ruby script/plugin install http://luckymonk.com/svn/repos/datalist_for/

After installing the plugin, just include DatalistFor in your controller, and drop the datalist\_for tag into your form. So, your complete form might look like:

<%= form_tag "save" %>
  <%= datalist_for :monkeys, Monkey.find(:all) %>
  <%= submit_tag "Save" %>
<%= end_form_tag %>

This will spit out a fully editable page of your favorite pet monkeys (and who doesn’t have pet monkeys). Then, in the target action of your form, do a save\_datalist to save the data. An example:

def save
  save_datalist
  flash[:notice] = "Your monkeys have been saved." 
  redirect_to :action => 'whatever'
end

You can also specify a subset of your model data:

<%= datalist_for :monkeys, Monkey.find_all_by_user_id(1), :create_with => { :user_id => 1 } %>

This will give you only monkeys for User 1. And any new monkeys will belong to User 1.

Other options:

<%= datalist_for :monkeys, Monkey.find_all_by_user_id(1), { :create_with => { :user_id => 1 },
                                    :show_header => false,
                                    :add_text => "Add a new monkey",
                                    :exclude => [:likes_bananas, nickname],
                                    :delete_content => image_tag "trash" } %>

This means:

* Don’t show the header row
* Use “Add a new monkey” as the link text for adding a new record (defaults to “Add modelname“)
* Exclude the :likes_bananas and :nickname columns
* Will use “trash.png” for row deletion instead of the default “Delete” text

Demo Here's the obligatory demo page. Installation Installing is straightforward:

ruby script\plugin install http://luckymonk.com/svn/repos/datalist_for

There is currently no advanced documentation for this plugin.