PageTable input field in a module

[Steven Veerbeek]

Hi,

I am trying to create a module for a webshop in which I can predefine a number of thumbnail sizes for my product images. I was thinking of storing each of these image sizes as a child page with 'width' and 'height' fields under the module page , so I can use a PageTable input field in my module to easily manage them.

I know how to create a Pagetable field and add it to templates so I can use it in regular pages, but because I am planning on implementing some other functionalities that (I think) can't be achieved with a regular page, I need the PageTable field to work within a module.

So far I have come up with this piece of code by trial and error:

$page = $this->page;
$field_sizes = $this->modules->get("InputfieldPageTable");
$field_sizes->title = "image_sizes";
$field_sizes->label = "Image sizes";
$field_sizes->set('parent_id', $page->id);
$template = wire("templates")->get("image_size");
$field_sizes->set('template_id', $template->id);
$field_sizes->set('columns', "title\nimage_width\nimage_height");
$wrapper->add($field_sizes);

It works in that it does display an empty PageTable in my module. I can also add pages and they will be added as child pages under my module page, but when I do, the way the PageTable is displayed gets all messed up. Instead of showing the newly created page as a row in the PageTable, all the fields on the module page (including the PageTable field itself) are repeated within the PageTable field.

I hope my explanation makes sense. I am fairly new to Processwire (and module development in particular) so perhaps I am just trying to use PageTable in a way it was not intended to be. Maybe you guys could give me some directions on how to achieve what I am looking for?

Thanks!

[Robin S]

Hi @Steven Veerbeek and welcome to the PW forums

I'm not clear on whether you are talking about the config page for a 'normal' module or the page created by a Process module. But I don't think either of these will achieve what you're aiming for.

• A module config cannot use an actual fieldtype such as a PageTable or a Repeater - with the module config you are only dealing with inputfields and that's not sufficient for a working PageTable.
• And while you might get a bit further with a Process module you would kind of be going against the grain of how a Process module normally works. Normally the page created by a Process module uses the 'admin' template and you don't want to be adding a PageTable field to that. So you would need to create and assign a custom template. But then you also need to be opening this page in ProcessPageEdit in order to use the PageTable field and that's not typical for Process modules.

So I think you probably need to work within the 'install' method of your module to:

1. Create a new template
2. Create a new PageTable field (along with the template for the pages used in the field)
3. Assign the PageTable field to the fieldgroup of the template
4. Create a new page using the template

This page would then serve as a kind of config page for your module.

But then again there might be another totally different solution to the issue of how to define your image sizes without using a PageTable field. If I understand right you want a way to define a variable number of image size settings for your module. The simplest way to do that would be using a textarea field that follows some predefined formatting, e.g. one line per image size setting with width and height separated by some character such as a pipe. Then your module uses explode() to parse the settings.

I also wanted a repeatable format for module config settings and thought the textarea approach was a bit limiting and error prone. You might like to take a look at the system I have used for repeatable settings in several of my modules. Not saying it's best practice or anything but it gets the job done:

https://github.com/Toutouwai/ConnectPageFields/blob/ef9a03d08f0e724724f13ebdb8dfb35a4662ec26/ConnectPageFields.module#L191-L340

If you come up with a better approach to repeatable module config settings be sure to share it!