Formsettings For Filament Laravel Package

Getting Started

• Install via Composer and follow the package’s publish/install steps. If you plan to use ->persist(), publish and run the migration for per-user settings; formsettings:uninstall is the reverse path.
• Look first at the HasFormSettings trait/contract and the fluent API: ->globally(), ->persist(), ->presets(). Check for a published config file that controls storage/defaults, and review the en/de translation files before hardcoding labels.
• Smallest useful first case: add HasFormSettings to one form page, show the gear, and let users hide optional fields, drag-reorder tab order, star an entry point, and choose the default submit action. Keep the default session storage for this first pass; switch to ->persist() only when settings must survive sessions.

Implementation Patterns

• Use the trait per form when only some pages should be customizable; use ->globally() when the gear should appear consistently across all form pages. Keep the choice explicit so users are not surprised by settings appearing where they do not expect them.
• Choose storage by audience: session storage fits prototypes, anonymous forms, and shared machines; ->persist() fits authenticated users who expect their layout and submit preferences to survive reloads, sessions, and devices. Confirm auth context and migration are in place before enabling persistence.
• Define a small set of named presets around real workflows, e.g. “Minimal”, “Data entry”, “Review”. Save presets after reorder/hide/entry-point changes, and keep reset-to-defaults as the escape hatch. Avoid a preset explosion; presets are most useful when they map to roles or repeated tasks.
• Wire the submit action picker into your existing save logic: map save / save & next / save & back to the same controller or Livewire handlers your form already uses. Ensure “next” and “back” have sensible behavior at list boundaries, and make cmd+enter invoke the same validated path as the main button.
• Treat drag order as tab order, not just visual order. Update DOM order so keyboard and screen-reader users follow the same sequence. Pair reorder with the entry point star so the autofocused field is the one users actually need first.
• Include accurate field type metadata so the type icons render correctly. For custom fields, verify whether the package exposes an icon/type mapping extension point before overriding views.
• When allowing optional fields to be hidden, make those fields nullable or conditionally required in validation and skip their processing server-side. Do not allow hiding fields that are required for the form’s business rules.

Gotchas and Tips

• Hidden fields are removed from the form and skipped. If a hideable field is still required, validation will fail because the value is absent. Make hideable fields optional or adjust rules server-side.
• cmd+enter triggers the selected action, so test it inside textareas and alongside any custom JS shortcuts. Confirm it does not bypass validation or submit a different action than the visible main button.
• Session storage is per-session: settings disappear on logout or session expiry. Use ->persist() for durable per-user settings, and test the DB round-trip across pages, reloads, and devices. If multiple forms exist, verify settings are scoped to the right form/page.
• Presets and reset are destructive to current customizations. Applying a preset overwrites the current state; reset wipes it. Consider a confirmation step for non-technical users, and test how old presets behave when fields are added or removed later.
• Drag reorder must change DOM/focus order, not just CSS order. Test keyboard tabbing and screen-reader traversal; visual order that diverges from DOM order is an accessibility bug.
• Entry point autofocus should be limited to one field. On mobile, autofocus can pop the keyboard unexpectedly; test the entry-point star on the devices your users actually use.
• Only German and English translations ship. Add your own lang files for other locales and avoid hardcoded labels in custom views.
• formsettings:uninstall is useful for clean removal, but back up persisted settings first and confirm what it drops. This is an initial release: pin the version and review changelogs before upgrading.
• Debugging: the gear badge count should match persisted state. Inspect the session payload or per-user DB row, check network responses for 200/304, and watch for Livewire/version compatibility issues when the form re-renders. Prefer config, translations, and documented extension points over overriding package internals.