Unexpected Behavior of "Create & Add Another" Button on Replicate Screens

[ekazda]

Summary

The Create & Add Another button exhibits inconsistent behavior when used on a replicate screen. While its default behavior in a standard create form is to open a blank resource creation form, on replicate screens, it opens another replicate form. Furthermore, the redirectAfterCreate method is unable to override this behavior, making it impossible to customize the redirection logic.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Navigate to a resource creation screen and observe the behavior of the Create & Add Another button:
   • It opens a new blank resource creation form as expected.
2. Navigate to a replicate screen for the same resource.
3. Click the Create & Add Another button.

Expected Behavior

• The Create & Add Another button should consistently open a new blank resource creation form, regardless of whether it is on a standard create screen or a replicate screen.
• The redirectAfterCreate method should allow developers to customize the redirection behavior of the button, as it does on standard create screens.

Actual Behavior

• On replicate screens, the Create & Add Another button redirects to another replicate screen instead of a blank resource creation form.
• Attempts to use the redirectAfterCreate method to alter this behavior are ineffective, as Laravel Nova appears to override the redirection logic internally for replicate screens.

Impact

1. User Experience:
   • Users may be confused by the inconsistent behavior of the Create & Add Another button between standard create and replicate screens.
   • Replicate screens are not the expected destination when using this button.
2. Developer Limitations:
   • The inability to customize the redirect behavior via redirectAfterCreate limits developers' control over the application's workflow and user experience.

Suggested Fix

• Ensure that the Create & Add Another button opens a blank resource creation form consistently across all screens, including replicate screens.
• Allow redirectAfterCreate to override the default redirection behavior on replicate screens, providing developers with the flexibility to define custom workflows.
• Allow developers to easily add custom buttons to input forms that needs to align with customer project requirements

Workarounds Attempted

1. Using redirectAfterCreate:
   • Despite stepping through the method, the redirect logic for replicate screens appears to be hardcoded, and the return URL from this method is ignored.
2. JavaScript Hijacking:
   • While client-side workarounds can be implemented to modify the button behavior, they are brittle and should not replace proper backend functionality.

Conclusion

This inconsistency in button behavior and the inability to customize redirection poses a challenge for developers and users alike. A fix ensuring consistent behavior and proper respect for redirectAfterCreate would significantly improve developer experience and user workflows.

Additional Details

• Laravel Version: 10.48.23
• Nova Version: 4.35.4
• PHP Version: 8.3.1

[ekazda]

@crynobone I see you moved this from an issue to a discussion. I'm excited to hear your thoughts on this since you don't feel it is an issue but more of a feature request.