Repeated data entry

This example demonstrates how the new record form can be reused for rapid data entry. The "Create" button has three buttons configured:

The default submit button, which is defined with just the string to show in the button
A custom button ("Create and add another") which will keep the form open, then trigger new row creation again, setting the form's values to what was just submitted. Note that you must also set the nest form option to false to allow the button to be triggered like this.
There is also a "Close" button to provide the end user with an additional way to exit the form.

The form buttons have full access to the Editor API, so you can provide a wide range of customisations, such as this one.

Name	Position	Office	Extn.	Start date	Salary
Name	Position	Office	Extn.	Start date	Salary

Javascript
HTML
CSS
Ajax
Server-side script
Comments

The Javascript shown below is used to initialise the table shown in this example:

var editor = new DataTable.Editor({
	ajax: '../php/staff.php',
	fields: [
		{
			label: 'First name:',
			name: 'first_name'
		},
		{
			label: 'Last name:',
			name: 'last_name'
		},
		{
			label: 'Position:',
			name: 'position'
		},
		{
			label: 'Office:',
			name: 'office'
		},
		{
			label: 'Extension:',
			name: 'extn'
		},
		{
			label: 'Start date:',
			name: 'start_date',
			type: 'datetime'
		},
		{
			label: 'Salary:',
			name: 'salary'
		}
	],
	table: '#example'
});

var table = $('#example').DataTable({
	ajax: '../php/staff.php',
	columns: [
		{
			data: null,
			render: function (data, type, row) {
				// Combine the first and last names into a single table field
				return data.first_name + ' ' + data.last_name;
			}
		},
		{ data: 'position' },
		{ data: 'office' },
		{ data: 'extn' },
		{ data: 'start_date' },
		{ data: 'salary', render: DataTable.render.number(null, null, 0, '$') }
	],
	layout: {
		topStart: {
			buttons: [
				{
					extend: 'create',
					editor: editor,
					formButtons: [
						{
							text: 'Close',
							action: function () {
								this.close();
							},
							className: 'pull-left'
						},
						{
							text: 'Create and add another',
							action: function () {
								let vals = this.val();

								// Stop the form from closing on complete, and then submit
								this
									.on('preClose.again', () => false)
									.submit( function () {
										// Set the values to what they were, so the
										// end user can reuse them
										editor.on('open', function () {
											editor.val(vals);
											editor.field('first_name').focus();
										});

										// Trigger the create button again
										table.buttons(0).trigger();

										// Remove the preClose blocker
										editor.off('preClose.again');
									});
							}
						},
						'Create'
					],
					formOptions: {
						nest: false
					}
				},
				{ extend: 'edit', editor: editor },
				{ extend: 'remove', editor: editor }
			]
		}
	},
	select: true
});

const editor = new DataTable.Editor({
	ajax: '../php/staff.php',
	fields: [
		{
			label: 'First name:',
			name: 'first_name'
		},
		{
			label: 'Last name:',
			name: 'last_name'
		},
		{
			label: 'Position:',
			name: 'position'
		},
		{
			label: 'Office:',
			name: 'office'
		},
		{
			label: 'Extension:',
			name: 'extn'
		},
		{
			label: 'Start date:',
			name: 'start_date',
			type: 'datetime'
		},
		{
			label: 'Salary:',
			name: 'salary'
		}
	],
	table: '#example'
});

const table = new DataTable('#example', {
	ajax: '../php/staff.php',
	columns: [
		{
			data: null,
			render: (data) => data.first_name + ' ' + data.last_name
		},
		{ data: 'position' },
		{ data: 'office' },
		{ data: 'extn' },
		{ data: 'start_date' },
		{ data: 'salary', render: DataTable.render.number(null, null, 0, '$') }
	],
	layout: {
		topStart: {
			buttons: [
				{
					extend: 'create',
					editor: editor,
					formButtons: [
						{
							text: 'Close',
							action: function () {
								this.close();
							},
							className: 'pull-left'
						},
						{
							text: 'Create and add another',
							action: function () {
								let vals = this.val();

								// Stop the form from closing on complete, and then submit
								this
									.on('preClose.again', () => false)
									.submit( function () {
										// Set the values to what they were, so the
										// end user can reuse them
										editor.one('open', function () {
											editor.val(vals);
											editor.field('first_name').focus();
										});

										// Trigger the create button again
										table.buttons(0).trigger();

										// Remove the preClose blocker
										editor.off('preClose.again');
									});
							}
						},
						'Create'
					],
					formOptions: {
						nest: false
					}
				},
				{ extend: 'edit', editor: editor },
				{ extend: 'remove', editor: editor }
			]
		}
	},
	select: true
});

In addition to the above code, the following Javascript library files are loaded for use in this example:

The HTML shown below is the raw HTML table element, before it has been enhanced by DataTables:

This example uses a little bit of additional CSS beyond what is loaded from the library files (below), in order to correctly display the table. The additional CSS used is shown below:

div.DTE_Form_Buttons {
	width: 100%;
}

div.DTE_Form_Buttons button.pull-left {
	margin-right: auto;
}

The following CSS library files are loaded for use in this example to provide the styling of the table:

This table loads data by Ajax. The latest data that has been loaded is shown below. This data will update automatically as any additional data is loaded.

The script used to perform the server-side interaction for this demo is shown below. This server uses PHP, so the PHP script is shown, however our download packages include the equivalent script for other platforms, including .NET and Node.js. Server-side scripts can be written in any language, using the protocol described in the Editor documentation.

Repeated data entry

Other examples

Simple initialisation

Advanced initialisation

Triggering editing

DataTables as an input

Dates and time

Dropdown input types

DataTables extensions

Inline editing

Bubble editing

API

Standalone

Styling

Plug-ins

DataTables