I would like to submit a search form on page load if search terms where specified in the route. The problem is that searchForm isn't defined yet when search() runs. I've seen others get this to work by putting ng-controller right on the form element, but I have multiple forms on this page, so the controller has to be a parent of the forms.

How can I ensure the form is defined when I call search()?

myModule.controller('MyController', ['$scope', '$routeParams',
function($scope, $routeParams){
  $scope.model = {searchTerms: ""};

  $scope.search = function(){
      if($scope.searchForm.$valid){
          ...
      }
  };

  if($routeParams.terms !=""){
      $scope.model.searchTerms = $routeParams.terms;
      $scope.search();
  }
}]);

View:

<div ng-controller="MyController">
  <form name="searchForm" ng-submit="search()">
      ...
  </form>
  <form name="detailForm" ng-submit="save()">
      ...
  </form>
</div>

I would like to submit a search form on page load if search terms were specified in the route. The problem is that searchForm isn't defined yet when search() runs. I've seen others get this to work by putting ng-controller right on the form element, but I have multiple forms on this page, so the controller has to be a parent of the forms.

How can I ensure the form is defined when I call search()?

myModule.controller('MyController', ['$scope', '$routeParams',
function($scope, $routeParams){
  $scope.model = {searchTerms: ""};

  $scope.search = function(){
      if($scope.searchForm.$valid){
          ...
      }
  };

  if($routeParams.terms !=""){
      $scope.model.searchTerms = $routeParams.terms;
      $scope.search();
  }
}]);

View:

<div ng-controller="MyController">
  <form name="searchForm" ng-submit="search()">
      ...
  </form>
  <form name="detailForm" ng-submit="save()">
      ...
  </form>
</div>