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I'm noticing that hook_form_alter isn't being called when a page has errors that display a message from form_set_error. Changes to my form aren't taking effect, and the error page is effectively broken.

I've tried to output a dpm statement in hook_form_alter, but it isn't appearing on the error page.

Is there a way to get drupal to call the hook and alter the form?

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  • I've found drupal.org/node/671574 which claims this is fixed in drupal 7, but it does not appear to be the case.
    – Arosboro
    Commented Apr 15, 2012 at 3:44

1 Answer 1

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Forms are cached in Drupal so the form is loaded once (where your form_alter runs) and then it's loaded from cache to be reloaded when there are validation errors.

You should use an #after_build callback, which always gets run.

Just remember to return $element in your #after_build callback or you'll be getting WSODs.

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  • is it possible to add elements to the form? I'm adding a textarea when a value is set in a particular field.
    – Arosboro
    Commented Apr 15, 2012 at 4:18
  • Technically yes you can do anything with the form. That said, you might be better off adding the field in your form alter with #access FALSE and then setting it to TRUE in your after build if necessary.
    – Alex Weber
    Commented Apr 15, 2012 at 4:20
  • If I add the field in the form_alter, it doesn't appear on the validation error page. I decided to create the field in my after_build callback, but the #ajax callback is not being fired. Autocomplete works fine. When dealing with form_alter I found that I had to add the wrapper with #printed => TRUE to the root of the array, and then copy the field to the element I wanted it to display under. I think the callback worked then because the field had already been recognized during rendering. Do I need to call field_default_form or some other function to get ajax callbacks to work?
    – Arosboro
    Commented Apr 15, 2012 at 15:40
  • Could you please elaborate on exactly what you are trying to do with adding the extra field? It doesn't appear in your validation error because #access was set to false, you could try checking for form_get_errors() in your after build and setting #access to true if there are any
    – Alex Weber
    Commented Apr 15, 2012 at 16:28
  • I'm writing a module called text_field_reference that autocompletes to the value of a field in the recommendation content type I've created. The recommendations match up to a finding select field that has integer point values (0, 1, 2, etc). If the user changes the select field, I use an ajax call to display a textarea that autocompletes to a recommendation. Its blur event replaces the field_text_reference field with a key representing the node that was referenced. I'll be the first to admit it's kind of hackish. The ajax callback to replace the reference field is intermittently working.
    – Arosboro
    Commented Apr 15, 2012 at 16:48

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