.

$form->textarea('description', 'Description', '', ['rows' => 5, 'cols' => 50]);

select

Creates a select dropdown menu.

// With options array
$form->select('foo', 'Label', '', [
    'foo' => 'Foo',
    'bar' => 'Bar'
]);

// Passing a default value
$form->select('state', 'States', 'FL', 'states');

// With prebuilt dropdown
$form->select('state', 'States', '', 'states');

selectMultiple

Creates a multi-select dropdown menu. The rendered field is named skills[], so the submission arrives as an array.

$form->selectMultiple('skills', 'Skills', 'php', [
    'options' => [
        'php' => 'PHP',
        'js' => 'JavaScript',
        'python' => 'Python'
    ]
]);

The third parameter is a string, so it can preselect one option. It cannot take an array — that raises a TypeError. After a submission Flick reselects every option the user picked, from the posted data, without you doing anything.

checkbox

Creates a checkbox input.

$form->checkbox('terms', 'I agree to the terms', 'agreed', ['required' => true]);

checkboxInline

Creates an inline checkbox input.

$form->checkboxInline('remember', 'Remember me', 'yes');

radio

Creates a radio button input.

$form->radio('gender', 'Male', 'male');
$form->radio('gender', 'Female', 'female');

radioInline

Creates an inline radio button input.

$form->radioInline('size', 'Small', 'S');
$form->radioInline('size', 'Medium', 'M');
$form->radioInline('size', 'Large', 'L');

file

Creates a file upload input.

$form->file('avatar', 'Profile Picture', '', ['accept' => 'image/*']);

files

Creates a file input that allows multiple file selections.

$form->files('documents', 'Upload Documents', '', ['accept' => '.pdf,.doc,.docx']);

The rendered field is named documents[] — Flick appends the [] for you, because PHP only receives more than one file when the input name ends in [].

hidden

Creates a hidden input field.

$form->hidden('user_id', '123');

input

Creates a generic input element. The type can be specified via the attributes array or by passing an array as the first parameter.

// Using attributes to set type
$form->input('custom', 'Custom Field', '', ['type' => 'email']);

// Using array configuration — put the label in the array, not the second parameter
$form->input(['name' => 'custom', 'type' => 'email', 'label' => 'Custom Field'], '');

number

Creates a number input field.

$form->number('quantity', 'Quantity', '1', ['min' => '0', 'max' => '100']);

date

Creates a date input field.

$form->date('birth_date', 'Date of Birth', '', ['min' => '1900-01-01']);

datetime

Creates a datetime-local input field.

$form->datetime('event_time', 'Event Date and Time');

time

Creates a time input field.

$form->time('appointment_time', 'Appointment Time', '', ['min' => '09:00', 'max' => '17:00']);

color

Creates a color picker input field.

$form->color('theme_color', 'Theme Color', '#3366cc');

range

Creates a range slider input field.

$form->range('volume', 'Volume', '50', ['min' => '0', 'max' => '100', 'step' => '1']);

tel

Creates a telephone number input field.

$form->tel('phone', 'Phone Number', '', ['pattern' => '[0-9]{3}-[0-9]{3}-[0-9]{4}']);

url

Creates a URL input field.

$form->url('website', 'Your Website', 'https://');

search

Creates a search input field.

$form->search('query', 'Search', '', ['placeholder' => 'Enter search terms']);

datalist

Creates a text input with autocomplete suggestions using HTML5 datalist. The browser shows matching options as the user types.

// Using the dedicated method
$form->datalist('country', 'Country', '', ['USA', 'Canada', 'Mexico']);

// With key-value pairs (key is submitted, value is displayed)
$form->datalist('country', 'Country', '', ['us' => 'United States', 'ca' => 'Canada']);

// Using the datalist attribute on any compatible input
$form->text('browser', 'Browser', '', ['datalist' => ['Chrome', 'Firefox', 'Safari']]);
$form->search('query', 'Search', '', ['datalist' => ['Popular search 1', 'Popular search 2']]);

month

Creates a month input field.

$form->month('start_month', 'Start Month');

week

Creates a week input field.

$form->week('vacation_week', 'Vacation Week');

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