choice Field Type¶

A multi-purpose field used to allow the user to “choose” one or more options. It can be rendered as a select tag, radio buttons, or checkboxes.

To use this field, you must specify either the choice_list or choices option.

Rendered as	can be various tags (see below)
Options	choices choice_list multiple expanded preferred_choices empty_value empty_data
Inherited options	required label read_only error_bubbling
Parent type	form (if expanded), `field` otherwise
Class	`Symfony\Component\Form\Extension\Core\Type\ChoiceType`

Example Usage¶

The easiest way to use this field is to specify the choices directly via the choices option. The key of the array becomes the value that’s actually set on your underlying object (e.g. m), while the value is what the user sees on the form (e.g. Male).

$builder->add('gender', 'choice', array(
    'choices'   => array('m' => 'Male', 'f' => 'Female'),
    'required'  => false,
));

By setting multiple to true, you can allow the user to choose multiple values. The widget will be rendered as a multiple select tag or a series of checkboxes depending on the expanded option:

$builder->add('availability', 'choice', array(
    'choices'   => array(
        'morning'   => 'Morning',
        'afternoon' => 'Afternoon',
        'evening'   => 'Evening',
    ),
    'multiple'  => true,
));

You can also use the choice_list option, which takes an object that can specify the choices for your widget.

Select tag, Checkboxes or Radio Buttons¶

This field may be rendered as one of several different HTML fields, depending on the expanded and multiple options:

element type	expanded	multiple
select tag	false	false
select tag (with `multiple` attribute)	false	true
radio buttons	true	false
checkboxes	true	true

Field Options¶

choices¶

type: array default: array()

This is the most basic way to specify the choices that should be used by this field. The choices option is an array, where the array key is the item value and the array value is the item’s label:

$builder->add('gender', 'choice', array(
    'choices' => array('m' => 'Male', 'f' => 'Female')
));

choice_list¶

type: Symfony\Component\Form\Extension\Core\ChoiceList\ChoiceListInterface

This is one way of specifying the options to be used for this field. The choice_list option must be an instance of the ChoiceListInterface. For more advanced cases, a custom class that implements the interface can be created to supply the choices.

multiple¶

type: Boolean default: false

If true, the user will be able to select multiple options (as opposed to choosing just one option). Depending on the value of the expanded option, this will render either a select tag or checkboxes if true and a select tag or radio buttons if false. The returned value will be an array.

expanded¶

type: Boolean default: false

If set to true, radio buttons or checkboxes will be rendered (depending on the multiple value). If false, a select element will be rendered.

preferred_choices¶

type: array default: array()

If this option is specified, then a sub-set of all of the options will be moved to the top of the select menu. The following would move the “Baz” option to the top, with a visual separator between it and the rest of the options:

$builder->add('foo_choices', 'choice', array(
    'choices' => array('foo' => 'Foo', 'bar' => 'Bar', 'baz' => 'Baz'),
    'preferred_choices' => array('baz'),
));

Note that preferred choices are only meaningful when rendering as a select element (i.e. expanded is false). The preferred choices and normal choices are separated visually by a set of dotted lines (i.e. -------------------). This can be customized when rendering the field:

Twig

{{ form_widget(form.foo_choices, { 'separator': '=====' }) }}

PHP

<?php echo $view['form']->widget($form['foo_choices'], array('separator' => '=====')) ?>

empty_value¶

type: string or Boolean

This option determines whether or not a special “empty” option (e.g. “Choose an option”) will appear at the top of a select widget. This option only applies if both the expanded and multiple options are set to false.

Add an empty value with “Choose an option” as the text:

$builder->add('states', 'choice', array(
    'empty_value' => 'Choose an option',
));

Guarantee that no “empty” value option is displayed:

$builder->add('states', 'choice', array(
    'empty_value' => false,
));

If you leave the empty_value option unset, then a blank (with no text) option will automatically be added if and only if the required option is false:

// a blank (with no text) option will be added
$builder->add('states', 'choice', array(
    'required' => false,
));

empty_data¶

type: mixed default: array() if multiple or expanded, '' otherwise

This option determines what value the field will return when the empty_value choice is selected.

For example, if you want the gender field to be set to null when no value is selected, you can do it like this:

$builder->add('gender', 'choice', array(
    'choices' => array(
        'm' => 'Male',
        'f' => 'Female'
    ),
    'required'    => false,
    'empty_value' => 'Choose your gender',
    'empty_data'  => null
));

Inherited options¶

These options inherit from the field type:

required¶

type: Boolean default: true

If true, an HTML5 required attribute will be rendered. The corresponding label will also render with a required class.

This is superficial and independent from validation. At best, if you let Symfony guess your field type, then the value of this option will be guessed from your validation information.

label¶

type: string default: The label is “guessed” from the field name

Sets the label that will be used when rendering the field. The label can also be directly set inside the template:

{{ form_label(form.name, 'Your name') }}

read_only¶

type: Boolean default: false

If this option is true, the field will be rendered with the disabled attribute so that the field is not editable.

error_bubbling¶

type: Boolean default: false

If true, any errors for this field will be passed to the parent field or form. For example, if set to true on a normal field, any errors for that field will be attached to the main form, not to the specific field.