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**Category:** Rails\
**Created:** [October 29, 2008, 11:36pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/page-replace-html-how-to-update-a-div-using-a-button/152084 "2008-10-29T23:36:03Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1
**Author:**  [@tharrisx](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/tharrisx)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 11:36pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/page-replace-html-how-to-update-a-div-using-a-button/152084/1 "2008-10-29T23:36:03Z")
I have this button which is supposed to update a DIV on the same page
(using a partial). But it doesn’t.
What am I missing here ?!
# VIEW:
\<% form\_tag ‘/trees’ do -%\>
\<%= submit\_to\_remote ‘new\_tree’, ‘Add a tree’, :url =\> { :controller
=\> ‘trees’, :action =\> ‘new’ } %\>
\<% end -%\>
# CONTROLLER
def new
render :update do |page|
page.replace\_html ‘newtree’, :partial =\> ‘user/trees/newtree’
end
end
Thank you very much for any help!
Tom
---
**Author:**  [@tharrisx](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/tharrisx)\
**Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 12:56am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/page-replace-html-how-to-update-a-div-using-a-button/152084/2 "2008-10-30T00:56:15Z")
Your code seems right.
But in case that I havn’t used submit\_to\_remote, so I cannot tell you
what you are missing.
Did you use debug to see whether your XMLHttpRequest call can ge
caught by the ‘new’ action in controller?
However I can tell you that using form\_remote\_tag or defining a
button\_to\_remote using remote\_function by yourself can do the trick.
---
**Author:**  [@tharrisx](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/tharrisx)\
**Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 1:31am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/page-replace-html-how-to-update-a-div-using-a-button/152084/3 "2008-10-30T01:31:54Z")
Hi Tom,
Tom Ha wrote:
> I have this button which is supposed to update a DIV
> on the same page (using a partial). But it doesn’t.
>
> What am I missing here ?!
Do you have Firebug installed? If not, you definitely need to get that.
The console tab is invaluable in debugging Ajax.
> # VIEW:
>
> \<% form\_tag ‘/trees’ do -%\>
> \<%= submit\_to\_remote ‘new\_tree’, ‘Add a tree’, :url =\> { :controller
> =\> ‘trees’, :action =\> ‘new’ } %\>
> \<% end -%\>
This is interesting. I’m not sure what the impact would be of mixing
form\_tag, which includes the url (’/trees’), with submit\_to\_remote,
which
also includes a url. Especially since they’re different urls in your
case
(a POST to trees is going to naturally invoke the ‘create’ action, not
the
‘new’ action. You might try just using form\_remote\_tag instead.
> # CONTROLLER
>
> def new
> render :update do |page|
> page.replace\_html ‘newtree’, :partial =\> ‘user/trees/newtree’
You didn’t show it, so I’ll assume you have a
element
on
the page, and that you have a newtree.rhtml file in views/user/trees/.
If
either of those is not true, your Ajax definitely won’t work.
Bottom line, though, is get Firebug installed in FireFox and see what
it’s
telling you.
HTH,
Bill
---
**Author:**  [@tharrisx](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/tharrisx)\
**Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 8:25am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/page-replace-html-how-to-update-a-div-using-a-button/152084/4 "2008-10-30T08:25:07Z")
Thanks for your hints!
In this case Firebug didn’t throw any error.
Sp I replaced:
\<% form\_tag ‘/trees’ do -%\>
\<%= submit\_to\_remote ‘new\_tree’, ‘Add a tree’, :url =\> { :controller
=\> ‘trees’, :action =\> ‘new’ } %\>
\<% end -%\>
By:
\<%= button\_to\_function ‘Add a tree’ do |page| page.replace\_html
‘newtree’, :partial =\> ‘user/trees/newtree’ end %\>
…and it works fine! Thanks!
Tom