returning or looking up object from html input in node express - node.js

Question

I have an html/handlebars form set up with a Node/Express backend. the form offers options populated from a database. I am able to get the form to return a single user selected value and save it to my mongodb, but I really need the whole object.
{{#each proxyObj}}
<p>
<label>
<input type="radio" name="proxyTitle" value="{{title}}"/>
<span>{{title}}</span>
</label>
</p>
{{/each}}
and this is the express:
router.post("/proxies/:id", ensureAuthenticated, (req, res) => {
Project.findOne({
_id: req.params.id
}).then(project => {
const newProxy = {
proxyTitle: req.body.proxyTitle
// I need the other object values to go here, or to be able to retrieve them later
};
// Add to proxy array on the Project object in the collection
project.proxies.push(newProxy);
project.save().then(project => {
res.redirect(`/projects/stakeholders/${project.id}`);
});
});
});
Is it more sensible to try to load in the entire object as a value in the input field, or to return the id of the object, and look it up in the db? I need to display some of the returned object information on the same page, and also to use it later. Which is more efficient, and what is the best way to achieve it?

Answer 1

If I'm getting it right, the problem is that you're trying to put multiple inputs with the same name on one form in <input type="radio" name="proxyTitle" value="{{title}}"/>, which gives you something like
<input type="radio" name="proxyTitle" value="Title 1"/>
<input type="radio" name="proxyTitle" value="Title 2"/>
<input type="radio" name="proxyTitle" value="Title 3"/>
As explained here, the browsers will chew it, but the server-side handling may require some adjustments.
In your case, the easiest fix would be to add index to the names of parameters. So, your form would be looking like this:
{{#each proxyObj}}
<p>
<label>
<input type="radio" name="proxies[{{#key}}]" value="{{this}}"/>
<span>{{this}}</span>
</label>
</p>
{{/each}}
(note that if proxyObj is an array, you would have to use #index instead of #key; also, depending on the proxyObj fields' structure, you may have to use this.title as the values to display and whatnot).
As for your server-side handling, you'll have to loop through the proxies you receive and handle them one by one, e.g.
router.post("/proxies/:id", ensureAuthenticated, (req, res) => {
Project.findOne({
_id: req.params.id
}).then(project => {
project.proxies = []; // this is only in case you wanna remove the old ones first
const proxies = req.body.proxies;
for(let i = 0; i < proxies.length; i++) {
// Add to proxy array on the Project object in the collection
project.proxies.push({ proxyTitle: proxies[i].title });
}
project.save().then(project => {
res.redirect(`/projects/stakeholders/${project.id}`);
});
});
});