Admin Actions

[adrian]

Hi everyone,

Here's a new module that I have been meaning to build for a long time.

http://modules.processwire.com/modules/process-admin-actions/

https://github.com/adrianbj/ProcessAdminActions

 

What does it do?

Do you have a bunch of admin snippets laying around, or do you recreate from them from scratch every time you need them, or do you try to find where you saw them in the forums, or on the ProcessWire Recipes site?

Admin Actions lets you quickly create actions in the admin that you can use over and over and even make available to your site editors (permissions for each action are assigned to roles separately so you have full control over who has access to which actions).

 

Included Actions

It comes bundled with several actions and I will be adding more over time (and hopefully I'll get some PRs from you guys too). You can browse and sort and if you have @tpr's Admin on Steroid's datatables filter feature, you can even filter based on the content of all columns. 

The headliner action included with the module is: PageTable To RepeaterMatrix which fully converts an existing (and populated) PageTable field to either a Repeater or RepeaterMatrix field. This is a huge timesaver if you have an existing site that makes heavy use of PageTable fields and you would like to give the clients the improved interface of RepeaterMatrix.

Copy Content To Other Field
This action copies the content from one field to another field on all pages that use the selected template.

Copy Field Content To Other Page
Copies the content from a field on one page to the same field on another page.

Copy Repeater Items To Other Page
Add the items from a Repeater field on one page to the same field on another page.

Copy Table Field Rows To Other Page
Add the rows from a Table field on one page to the same field on another page.

Create Users Batcher
Allows you to batch create users. This module requires the Email New User module and it should be configured to generate a password automatically.

Delete Unused Fields
Deletes fields that are not used by any templates.

Delete Unused Templates
Deletes templates that are not used by any pages.

Email Batcher
Lets you email multiple addresses at once.

Field Set Or Search And Replace
Set field values, or search and replace text in field values from a filtered selection of pages and fields.

FTP Files to Page
Add files/images from a folder to a selected page.

Page Active Languages Batcher
Lets you enable or disable active status of multiple languages on multiple pages at once.

Page Manipulator
Uses an InputfieldSelector to query pages and then allows batch actions on the matched pages.

Page Table To Repeater Matrix
Fully converts an existing (and populated) PageTable field to either a Repeater or RepeaterMatrix field.

Template Fields Batcher
Lets you add or remove multiple fields from multiple templates at once.

Template Roles Batcher
Lets you add or remove access permissions, for multiple roles and multiple templates at once.

User Roles Permissions Batcher
Lets you add or remove permissions for multiple roles, or roles for multiple users at once.

 

Creating a New Action

If you create a new action that you think others would find useful, please add it to the actions subfolder of this module and submit a PR. If you think it is only useful for you, place it in /site/templates/AdminActions/ so that it doesn't get lost on module updates.

A new action file can be as simple as this:

<?php namespace ProcessWire;

class UnpublishAboutPage extends ProcessAdminActions {

    protected function executeAction() {
        $p = $this->pages->get('/about/');
        $p->addStatus(Page::statusUnpublished);
        $p->save();
        return true;
    }

}

Each action:

• class must extend "ProcessAdminActions" and the filename must match the class name and end in ".action.php" like: UnpublishAboutPage.action.php
• the action method must be: executeAction()

As you can see there are only a few lines needed to wrap the actual API call, so it's really worth the small extra effort to make an action.

Obviously that example action is not very useful. Here is another more useful one that is included with the module. It includes $description, $notes, and $author variables which are used in the module table selector interface. It also makes use of the defineOptions() method which builds the input fields used to gather the required options before running the action.

<?php namespace ProcessWire;

class DeleteUnusedFields extends ProcessAdminActions {

    protected $description = 'Deletes fields that are not used by any templates.';
    protected $notes = 'Shows a list of unused fields with checkboxes to select those to delete.';
    protected $author = 'Adrian Jones';
    protected $authorLinks = array(
        'pwforum' => '985-adrian',
        'pwdirectory' => 'adrian-jones',
        'github' => 'adrianbj',
    );

    protected function defineOptions() {

        $fieldOptions = array();
        foreach($this->fields as $field) {
            if ($field->flags & Field::flagSystem || $field->flags & Field::flagPermanent) continue;
            if(count($field->getFieldgroups()) === 0) $fieldOptions[$field->id] = $field->label ? $field->label . ' (' . $field->name . ')' : $field->name;
        }

        return array(
            array(
                'name' => 'fields',
                'label' => 'Fields',
                'description' => 'Select the fields you want to delete',
                'notes' => 'Note that all fields listed are not used by any templates and should therefore be safe to delete',
                'type' => 'checkboxes',
                'options' => $fieldOptions,
                'required' => true
            )
        );

    }


    protected function executeAction($options) {

        $count = 0;
        foreach($options['fields'] as $field) {
            $f = $this->fields->get($field);
            $this->fields->delete($f);
            $count++;
        }

        $this->successMessage = $count . ' field' . _n('', 's', $count) . ' ' . _n('was', 'were', $count) . ' successfully deleted';
        return true;

    }

}

 

This defineOptions() method builds input fields that look like this:

Finally we use $options array in the executeAction() method to get the values entered into those options fields to run the API script to remove the checked fields.

There is one additional method that I didn't outline called: checkRequirements() - you can see it in action in the PageTableToRepeaterMatrix action. You can use this to prevent the action from running if certain requirements are not met.

At the end of the executeAction() method you can populate $this->successMessage, or $this->failureMessage which will be returned after the action has finished.

 

Populating options via URL parameters
You can also populate the option parameters via URL parameters. You should split multiple values with a “|” character.

You can either just pre-populate options:

http://mysite.dev/processwire/setup/admin-actions/options?action=TemplateFieldsBatcher&templates=29|56&fields=219&addOrRemove=add

or you can execute immediately:

http://mysite.dev/processwire/setup/admin-actions/execute?action=TemplateFieldsBatcher&templates=29|56&fields=219&addOrRemove=add

Note the “options” vs “execute” as the last path before the parameters.

 

Automatic Backup / Restore

Before any action is executed, a full database backup is automatically made. You have a few options to run a restore if needed:

• Follow the Restore link that is presented after an action completes
• Use the "Restore" submenu: Setup > Admin Actions > Restore
• Move the restoredb.php file from the /site/assets/cache/AdminActions/ folder to the root of your site and load in the browser
• Manually restore using the AdminActionsBackup.sql file in the /site/assets/cache/AdminActions/ folder

I think all these features make it very easy to create custom admin data manipulation methods that can be shared with others and executed using a simple interface without needing to build a full Process Module custom interface from scratch. I also hope it will reduce the barriers for new ProcessWire users to create custom admin functionality.

Please let me know what you think, especially if you have ideas for improving the interface, or the way actions are defined.

 

 

[Robin S]

This is very cool. Both the module and the bundled actions will be super useful. Thanks!

[tpr]

Nice!

Just an idea: could the actions accept url params? Eg. prefill the template selector with "basic-page" using this url:

/admin/setup/admin-actions/options?action=TemplateFieldsBatcher&templates=basic-page

This would enable linking the action from other places of the admin (eg. add right-click menu option on pagelist, etc).

Plus another idea: actions could be put into a subdir, if users start to contribute actions their number will increase.

Btw I see you haven't overcomplicated the UI of the roles

[szabesz]

Whoa, Adrian you rock as usual  thanks so much! And the idea of contribution to the actions is the best part of all.

[Ivan Gretsky]

Awesome idea and bad ass realization @adrian! (pardon my French)

I did not install yet but will do soon and check it out. As @szabesz said collaboration is the baddest part. I can expect a load of wise stuff to learn from those actions contributed by PW gurus. It just might happen that there will be a lot of actions - maybe put them in a folder?

And one question about the backup. It seems it is custom and not integrated with db backup module. Is there a reason for that?

 

[adrian]

5 hours ago, tpr said:

Nice!

Just an idea: could the actions accept url params? Eg. prefill the template selector with "basic-page" using this url:

/admin/setup/admin-actions/options?action=TemplateFieldsBatcher&templates=basic-page

This would enable linking the action from other places of the admin (eg. add right-click menu option on pagelist, etc).

 

I like the idea - are you thinking that if all required options are passed it would be possible to run directly with no intermediate "Execute Action" button? Perhaps an additional url parameter: ?execute=true - without this, all options would be prefilled, but the user would still have the option to modify if needed before executing.

Any thoughts?

 

5 hours ago, tpr said:

Plus another idea: actions could be put into a subdir, if users start to contribute actions their number will increase.

Yeah, I did think about it, but I think you're right, it is probably a good idea.

 

5 hours ago, tpr said:

Btw I see you haven't overcomplicated the UI of the roles

I think you are being genuine and not sarcastic, but just wanted to clarify. I am actually wondering if maybe I should convert the config settings page to a DataTables layout (like how it is on the main module process page) - not sure how simple that would be to implement at this point, but might be nice if this starts to fill out with a lot of actions. Btw, in case you guys didn't realize, you can actually remove the superuser role from any actions you know you won't ever use so that you have a shorter list to choose/filter from when using the module.

[adrian]

2 minutes ago, Ivan Gretsky said:

Awesome idea and bad ass realization @adrian! (pardon my French)

Glad you like it

 

3 minutes ago, Ivan Gretsky said:

I did not install yet but will do soon and check it out. As @szabesz said collaboration is the baddest part. I can expect a load of wise stuff to learn from those actions contributed by PW gurus. It just might happen that there will be a lot of actions - maybe put them in a folder?

Definitely part of my goal! And yes, I agree with you and @tpr - a subfolder is the way to go.

 

3 minutes ago, Ivan Gretsky said:

And one question about the backup. It seems it is custom and not integrated with db backup module. Is there a reason for that?

Are you talking about this module: http://modules.processwire.com/modules/process-database-backups/ - what if users don't have it installed? 

At the moment it only stores the one version of the backup - it gets overwritten every time you run a new action. It would be no problem to store more backups, but I was worried that it might be tempting to restore an old backup which could take you back too far and you might lose some manually adjusted content etc. The idea of the automatic backup was to provide a quick recovery from an action that didn't do what you expected. I am definitely happy to revisit this though, so please everyone give me your ideas on this.

[owzim]

Awesome! Especially the defineOptions feature.

[szabesz]

10 minutes ago, adrian said:

what if users don't have it installed? 

Let's inform them  Jokes aside, the db backup module is supported by Ryan, so it should be safe to rely on it.

10 minutes ago, adrian said:

which could take you back too far and you might lose some manually adjusted content etc.

Sensible use cases would dictate to try things out in a development environment not on a live site, so I would not worry too much about this.

Edited November 30, 2016 by szabesz
typo

[szabesz]

@adrian How about adding:

protected $authorForumsProfile = '985-adrian';

so that one can more easily identify the author? Should be used as trailing part of the href attribute, of course  

[adrian]

1 hour ago, szabesz said:

Sensible use cases would dictate to try things out in a development environment not on a live site, so I would not worry too much about this.

Let me think about this a little more - even in a dev environment restoring to a really old backup could be disastrous if you're still developing the site. I guess that's the responsibility of the dev to be smart about things though.

 

29 minutes ago, szabesz said:

@adrian How about adding:

protected $authorForumsProfile = '985-adrian';

so that one can more easily identify the author? Should be used as trailing part of the href attribute, of course  

I like it - I think giving authors proper credit will hopefully promote more contributions.

I have gone with PW developer directory link, PW forum profile, and also Github account, with linked icons.

I could maybe provide the option for the author to fully customize their links, but don't want things getting too ugly. Any thoughts?

[adrian]

Ok, the optional author links are now available. These are the current options:

    protected $authorLinks = array(
        'pwforum' => '985-adrian',
        'pwdirectory' => 'adrian-jones',
        'github' => 'adrianbj',
    );

 

[adrian]

On 11/30/2016 at 0:09 AM, tpr said:

Just an idea: could the actions accept url params? Eg. prefill the template selector with "basic-page" using this url:

/admin/setup/admin-actions/options?action=TemplateFieldsBatcher&templates=basic-page

This would enable linking the action from other places of the admin (eg. add right-click menu option on pagelist, etc).

Ok, this functionality is ready, although please test carefully at this stage.

You can populate the option parameters via URL parameters. You should split multiple values with a "|" character.

There are two options:

1) You can either just pre-populate the options values, but still showing the options page where you can make changes via the options form GUI:

http://mysite.dev/processwire/setup/admin-actions/options?action=TemplateFieldsBatcher&templates=29|56&fields=219&addOrRemove=add

2) or you can execute immediately with the passed options values:

http://mysite.dev/processwire/setup/admin-actions/execute?action=TemplateFieldsBatcher&templates=29|56&fields=219&addOrRemove=add

Note the "options" vs "execute" as the last path segment before the parameters. 

Please try it out and let me know what you think. Do you think it might also be nice to have an option to redirect to another page after it has executed, rather than showing the results page? With your suggestion of linking from other places in the admin are you thinking about maybe an ajax call to an action, rather than loading the page? I haven't tested this yet, but it might be a nice option. I might even be able to return a JSON formatted response if called via ajax?

[tpr]

Thanks, it's a great step forward  A JSON return would be great - I think a use case could be established first to see how this could work.

[adrian]

Just now, tpr said:

I think a use case could be established first to see how this could work.

Well you should get to work on one then   

Send me a PR with a new action and I can work on the ajax response to suit your needs and we'll take it from there!

[tpr]

I don't have any particular feature in mind now but I'm sure there will be one later

[adrian]

It's now available in the modules directory: http://modules.processwire.com/modules/process-admin-actions/ 

It also includes a few new actions. The first post and the Github ReadMe give a small description of each action.

Hope you all find something useful among them.

Again, please feel free to contribute some actions, or if you have an idea but don't know how to build, let me know and maybe I can put it together.

[szabesz]

7 hours ago, adrian said:

or if you have an idea but don't know how to build, let me know and maybe I can put it together.

Best service ever 

[netcarver]

14 hours ago, adrian said:

if you have an idea but don't know how to build, let me know and maybe I can put it together.

<attempted geek joke> If you are into the new syntax of PHP 7.1, how about something like this...

public function declareBrexitReferendumResult() : void;     /* UK version */
public function declarePresidentialElectionResult() : void; /* US version */

...take your pick.  </attempted geek joke>

[adrian]

For those of you who are experienced with the PW API (and those looking to learn), there is now an "Action Code" viewer that shows the executeAction() method of the action you are about to execute. It is of course collapsed by default and only available to superusers.

Anyway, hope you'll find it useful and either reassuring (if you're worried about what code it about to be executed on your site), or informative as to what can be done with the API.

 

[adrian]

Hi everyone,

To celebrate @teppo featuring this module in PW Weekly, I have added a new action: Create Users Batcher

It lets you quickly create many users by entering: "username, email address" on separate lines in a textarea.

This action requires the EmailNewUser module and it must be configured to automatically generate a user password. The action checks for this module and that setting before it will let you proceed. I also recommend that you install the PasswordForceChange module to reduce the risks of having emailed a password to a user.

You can set multiple roles to be added to each new user. Be aware that at least one of these roles must have the "profile-edit" permission so that the user has the ability to change their password when they first login.

 

Note that EmailNewUser will report each successful user creation and email sent success.

 

I hope that the next time you need to create several users for a new client that you'll give this a try.

And of course, don't forget to send me your own actions for inclusion with the module  

[adrian]

Quick update to the CreateUsersBatcher action. It now allows two options:

1) Define Username and email address (requires EmailNewUser to generate password).

2) Define additional user template fields (whichever ones you want). If you use this option and include the password, then you don't need the EmailNewUser module.

You could even given all staff at a client's office the same temp password and let me know by phone (this way there is no security risk with emailing even a temporary password that will be changed) - it's your choice.

Hopefully this screenshot will help to explain it better - note that the "New Users" textarea lists the fields from the user template and the order they need to be entered. In this example I have additional "first_name" and "last_name" fields, as well as the field added by the PasswordForceChange module which you can set to 1 to enforce this if you want.

[szabesz]

Thank you @adrian. This can definitely come in handy now and then.

[adrian]

New version now supports running actions via the API. 

Here's an example of copying content of a field from one page to another.

Simply load the module, and call the action class name as a method while passing the required options as an array:

$options = array(
   'field' => 99, 
   'sourcePage' => 1131, 
   'destinationPage' => 1132
);
$modules->get("ProcessAdminActions")->CopyFieldContentToOtherPage($options);

Hopefully you'll find a use for this in your hooks or template files.

[tpr]

I think the admin UI could be re-arranged into a table layout:

• first column: action names
• second column: description/notes
• third column: applied roles + and Edit button, that opens a modal or perhaps only unhides the role asmSelector. Alternatively you can set the asmSelect to operate in "inline" mode, I've experimented with that and it worked.

I know it would take some time, but sooner or later this has to be done