gistfile1.rb

class CcwFormBuilder < ActionView::Helpers::FormBuilder

  helpers = field_helpers +
            %w(date_select datetime_select time_select) +
            %w(collection_select select country_select time_zone_select) -
            %w(hidden_field label fields_for)

  helpers.each do |name|
    define_method(name) do |field, *args|
      options      = args.extract_options!
      html_options = args.extract_options!

      # Get a handle on the class that the form is for.
      klass = object_name.to_s.classify.constantize

      # Figure out if the field we're dealing with is a required field
      mandatory = defined?(klass::REQ_ATTR) && klass::REQ_ATTR.include?(field.to_s) ? :mandatory : nil

      # If we're dealing with a select box
      if name =~ /select$/
        if mandatory
          # Manually delete the :include_blank select option if the field is mandatory
          html_options.delete(:include_blank) if html_options.has_key?(:include_blank)
          options.delete(:include_blank) if options.has_key?(:include_blank)
        else
          # Manually include a blank entry if the field is optional
          html_options.merge!(:include_blank => true) if name == "collection_select"
          options.merge!(:include_blank => true) if name == "select"
        end
      end

      # I like to have smaller text_areas than the massive default
      if name == "text_area"
        options.delete(:size) if options.has_key?(:size)
        options.merge!(:size => "50x10")
      end

      # The default label is the field's name, unless options[:label] exists
      if options.has_key?(:label)
        label_text = options[:label]

        # Nix the label option so that it isn't rendered in the source
        options.delete(:label)
      else
        label_text = field.to_s
      end

      if options.has_key?(:message)
        msg = "<div class='input_message'>#{options.delete(:message)}</div>".html_safe
      end

      # Push the html_options hash onto the end of the args list
      args.push(html_options) unless html_options.blank?

      # Push the options hash onto the end of the args list
      args.push(options)

      # Generate a label field for the form control
      label_field = "<label for=\"#{object_name}_#{field}\"></label>".html_safe

      # Push a "box" into the template with selective styling and title
      @template.box(label_text, mandatory) do
        @template.concat(label_field)
        @template.concat(msg) if msg.present?
        @template.concat(super(field, *args))
      end

    end
  end

  def errors
    if error_messages.present?
      errors = error_messages(:header_message => nil)
      @template.error_box("Something is awry&hellip;".html_safe, :content => errors)
    end
  end

end



## It would be used like this:


= form_for(@job, :url => jobs_path, :builder => CcwFormBuilder) do |f|
  = f.errors
  = f.text_field :name, :size => 50, :label => 'name'
  = f.collection_select :client_contact_company_id, ContactCompany.nicknamed, :id, :display_name, {:include_blank => true}, :label => 'client'
  = f.collection_select :parent_job_id, Job.top_level, :id, :plain_display_name, {:include_blank => true}, :label => 'parent job'