Address Franky review findings on PR #3489 (subfield error handling)

[robin-the-going-merry]

Requested by: @Crabcyborg

Franky review on PR #3489 (branch improve_subfield_error_handling, same repo, not a fork - push directly to that branch) requested changes on 2026-09-26. No commits have landed since, so none of the items below are fixed yet.

PR: #3489

Blocking

1. js/formidable.min.js was never regenerated. Run npm run minimize and commit the rebuilt file - none of this PR JS validation changes take effect in production until it ships (FrmAppHelper::save_combined_js() builds off the .min.js, and js_suffix() returns .min whenever SCRIPT_DEBUG is off). Same issue as the precedent on formidable-forms#3408.

2. Blur-validation regression - js/formidable.js:341. Once a combo field (Name/Address) moves from "all blank" to "some sub-fields blank", blurring a still-empty required sub-field silently clears its error instead of keeping it flagged. comboFieldHasFieldError() checks the outer combo wrapper for frm_blank_field, which is only set when all required sub-fields are empty - so in the "some blank" state it returns false, falls through, and removeFieldError() wipes the still-blank sub-field error. Repro: required Name field, First blank + Last filled, click into First, leave blank, blur.

3. Repeater key collision - js/formidable.js:416. Inside a repeating section, getFieldId(input, true) collapses to the same key for every sub-field of one combo field (the sub-field-name segment never makes it into the key there, unlike the non-repeater branch). When two sub-fields of the same repeater row are both empty, the second checkRequiredField call overwrites the first entry, losing one sub-field error and mislabeling its location. Matches CodeRabbit review comment on this PR too.

Non-blocking

• AJAX [if error] wrapper inconsistency - classes/controllers/FrmEntriesAJAXSubmitController.php:174. A sub-field error key like field12-first is not numeric, so maybe_modify_ajax_error() skips applying a site custom [if error] HTML wrapper for the new per-sub-field errors, while the "all blank" combined error still gets it.
• Chosen.js CSS gap - css/_single_theme.css.php:396. The new error-clearing rule only targets input/select, missing textarea, .mce-edit-area iframe, .frm-g-recaptcha/.g-recaptcha iframe, .frm-card-element.StripeElement, and (when $use_chosen_js is on) .chosen-container-multi .chosen-choices / .chosen-container-single .chosen-single. An Address field state/country dropdown becomes .chosen-container-single when chosen.js is enabled - a filled state sub-field next to a blank required one keeps showing error styling. Suggested fix from the review:

  .<?php echo esc_html( $style_class ); ?> .frm_blank_field .frm_combo_inputs_container > .frm_form_field:not(.frm_blank_field) input:not(:focus),
  .<?php echo esc_html( $style_class ); ?> .frm_blank_field .frm_combo_inputs_container > .frm_form_field:not(.frm_blank_field) select:not(:focus),
  .<?php echo esc_html( $style_class ); ?> .frm_blank_field .frm_combo_inputs_container > .frm_form_field:not(.frm_blank_field) textarea:not(:focus),
  <?php if ( $use_chosen_js ) { ?>
  .<?php echo esc_html( $style_class ); ?> .frm_blank_field .frm_combo_inputs_container > .frm_form_field:not(.frm_blank_field) .chosen-container-single .chosen-single,
  <?php } ?>
  

• Description used as grammatical subject - classes/models/fields/FrmFieldCombo.php:492. get_sub_field_label() substitutes the sub-field {name}_desc option verbatim into "[field_name] cannot be blank." That option is authored as caption text, not necessarily a short noun phrase - an admin-written sentence there produces a garbled error message. Not a regression, but worth a fallback to the plain label when the description does not read as a short phrase.
• Reuse/simplification (not blocking): getComboFieldRequiredMessage re-derives a key getFieldContainerErrorKey already computes; maybeCombineComboFieldErrors re-runs checks its callers already ran; the "clone field, override name, call get_error_msg" pattern is duplicated between FrmFieldCombo::get_sub_field_error_msg() and FrmFieldsController::add_validation_messages().

CI note: shard 1 Cypress failure (Form Templates/FormTemplates.cy.js, an <svg> visibility timeout) is unrelated to this diff - not blocking.

Done means

Fixes pushed to improve_subfield_error_handling, js/formidable.min.js rebuilt and committed, and the franky-review label re-added for re-review.

[vivi-the-going-merry]

Method: in-place push
Pushed to: #3489 (branch improve_subfield_error_handling, unchanged PR number)

Both blocking JS findings fixed, js/formidable.min.js regenerated, franky-review re-added on the PR. Closing this handoff issue.