ngOptions not updating as objects added to array

Question

I have an array which contains objects. When I push a new object to this list, the view does not update to add the new object. I assume it has to do with the $scope.$apply but I'm not sure how to use it. I've tried wrapping the push function around this but the factory says $scope is undefined.

View:

        <label for="groupOwner">List Template:
            <select 
                id="listTemplate"
                ng-model="newList.template"
                ng-options="t.name for t in listTemplates|orderBy: 'name'"
            ></select>
        </label>

Ctrl:

    $scope.createList = function (){
        var modalForm = '/Style%20Library/projects/spDash/app/partials/newList.html';   
        var modalInstance = $modal.open({
            templateUrl: modalForm,
            backdrop: true,
            windowClass: 'modal',
            controller: 'newListCtrl',
            resolve: {
                newListData: function (){
                    return $scope.newList;
                }
            }
        });

        modalInstance.result.then(function(newList){
            SiteService.createList(newList,$scope.site);
        });
    };

Service function:

var createList = function (newList, site){
    var promise = $().SPServices({
        operation: "AddList",
        webURL: site.url,
        listName: newList.name,
        description: newList.description,
        templateID: newList.template.id
    })

    promise.then(function (){
        addToQuickLaunch(newList.name,site.url)
        getSiteInfo(site);
        //take new list object and push to siteLists array
        siteLists.push(newList);
    },function (reason){
        console.log('Failed: ' + reason);
    })
}  

function addToQuickLaunch (name,siteUrl) {
    $().SPServices({
      operation: "UpdateList",
      webURL: siteUrl,
      listName: name,
      listProperties: "<List OnQuickLaunch='TRUE' EnableVersioning='TRUE'/>",
      completefunc: function(xData,Status){
        console.log(name + " list created")
      }
    });
}

Answer 1

This code throws an immediate flag to me:

modalInstance.result.then(function(newList){
    SiteService.createList(newList,$scope.site);
});

You shouldn't pass the array from the controller through the service like that. Instead, do this:

modalInstance.result.then(function(newList){
    return SiteService.createList(newList);
}).then(function(list) {
  $scope.site.lists.push(list);
});

In this case, you'll have createList return a promise, and resolve that promise with the object that is to be added to $scope.site.lists. However, you should note that you should not have this much logic in your controller. Abstract this further by having a single method that returns a promise and hide these details. Your controller should simply have:

someService.someMethod().then(function(result) {
  $scope.whatever.push(result);
});