Typed field values

Each field type maps to an attributes AttributeType (see forms.field_types), so stored values read back as real PHP types instead of raw strings, and submitted values are type-checked during validation:

Forms::submissions($form)->first()->values;
// ['age' => 42, 'subscribed' => true, 'born' => CarbonImmutable, 'tags' => ['a', 'b']]

// One per-field row (a `Submission`) reads its own value the same way:
$row = $form->fields->firstWhere('key', 'age')->submissions()->first();
$row->typedValue();                      // 42 (int); true (bool) for a `checkbox` row

Default mappings

Type checking

After Laravel’s rules pass, each visible, non-null value whose field maps to a non-string type is checked against that type. A mismatch fails Forms::validate() (and finalize) with a ValidationException under the field’s path, like any other rule — a decimal in a number() field is one. Unlisted field types — time among them — keep the free-form string behaviour:

use Illuminate\Validation\ValidationException;

// 'age' => '3.5' posted to a number() field in the contact form's details group
try {
    Forms::validate($form, $request);
} catch (ValidationException $e) {
    $e->errors(); // ['contact.details.age' => ['The Age field must be a valid integer.']]
}

$field->attributeType(); // the AttributeType mapped from the field's type

A stored value that no longer converts — data written before a type change, or straight through createSubmission() — reads back exactly as stored instead of breaking the reader.

Adding your own types

Valid AttributeType values are string, integer, float, boolean, array and datetime. The published field_types array replaces the defaults, so keep the entries you still need. number and range are whole numbers — use a decimal or float field for fractions; a time field is unmapped on purpose (validate it with e.g. date_format:H:i):

// config/forms.php — keep the defaults and add your own field types
'field_types' => [
    'number' => 'integer',
    'checkbox' => 'boolean',
    // ...
    'rating' => 'integer',   // a custom field type, cast and checked as an int
],