jquery - How to hide Bootstrap modal with javascript?

Question

I've read the posts here, the Bootstrap site, and Googled like mad - but can't find what I'm sure is an easy answer...

I have a Bootstrap modal that I open from a link_to helper like this:

<%= link_to "New Contact", new_contact_path, {remote: true, 'data-toggle' => 'modal', 'data-target' => "#myModal",  class: "btn btn-primary"} %>

In my ContactsController.create action, I have code that creates Contact then passes off to create.js.erb. In create.js.erb, I have some error handling code (a mix of ruby and javascript). If everything goes well, I want to close the modal.

This is where I'm having trouble. I can't seem to dismiss the modal when all goes well.

I've tried $('#myModal').modal('hide'); and this has no effect. I've also tried $('#myModal').hide(); which causes the modal to dismiss but leaves the backdrop.

Any guidance on how to close the modal and/or dismiss the backdrop from within create.js.erb?

Edit

Here's the markup for myModal:

<div class="modal hide" id="myModal" >
  <div class="modal-header">
    <a class="close" data-dismiss="modal">×</a>
    <h3>Add Contact</h3>
    <div id="errors_notification">
    </div>
  </div>
  <div class="modal-body">
    <%= form_for :contact, url: contacts_path, remote: true do |f| %>  
      <%= f.text_field :first_name, placeholder: "first name" %>
      <%= f.text_field :last_name, placeholder: "last name" %>
      <br>
      <%= f.submit "Save", name: 'save', class: "btn btn-primary" %>
      <a class="close btn" data-dismiss="modal">Cancel</a>
    <% end %>
  </div>
  <div class="modal-footer">
  </div>
</div>

Answer 1

With the modal open in the browser window, use the browser's console to try

$('#myModal').modal('hide');

If it works (and the modal closes) then you know that your close Javascript is not being sent from the server to the browser correctly.

If it doesn't work then you need to investigate further on the client what is happening. Eg make sure that there aren't two elements with the same id. Eg does it work the first time after page load but not the second time?

Browser's console: firebug for firefox, the debugging console for Chrome or Safari, etc.