New CB Field Groups

I have been waiting for this for a while now. Thank you so much for getting this out here!!

I have already ran into a problem with it so, maybe I am doing this wrong. I know this is a new project so maybe this wasn't thought of in this aspect.

So, I have a Classic Truck Club website ( www.pickupsnpanels.org ) and what I am needing to use the new Field Groups for is adding multiple vehicles listing on their profile, like a Vehicle Garage! Each member has their vehicle listed on their profile and there is a CB List that will allow members only to pull a listing of vehicles up and/or see the vehicle type information on their profile.

So, we already have fields populated with the information for the group. So, I created a new Vehicle Group based on the existing fields.

Once it was created, it hid everything from the existing fields, and didn't auto-populate with the existing data.... So, i'm sure its possible creating anew Comma denominated field since my activity log shows the below:

[{"cb_ptruckphoto":"_cb_vehicegarage_0_cb_ptruckphoto_799_5b607428bee81.jpg","cb_ptruckphotoapproved":1,"cb_ptruckyear":"1969","cb_ptruckmake":"Chevrolet","cb_ptruckmodel":"C-10","cb_ptrucksubtype":"Fleetside - Short Bed","cb_ptruckvinnumber":"CE149A850969","cb_ptrucklptype":"Manufacture Year License Plate","cb_ptrucklpnumber":"IE5327","cb_ptruckweight":"1\/2 Ton","cb_ptruckcolor":"Blue","cb_ptruckenginesize":"454 V8","cb_ptrucktransmission":"700 R4","cb_ptruckwindowstyle":"Large Back Window","cb_ptruckcondition":"Under Construction\/Restoration"}]

So, I went and tested this new field and added my data into it. It worked out just great! But, it appears I would have to have everyone re-add their vehicle information onto the site (all 500 members).

So, I next went to the Members Vehicle CB List on our site. Everything but the members name was missing ;-/

So, I went to the List Admin and updated it with the new Field Group field and it ran the entire list of fields in one column. It didn't allow me to say which ones I wanted showing or not, and where. Is that part still in development?

So, with it not working the way I would need it to work, I disabled the field and everything returned to normal.

Since this is new, im sure it may be still getting ironed out, or am I doing something wrong?

Is there a way in the lists for it to read the fields you have in the group, and indicate which you want to show or not like a regular list?

Also, is there a way to automatically import over the existing information in the existing fields into the new Field Group field?

Once it was created, it hid everything from the existing fields, and didn't auto-populate with the existing data....

That's working as intended. It will not inherit existing data from the fields it's utilizing. The fields it's utilizing will be used for their display output and various behaviors only.

So, i'm sure its possible creating anew Comma denominated field since my activity log shows the below:

Nope, it uses JSON as you're seeing.

So, I went and tested this new field and added my data into it. It worked out just great! But, it appears I would have to have everyone re-add their vehicle information onto the site (all 500 members).

Correct.

So, I next went to the Members Vehicle CB List on our site. Everything but the members name was missing ;-/

There is no searching behavior for Field Groups at this time. This is currently being implemented. Field Groups however can display on a userlist perfectly fine.

So, I went to the List Admin and updated it with the new Field Group field and it ran the entire list of fields in one column. It didn't allow me to say which ones I wanted showing or not, and where. Is that part still in development?

The fields in a Field Group will utilize the parameters of the fields it's displaying. You can not display just 1 field of a field group in a userlist column. Beyond that I don't understand what you're asking.

So, with it not working the way I would need it to work, I disabled the field and everything returned to normal.

It's working exactly as it's designed to work. Whether that's what you need or not is up to you to determine. Suggest taking a look at it on our demo site below.

demo.cbdemosites.com/addons/cb-field-groups

Since this is new, im sure it may be still getting ironed out, or am I doing something wrong?

There's nothing to iron out as it's working exactly as it was designed. The only major functionality missing at this time is searching of field group fields.

Is there a way in the lists for it to read the fields you have in the group, and indicate which you want to show or not like a regular list?

No, but you could override the userlist layout view for the fields you're displaying in the field group I suppose.

Also, is there a way to automatically import over the existing information in the existing fields into the new Field Group field?

No.

Well, its not working the way I see it... or I would not have asked... I think your only seeing it in the way of small design.

But, yes, it is its working the way you guys designed it to... It is a great addition to the family, don't get me wrong. We needed this! It is something I was looking for now for a long time. But, im hoping you guys will hear me out and build on its foundation.

The reason I was asking these questions was, it would be more beneficial to existing established users databases that it had this function in it, instead of requiring users to re-enter existing data for a field group reading existing already built fields. Granite I have only 500 members, that a lot. Especially if some of them are no longer around and we keep them in our database for historical purposes. This is perfect for a new site just starting out, not so much for existing.

List, doesn't work well with it. Maybe it wasn't tested with multiple fields. If you have multiple fields in the group, it will put the selected fields in order you have it in the group field however, at some point it will start running over. There is no way to sort the data from what I can see in the lists so that's almost pointless and there is no way to only show certain fields only in the list (to limit space), and it link to the profile to show all of it.

This is just a suggestion for improvement on next version:

Would be nice to have it add the first entry on existing field data (auto-populate) with existing data. Or, if we create a new field for each existing and allow it auto-pull it from the existing fields.

I guess im still not understanding the concept of the individual CB fields to create the group fields if the data stored in the field is not being used, or is no longer used and hidden. Seems like in a field group that it would have the field names added to it similar to like a dropdown box field is made, not pulling the name only form existing database fields.

List function would be nice if you could have it sort by the internal fields in the field groups as well as the display of the fields be able to be split up and available in each column. That might be kind of hard to accomplish but im sure its possible. Right now you cant use it very well if you have large group lists.

Not knocking this, its a great new addition. Please don't take this wrong. I think it just needs to be tweeked for those having existing sites that would love to use this powerful new tool with some of its existing data.

The reason I was asking these questions was, it would be more beneficial to existing established users databases that it had this function in it, instead of requiring users to re-enter existing data for a field group reading existing already built fields. Granite I have only 500 members, that a lot. Especially if some of them are no longer around and we keep them in our database for historical purposes. This is perfect for a new site just starting out, not so much for existing.

It's a completely new field so it's of course going to require users to enter their information as they would any new field. It is impossible for existing fields storage behavior to work with a repeat usage (e.g. you can't store a json string in an integer database column). It was not and never will be designed to take over the data of an existing field, sorry.

List, doesn't work well with it. Maybe it wasn't tested with multiple fields. If you have multiple fields in the group, it will put the selected fields in order you have it in the group field however, at some point it will start running over. There is no way to sort the data from what I can see in the lists so that's almost pointless and there is no way to only show certain fields only in the list (to limit space), and it link to the profile to show all of it.

It will show every field you've grouped together. You can not group 10 fields then decide to show 3 on a userlist. There is no functionality for that and no plans for such functionality. If you don't want a specific field in the field group to show on a userlist you can try overriding that specific fields userlist value layout as the field group will respect a fields parameters. Worse case you simply use CSS to hide the fields you don't want displayed. Example display of a field group on a userlist as follows.



I recommend displaying field groups on userlists as "1 Line without Title".

I guess im still not understanding the concept of the individual CB fields to create the group fields if the data stored in the field is not being used, or is no longer used and hidden. Seems like in a field group that it would have the field names added to it similar to like a dropdown box field is made, not pulling the name only form existing database fields.

It works the same as Joomla field groups basically in reverse. Instead of making the field group and assigning the fields to it you make the fields then make the field group and select the fields from the field group. The fields you're selecting are being used for their parameters and everything else as if they were not a part of a field group with exception to their storage as again that's impossible.

List function would be nice if you could have it sort by the internal fields in the field groups as well as the display of the fields be able to be split up and available in each column. That might be kind of hard to accomplish but im sure its possible. Right now you cant use it very well if you have large group lists.

It already orders the fields by their configuration. There is also already sorting functionality you can enable to allow your users to sort the groups of fields. It will also respect all the parameters of the fields being grouped (e.g. their layout parameters as well).

Ok, have reviewed this further and think the list output could be improved further to fit in smaller spaces. Have added a feature ticket to implement for next feature release.

forge.joomlapolis.com/issues/7246

Thank you for looking into this further. It is a great new add and I want to use it, but just cant in its current set-up limitations.

What I have is a Classic Truck Club and what we have been wanting to do is have the ability for the member to add as many vehicles to their profile as they have because some members may have 4-5 trucks in the club. It fine how it shows it on the users profile, it just is not feasible in the lists.

See, we have them list their vehicle by year, make, model, type, sub-type, weight, engine type, transmission type, color, window size, LP type, VIN number, and condition along with a photo of their truck. I already have existing fields for all of this information on 500 members. I would hate to have members re-add their information and thought there may be a way to port the information in somehow to relieve the extra work. Some of our members are not even around anymore and we keep them for historical purposes.



In the lists, we have it shows a small truck picture, year, make, model sub-type and owners name in 1 line across. This is so members can easily go down the list and find a member with a truck that meets their year models etc. They can click the profile for the additional information on the member and their truck.



Right now, the set-up of the fields Group in the list puts all fields in 1 column straight down making it more difficult to use a 1 line list, and it makes the list longer because all the information is there in one column, instead of setting a few search fields in a row. I made an example below.



I don't know, maybe there is some way to make it work. If there is, this would be valueable to my community.