DataMapper ORM v1.8.0

[eluser]madwhistler[/eluser]
WanWizard, thanks for the new update & your great work on carrying this on!

And of course, I have a question

I'm using the HtmlForm extension to crank out new entry forms for a table, and it all works fine, including my related-field dropdowns.

But I'd like to pre-select a default choice on certain dropdowns for related fields, and I can't figure out a way to do this. i.e.

Code:

Class Color extends DataMapper { [objects with value "red", "green", "blue"]}

Class Block {
   var $validation = array(
    'color' => array(
        'rules' => array('is_natural'),
          'type'=>'dropdown'
    )...}
...
now I'd like to dynamically select 'green' as a default choice
...
then
$block->render_form($ff,'controller');

Since it's not a simple field, I can't just set $block->color = 'green', and if I do:

Code:

$color = new Color();
$color->where('name','green')->get();
$block->save($color);
$block->render_form($ff,'controller');

This works, but leaves me with a 'partial' database entry (since the user hasn't filled in the other $block fields). I don't really want to commit this object to the database yet, just set the initial default for the dropdown list (my 'real' dropdowns could be really long lists).

Any help or hints much appreciated...