typescript - How to check for changes in form in Angular 2 using

Question

I have a form with few data fields and two buttons.I want to enable the buttons only if the user makes some changes to the form. I have tried using:

this.form.valueChanges.subscribe(data => console.log('form changes', data));

But the changes are detected initially when the form loads also. Is there any other way to check for any changes in the form. I want it to be called only when user makes changes to the field and not when the form loads. Following is my html and typescript code:

profile.html:

<section>
    <div>
        <form [formGroup]="form">
            <fieldset>
                <div class="panel-group m-l-1 m-r-1 accordion vertical-scroll" id="">
                    <div class="form-group required no-gutter">
                        <label for="firstname"> First Name:</label>
                        <div class="col-md-7 col-lg-6">
                            <input type="text" class="form-control" id="firstname" placeholder="" name="firstname" title="firstname" formControlName="firstname" size="128" aria-required="true" maxlength="35">
                        </div>
                    </div>
                </div>

            </fieldset>
            <div>
                <button class="btn btn-primary" type="button" (click)="save()">Save</button>
                <button class="btn btn-primary" type="button" (click)="cancel()">Cancel</button>
            </div>
        </form>
    </div>
</section>

profile.component.ts:

export class ProfileComponent implements OnInit, AfterViewInit, OnChanges {
    public form: FormGroup;

    constructor(private formBuilder: FormBuilder, private app: Application) {

    }

    loadForm(): void {
        this.form = this.formBuilder.group({
            firstname: [this.app.firstName, Validators.required]
        });
        this.form.valueChanges.subscribe(data => console.log('form changes', data));

    }

    save(): void {

    }

    cancel(): void {

    };

    ngOnInit() {
        this.loadForm();
    }

    ngAfterViewInit() {
        this.loadForm();
    }
}

Answer 1

You can use the .dirty (or .pristine) values to determine if a user has used the UI to change the control value:

<button class="btn btn-primary" type="button" (click)="save()" [disabled]="!form.dirty" >Save</button>
<button class="btn btn-primary" type="button" [disabled]="!form.dirty"(click)="cancel()">Cancel</button>

https://angular.io/docs/ts/latest/api/forms/index/AbstractControl-class.html#!#dirty-anchor

dirty : boolean A control is dirty if the user has changed the value in the UI.

Note that programmatic changes to a control's value will not mark it dirty.

touched : boolean A control is marked touched once the user has triggered a blur event on it.