It might work for you to write a custom directive that wraps the javascript blur() method (and runs a validation function when triggered); there's an Angular issue that has a sample one (as well as a generic directive that can bind to other events not natively supported by Angular):
If you don't want to go that route, your other option would be to set up $watch on the field, again triggering validation when the field is filled out.
This will add has-focus and has-visited classes to various elements as the user focuses/visits the elements. You can then add these classes to your CSS rules to show validation errors:
To pick up further on the given answers, you can simplify input tagging by using CSS3 pseudo-classes and only marking visited fields with a class to delay displaying validation errors until the user lost focus on the field:
(Example requires jQuery)
JavaScript
module = angular.module('app.directives', []);
module.directive('lateValidateForm', function () {
return {
restrict: 'AC',
link: function (scope, element, attrs) {
$inputs = element.find('input, select, textarea');
$inputs.on('blur', function () {
$(this).addClass('has-visited');
});
element.on('submit', function () {
$inputs.addClass('has-visited');
});
}
};
});
Regarding @lambinator's solution... I was getting the following error in angular.js 1.2.4:
Error: [$rootScope:inprog] $digest already in progress
I'm not sure if I did something wrong or if this is a change in Angular, but removing the scope.$apply statements resolved the problem and the classes/states are still getting updated.
If you are also seeing this error, give the following a try:
var blurFocusDirective = function () {
return {
restrict: 'E',
require: '?ngModel',
link: function (scope, elm, attr, ctrl) {
if (!ctrl) {
return;
}
elm.on('focus', function () {
elm.addClass('has-focus');
ctrl.$hasFocus = true;
});
elm.on('blur', function () {
elm.removeClass('has-focus');
elm.addClass('has-visited');
ctrl.$hasFocus = false;
ctrl.$hasVisited = true;
});
elm.closest('form').on('submit', function () {
elm.addClass('has-visited');
scope.$apply(function () {
ctrl.hasFocus = false;
ctrl.hasVisited = true;
});
});
}
};
};
app.directive('input', blurFocusDirective);
app.directive('select', blurFocusDirective);
I managed to do this with a pretty simple bit of CSS. This does require that the error messages be siblings of the input they relate to, and that they have a class of error.
:focus ~ .error {
display:none;
}
After meeting those two requirements, this will hide any error message related to a focused input field, something that I think angularjs should be doing anyway. Seems like an oversight.
You can dynamically set the has-error css class (assuming you're using bootstrap) using ng-class and a property on the scope of the associated controller:
Angular 1.3 now has ng-model-options, and you can set the option to { 'updateOn': 'blur'} for example, and you can even debounce, when the use is either typing too fast, or you want to save a few expensive DOM operations (like a model writing to multiple DOM places and you don't want a $digest cycle happening on every key down)
By default, any change to the content will trigger a model update and
form validation. You can override this behavior using the
ngModelOptions directive to bind only to specified list of events.
I.e. ng-model-options="{ updateOn: 'blur' }" will update and validate
only after the control loses focus. You can set several events using a
space delimited list. I.e. ng-model-options="{ updateOn: 'mousedown
blur' }"
And debounce
You can delay the model update/validation by using the debounce key
with the ngModelOptions directive. This delay will also apply to
parsers, validators and model flags like $dirty or $pristine.
I.e. ng-model-options="{ debounce: 500 }" will wait for half a second
since the last content change before triggering the model update and
form validation.
ng-model-options in AngularJS 1.3 (beta as of this writing) is documented to support {updateOn: 'blur'}. For earlier versions, something like the following worked for me:
app.directive('onBlurVal', function () {
return {
restrict: 'A',
link: function (scope, element, attrs, controller) {
element.on('focus', function () {
element.next().removeClass('has-visited');
element.next().addClass('has-focus');
});
element.on('blur', function () {
element.next().removeClass('has-focus');
element.next().addClass('has-visited');
});
}
}
})
All my input control has a span element as the next element, which is where my validation message is displayed and so the directive as an attribute is added to each input control.
I also have (optional).has-focus and has-visited css class in my css file which you see being referenced in the directive.
NOTE: remember to add 'on-blur-val' exactly this way to your input control without the apostrophes
Here is an example using ng-messages (available in angular 1.3) and a custom directive.
Validation message is displayed on blur for the first time user leaves the input field, but when he corrects the value, validation message is removed immediately (not on blur anymore).
By using ng-focus you can achieve your goal. you need to provide ng-focus in your input field. And while writing your ng-show derivatives you have to write a logic not equal too. Like the below code: