Add HTML placeholder into Zend_Form - php

Question

I'm using Zend_Form for an application form using this code:
class Form_ApplicationForm extends Zend_Form
{
public function init()
{
$this->setAction('/application/new')
->setMethod('post')
->setAttrib('id','application');
$name = new Zend_Form_Element_Text('name');
$name->setLabel('Your Name')
->setRequired(TRUE)
->addValidator('alpha', FALSE, array('allowWhiteSpace' => true));
$email = new Zend_Form_Element_Text('email');
$email->setLabel('Email Address')
->setRequired(TRUE)
->addValidator('EmailAddress');
$this->addElements(array($name,$email));
}
}
I'm adding a flash file uploader (swfupload) to this form which needs a HTML snippet to be in place to work, the snippet looks like this:
<div id="swfupload-control">
<p>Upload upto 5 image files(jpg, png, gif), each having maximum size of 1MB(Use Ctrl/Shift to select multiple files)</p>
<input type="button" id="button" />
<p id="queuestatus" ></p>
<ol id="log"></ol>
</div>
What is the best way of inserting this so that it sits somewhere within the <form> which i'm inserting within my controller like this:
public function newAction()
{
$form = new Form_ApplicationForm();
if($this->_request->isPost()){
$data = $_POST;
if($form->isValid($data)){
/// handle data here
}else{
$form->populate($data);
}
}
$this->view->form = $form;
}
Is there a way of adding a placeholder or similar within Zend_Form, or should this be done using a decorator or something like that?
Thanks.

Answer 1

You'd have to write your own Element for this, e.g. My_Form_Element_SwfUpload along with a renderer. See these tutorials:
The simplest Zend Form Decorator
How to layer Decorators
Rendering Zend Form Decorators individually
Creating composite elements

Answer 2

The simplest way is to do it in the view:
By echoing each element you can print its html. Here's one way to do it:
<form id="<?= $this->form->getId() ?>" action="<?= $this->form->getAction() ?>">
<? foreach ($this->form as $element): ?>
<?= $element ?>
<? if ($element->getName() == 'email'): ?>
<div id="swfupload-control">
<p>Upload upto 5 image files(jpg, png, gif), each having maximum size of 1MB(Use Ctrl/Shift to select multiple files)</p>
<input type="button" id="button" />
<p id="queuestatus" ></p>
<ol id="log"></ol>
</div>
<? endif ?>
<? endforeach ?>
</form>
What this does is it prints all the elements, and puts whatever you have to after the email field. If you add or remove a field from the form this code will continue to work (of course it will fail if you remove the email field).