Use a Rails helper in a model

Question

Possible Duplicate:
Access a view helper for a model in rails

I know this is probably not something I should do often, but I want to use a helper within a model.

I'm generating a spreadsheet in a Report model and would like to use the time_ago_in_words method in ActionView::Helpers::DateHelper

Is this doable, or should I be generating it in a view?

Duplicate? http://stackoverflow.com/search?q=rails+helper+in+model — Smar, Jul 25 '11 at 18:25
actually, this is precisely what I was looking for. The search query implying that this is a duplicate did not turn up anything as helpful. — Douglas Lovell, Oct 19 '13 at 19:42
This works better for me: `ApplicationController.helpers.my_helper_method` Source: http://makandracards.com/makandra/1307-how-to-use-helper-methods-inside-a-model — skozz, Jul 16 '14 at 15:58

score 17 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 25 '11 at 18:24

17

You can just include the module in the model, and use it like you would in a view

class Report
  include ActionView::Helpers::DateHelper
  ...
end

answered Jul 25 '11 at 18:24

Joe Flynn

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5

What if you only want to use one method from the helper module, and you don't want to `include` the whole thing? Is that possible? – Jared Beck Jul 25 '16 at 19:10

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 25 '11 at 18:31

0

class Post < ActiveRecord::Base
  include ActionView::Helpers::DateHelper

  def my_test_method(a, include_seconds = false)
    time_ago_in_words(a, include_second)
  end

 end

answered Jul 25 '11 at 18:31

awilkening

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Use a Rails helper in a model

2 Answers2