How to implement a custom hook for handling automatic form saving in React



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Implementing a custom hook for handling automatic form saving in React involves using local storage or any other persistence mechanism to save the form data as the user inputs it. Here's a basic implementation:

javascript
import { useState, useEffect } from 'react';

const useFormAutoSave = (formName, initialValues) => {
  const [formValues, setFormValues] = useState(initialValues);

  // Load saved form values from local storage when the component mounts
  useEffect(() => {
    const savedFormValues = localStorage.getItem(formName);
    if (savedFormValues) {
      setFormValues(JSON.parse(savedFormValues));
    }
  }, [formName]);

  // Save form values to local storage whenever they change
  useEffect(() => {
    localStorage.setItem(formName, JSON.stringify(formValues));
  }, [formName, formValues]);

  // Function to update form values
  const handleChange = (event) => {
    const { name, value } = event.target;
    setFormValues((prevValues) => ({
      ...prevValues,
      [name]: value,
    }));
  };

  // Function to reset form values
  const resetForm = () => {
    setFormValues(initialValues);
    localStorage.removeItem(formName);
  };

  return { formValues, handleChange, resetForm };
};

export default useFormAutoSave;

Here's how you can use this hook in your components:

javascript
import React from 'react';
import useFormAutoSave from './useFormAutoSave';

const MyForm = () => {
  const { formValues, handleChange, resetForm } = useFormAutoSave('myForm', {
    // Initial form values
    name: '',
    email: '',
    // Add more fields as needed
  });

  return (
    <form>
      <input
        type="text"
        name="name"
        value={formValues.name}
        onChange={handleChange}
        placeholder="Name"
      />
      <input
        type="email"
        name="email"
        value={formValues.email}
        onChange={handleChange}
        placeholder="Email"
      />
      {/* Add more input fields here */}
      <button type="button" onClick={resetForm}>
        Reset Form
      </button>
    </form>
  );
};

export default MyForm;

In this example:

  • The useFormAutoSave hook takes two arguments: formName (a string identifier for the form) and initialValues (an object containing the initial values of the form fields).
  • It uses the useState hook to manage the form values and useEffect hook to save and load form values to/from local storage.
  • The handleChange function updates the form values as the user types.
  • The resetForm function resets the form values to their initial state and removes the saved data from local storage.
  • In the component, you use the hook to manage the form state and handle form input changes.

This hook ensures that the form data is automatically saved to local storage as the user types, allowing them to continue where they left off even if they refresh the page or close the browser.

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