Rails Basics : Useful Helpers

In developing the e-CRM, I have found the following helper methods very useful :-

a) Hardcoded select list

def severity_form_column (record, name)
select_tag name, options_for_select(%w(Show-stopper Severe Nice-to-have Customisation Trivial), record.severity)
end

b) TextArea for edit/create

def blog_form_column(record, input_name) text_area_tag('record[blog]', @record.blog, :size=>"80x30")
end

c) checkbox for edit/create

def active_form_column(record, input_name)
check_box :record, :active, :name => input_name
end

e) checkbox for list
def active_column(record)
check_box_tag 'active', 1, record.active?, { :disabled => true }
end

f) date display for list
def bill_date_column(record)
if record.bill_date.nil?
record.bill_date= '-' #''&nbsp'
else
record.bill_date.strftime("%d/%m/%y")
end
end

g) Customising Rails date format

def mydate_form_column(record, input_name)
date_select(:record, :mydate :order =>
[:day, :month, :year], :start_year => 1970, :end_year => 2000)
end

h) Controlling Text Field Size

def name_form_column(record, input_name)
text_field_tag('record[name]', @record.name, { :autocomplete => "off", :size => 40, :class => 'text-input'})
end