Paul Welty, PhD AI, WORK, AND STAYING HUMAN

Ruby on Rails: Using a different controller with in_place_editor_field

Learn how to use in_place_editor_field in Rails with a different controller, ensuring seamless functionality across views and controllers.

I don’t know why this took a while to figure out, but it did. If you are using the stock Rails in_place_editor_field, you know it looks like this in the controller:

in_place_edit_for :user, :name

And like this in the view:

<%= in_place_editor_field :user, :name %>

This works fine so long as you’re rendering from the users controller. But, what if this view is a partial inside a different controller’s view? In that case, what gets called is not “/users/set_user_name” but “/othercontroller/set_user_name”. And, of course, it fails because there is no method (dynamic or otherwise) like that there.

The solution is easy, but the documentation isn’t helpful. You need to alter the view to be like this:

<%= in_place_editor_field :user, :name, {}, :url=>{:controller=>'users', :action=>'set_user_name', :id=>user.id}} %>
· ruby-on-rails

Featured writing

When your brilliant idea meets organizational reality: a survival guide

Transform your brilliant tech ideas into reality by navigating organizational challenges and overcoming hidden resistance with this essential survival guide.

Server-Side Dashboard Architecture: Why Moving Data Fetching Off the Browser Changes Everything

How choosing server-side rendering solved security, CORS, and credential management problems I didn't know I had.

AI as Coach: Transforming Professional and Continuing Education

Transform professional and continuing education with AI-driven coaching, offering personalized support, accountability, and skill mastery at scale.

Books

The Work of Being (in progress)

A book on AI, judgment, and staying human at work.

The Practice of Work (in progress)

Practical essays on how work actually gets done.

Recent writing

Start, ship, close, sum up: rituals that make work resolve

Most knowledge work never finishes. It just stops. The start, ship, close, and sum-up methodology creates deliberate moments that turn continuous work into resolved units.

Notes and related thinking

Google Criticized for Privacy Issues

Explore the critique of Google’s privacy practices as Ian Hickson defends the company's intentions and highlights the impact of public skepticism.

Llama 2 avoids errors by staying quiet, GPT-4 gives long, if useless, samples

Discover how Llama 2 outperforms GPT-4 in generating reliable code, revealing crucial insights on the effectiveness of large language models.

NoMethodError (undefined method `finder') with Engines and Rails 2.2

Fix the NoMethodError with ActionMailer in Rails 2.2 by applying a simple patch. Save time and troubleshoot efficiently with our guide.