![Remarkable Features in 3.x
â [3.0] Bootstrap
â [3.1] tags
â [3.2] content versioning
â [3.2] two factor authentication
â [3.3] microdata
â [3.4] frontend module editing
â [3.5] php 7
â [3.6] subforms
â [3.7] custom fields
â [3.7] backend menu manager
â [3.8] new routing system
â [3.9] privacy system
â [3.9] action logging
Of all the major features
of 3.x, the one that I use
the most is subforms.
I build a lot of custom
extensions for clients, and
subforms solves a lot of
challenges.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/2019-joomladay-chicago-the-joy-of-subforms-191025213344/85/The-Joy-of-Subforms-with-Randy-Carey-2-320.jpg)
The Joy of Subforms with Randy Carey
- 1. The Joy of Subforms! âš âą what they are âą the problems they solve âą how you can use them Randy Carey Careytech Studios, LLC Careytech.com
- 2. Remarkable Features in 3.x â [3.0] Bootstrap â [3.1] tags â [3.2] content versioning â [3.2] two factor authentication â [3.3] microdata â [3.4] frontend module editing â [3.5] php 7 â [3.6] subforms â [3.7] custom fields â [3.7] backend menu manager â [3.8] new routing system â [3.9] privacy system â [3.9] action logging Of all the major features of 3.x, the one that I use the most is subforms. I build a lot of custom extensions for clients, and subforms solves a lot of challenges.
- 3. Agenda âą what ARE subforms âą problems solved with subforms âą acknowledging the few challenges âą where/how you can use them âą examples of problems Iâve solved with subforms âą demo: working with subforms
- 4. What ARE subforms âą A field type (like text, dropdown, date picker, media, etc.) âą A collection of 0-to-multiple records âą the record is a collection of fields of varying types âą almost 100% customizable
- 5. Joomla field types: https://docs.joomla.org/Standard_form_field_types An example of the editable portion of a subform.
- 6. Customizable set of fields Examples of how each subform can have its own fieldset.
- 7. Multiple records A subform can be one record, or it can hold as many as the user wants to create.
- 9. Interchangable Form Layouts Here are examples of the three layouts Joomla provides. But we can design our own â which is very helpful for custom data needs
- 10. problems solved with subforms Clients often have challenging needs. Often, subforms play an important part of the solution.
- 11. Problems solved: no limit on items 1 2 3 The Articles form has a fixed number of fields for links. That was before we had subforms. With Subforms, we could let users create as many links as theyâd like.
- 12. Problems solved: easy re-ordering Also, the user would be able to drag-and-drop re-order their links. Reordering the old way required a lot more work.
- 13. Problems solved: different orderings In this scenario, the order of these managers vary upon each product page. - With the componentâs order field, we can not satisfy this requirement. - With subforms, we can order each without relying on the componentâs order.
- 14. Problems solved: many-to-many Article Article Article Article article author 1 22 1 36 2 17 2 22 3 36 4 17 4 36 In the old way, we would create a separate table just to manage many-to- many associations. Example: âš authors-to-articles
- 15. Problems solved: many-to-many Article Article Article Article With subforms⊠many-to-many does not require an extra db table, and managing these association is easy for users.
- 16. Problems solved: reusable fieldsets If a set of fields are commonly used together, we can quickly reuse that set of fields by referencing the same XML file. In this example, the fieldset is for a background image with text.
- 17. Problems solved: extensible âš â embracing change!âš â custom fields We must âembrace changeâ â because new requirements often emerge. Adding a field is as simple as adding a field declaration to the XML file. In contrast, adding a new field to a component requires changes to the db and multiple parts of the MVC. Here is a suggestion: If a third-party component provides an empty subform field, any user can safely add extra fields to that component by adding them to the subformâs XML file.
- 18. Problems solved: custom form Here is an example in which I built the edit form for a client who has special pricing charts. This custom layout logically mimics the clientâs mental model of his data.
- 19. Values of subforms âą custom set of fields âą multiple records âą sortable records âą variable # of records âą multiple orderings âą many-to-many âą extensible â custom fields âą tailored/custom forms
- 20. challenges âą Some light coding required âą Edit the XML file to declare the fieldset. âą Edit the layout file for displaying this data â the same skill used in layout overrides
- 21. challenges âą Some light coding required âą not easy to add to a third-party extension There are a few tricks. âą The extension may allow you to add an extra field, and if so, add a subform. âą Create a new menu item type off the componentâs view. Add a subform as a parameter to that menu item.
- 22. challenges âą Some light coding required âą not always easy to add to a third-party extension âą Searching on values âą Entire subform is stored as a single JSON string, so an SQL query must use %LIKE% and be thought through carefully.
- 23. Where / How you can use them
- 24. Where / How you can use them Component âą As a custom field with a plugin for subforms âą https://www.richeyweb.com/software/joomla/plugins/147-fields-subform âą eShop : as an extra field (other extensions may offer this) âą Create a new menu item type for component, add a subform as a parameter. âą Component-Creator: create your own component that you can edit âą Outsource â find a skilled Joomla developer
- 25. Where / How you can use them Modules & Plugins âą Create your own âą Clone an existing one, modify the XML file (to include a subform) âą Outsource
- 26. Examples: problems solved with subforms In this part of the presentation I demoed some examples from real projects .
- 27. Examples: âš problems solved with subforms Each alternating block is a record within the subform. âą Each block has its own settings using a common fieldset (image, background color, text, etc.) âą User can create as many as he/she likes. âą User can drag-n-drop order blocks.
- 28. Examples: âš problems solved with subforms A vendor of biological supplies wanted an online catalog with the ability to customize a grid of prices (per piece, per class size, per volume, whatever based upon the item). The grid needs to accommodate a variable number of rows and columns.âš âš Each pricing grid on an item is a subform.
- 29. Examples: âš problems solved with subforms Many diverse examples could be shown â both, as to how they help a user manage content, and as to how they are displayed on the frontend.
- 30. The Joy of Subforms! âš âą what they are âą the problems they solve âą how you can use them Randy Carey Careytech Studios, LLC Careytech.com