Empty Array Validation

Purpose

This enhancement ensures that array fields with validation rules (like minimum length requirements) are properly validated when their values are cleared using setValue with shouldValidate: true.

Benefits

• Users get immediate validation feedback when clearing array fields
• Arrays behave consistently with other field types when using shouldValidate
• Validation errors appear as soon as the array is cleared, not just on form submission

API Changes

Property updates

No new properties are added or type changes are required. The existing setValue function behavior is enhanced to properly handle array validation.

Description

Previously, when using setValue to set an empty array with shouldValidate: true, validation would not be triggered. This meant that validation errors for required array fields or arrays with minimum length requirements would not appear until the form was submitted or validation was manually triggered.

Behavior

The fix ensures that validation is properly triggered for all array fields when shouldValidate is set to true, including:

• Field arrays
• Empty arrays
• Nested array fields
• Deeply nested array structures

When setValue is called with an empty array and shouldValidate: true, the validation engine now properly recognizes this as a value change that requires validation.

Examples

Basic Example

import { useForm } from '@bombillazo/rhf-plus';

const MyForm = () => {
  const { setValue, formState: { errors } } = useForm({
    defaultValues: {
      items: ['item1', 'item2']
    }
  });

  const clearItems = () => {
    // This will now properly trigger validation
    setValue('items', [], { shouldValidate: true });
  };

  return (
    <form>
      {/* Your form fields */}
      {errors.items && <span>Items cannot be empty</span>}
      <button type="button" onClick={clearItems}>Clear Items</button>
    </form>
  );
};

Before vs After

// Before (workaround was needed)
setValue('items', []);
trigger('items'); // Manual trigger was needed

// After (fixed)
setValue('items', [], { shouldValidate: true }); // Validation triggers automatically

Limitations

None. This fix works with all array types and validation scenarios without introducing any limitations.

Backward Compatibility

No breaking changes are introduced with this fix. Existing code will continue to work as before, but will now properly trigger validation for empty arrays when shouldValidate: true is specified.

If you were previously working around this issue by manually calling trigger() after setting empty arrays, you can now remove that workaround.