Confirmation alert box with Laravel contact form - php

Question

I am new to Laravel but have managed to get a contact form working and showing validation errors when there are some.
However I do have one problem and have no idea how to handle it in Laravel. When a message is sent (validation rules pass) I would like to display an alert box (Bootstrap style) saying 'Thanks, message has been sent'.
CODE
public function postContact()
{
$formData = Input::all();
// input validator with its rules
$validator = Validator::make(
array(
'name' => $formData['name'],
'email' => $formData['email'],
'subject' => $formData['subject'],
'message' => $formData['message']
),
array(
'name' => 'required|min:3',
'email' => 'required|email',
'subject' => 'required|min:6',
'message' => 'required|min:5'
)
);
if ($validator -> passes()) {
// data is valid
Mail::send('emails.message', $formData, function($message) use ($formData) {
$message -> from($formData['email'], $formData['name']);
$message -> to('info#company.com', 'John Doe') -> subject($formData['subject']);
});
return View::make('contact');
} else {
// data is invalid
return Redirect::to('/contact') -> withErrors($validator);
}
}
How can I achieve this in Laravel 4?

Answer 1

You could use the with method of the Redirect class:
if ($validator -> passes()) {
// data is valid
Mail::send('emails.message', $formData, function($message) use ($formData) {
$message -> from($formData['email'], $formData['name']);
$message -> to('info#company.com', 'John Doe') -> subject($formData['subject']);
});
//Redirect to contact page
return Redirect::to('/contact')->with('success', true)->with('message','That was great!');
} else {
// data is invalid
return Redirect::to('/contact') -> withErrors($validator);
}
You will be redirected to the contact page with the session variables success and message set.
Use them for an alert in your view, e.g. in a Bootstrap Alert:
with Blade
#if(Session::has('success'))
<div class="alert alert-success">
<button type="button" class="close" data-dismiss="alert" aria-hidden="true">×</button>
<strong>Success!</strong> {{ Session::get('message', '') }}
</div>
#endif
without Blade
<?php if(Session::has('success')): ?>
<div class="alert alert-success">
<button type="button" class="close" data-dismiss="alert" aria-hidden="true">×</button>
<strong>Success!</strong> <?php echo Session::get('message', ''); ?>
</div>
<?php endif; ?>
If you are using them like this you can even provide success alerts, info alerts, or any alert you want to.

Answer 2

When your data is INVALID you use the withErrors() method to pass some data (erros) to your route.
You can use the same process with any kind of data.
For example:
return View::make('contact')->withMessage("Thanks, message has been sent");
This method withMessage() will create a new variable message and store it in the Session for one request cycle.
So, in your view you can access it like this:
#if(Session::has('message'))
<div class="alert-box success">
{{ Session::get('message') }}
</div>
#endif

Answer 3

I assume you are using Bootstrap so this answer will show the message in pop up window (I test it on Laravel 5)
return View::make('contact')->with('message', "Thanks, message has been sent");
Make sure this code will be added in footer
<!-- Show Pop up Window if there is message called back -->
<?php
if(session('message'))
{
echo '<script>
document.getElementById("popup_message").click();
</script>';
}
?>
Add this function in helper.php so you can use it anywhere in your code
function message_pop_up_window($message)
{
$display = '
<a class="popup_message" id="popup_message" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#message" href="#"></a>
<div class="modal fade" id="message" role="dialog">
<div class="modal-dialog modal-md">
<div class="modal-content">
<div class="modal-header">
<button type="button" class="close" data-dismiss="modal">×</button>
<h4 class="modal-title">Messsage </h4>
</div>
<div class="modal-body">
<p>'.$message.'</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>';
return $display;
}
Then call the function in you page
{!! message_pop_up_window($message) !!}