Matrix/table built with children of two pages

[charger]

I don't now if this is already possible to build with one of the available modules/fieldtypes. I so far tried Table, PageTable, Repeater and Multiplier but couldn't get them work exactly as I want.

I'm looking for a way to create a matrix/table that uses the children of two pages to build the row and column headers. In my case (an online shop), I want it to take the children of the page product variants and the children of the page currencies. In the end, it should render a matrix/table, where I can enter a fixed price for every variant in every currency.

Has anyone ever done something similar? Is there a fieldtype for this?

[Nico Knoll]

Not sure what you want to archive with that but I think there is a better way to solve that. So could you add some more details?

[netcarver]

@charger

Have you considered just keeping everything in a single currency and using something like Ryan's currency conversion module to create other currency prices on-the-fly as needed?

[charger]

@charger

Have you considered just keeping everything in a single currency and using something like Ryan's currency conversion module to create other currency prices on-the-fly as needed?

That's a good idea, however, I don't want automatic price conversion. Price politics is more about psychology than mathematics

[charger]

Not sure what you want to archive with that but I think there is a better way to solve that. So could you add some more details?

I want to be able to set the price of a product (e.g. a T-Shirt) by its category (well, T-Shirts). Now for all products within the category T-Shirts, there are the same options (size S, M, L and color red, green, blue). So if I go to the category page of T-Shirts, I want a matrix that lists all the options of this product category and then let me set a price for each currency I'm offering the product in. I hope that's understandable

[Nico Knoll]

Take a look at this module: https://processwire.com/talk/topic/6010-fieldtypejson/?hl=json

[charger]

Thanks for the tip, but I don't think that module can help me. It doesn't create the rows/columns based on the children of pages (so that I can add another child page and that the matrix would be extended automatically). If I would do it manually, I would prefer the fieldtype table.

[adrian]

I want to be able to set the price of a product (e.g. a T-Shirt) by its category (well, T-Shirts). Now for all products within the category T-Shirts, there are the same options (size S, M, L and color red, green, blue). So if I go to the category page of T-Shirts, I want a matrix that lists all the options of this product category and then let me set a price for each currency I'm offering the product in. I hope that's understandable

I am still not 100% clear, but it sounds to me like maybe you don't want a new way of storing product/price info, but just a new way of entering it. It sounds like you still want the data stored in the product's page fields. Is that correct?

If so, you might be looking at implementing something custom with AdminDataTable (core module often used by other modules), or HandsOnTable. Here are a couple of links for inspiration:

http://modules.processwire.com/modules/data-table/

https://processwire.com/talk/topic/4147-excel-like-crud-in-pw-using-handsontable/

and of course the ProTable field type. 

I think with ideas from those you could build a process module that builds an editable table using the product/price info from the fields from product pages. When saving the table, the data would be written back to the appropriate pages.

Am I on track at all?

[charger]

It might help if I add a screenshot of what it looks like if it's manually built with the fieldtype table. The downside is that I have to create all possible variations by hand, and that if I add a new currency or a new product option, it's not populated automatically to this table.

One solution (at least for the product options size and color) to this would be if the fieldtype table would allow columns to be of the type page and then output them as radios/checkboxes.

It would be even cooler of course if the variants (all possible combinations of the product options size and color) would also be built automatically

[charger]

It sounds like you still want the data stored in the product's page fields. Is that correct?

No, the product itself (T-Shirt) is assigned to a category (T-Shirts), and all the pricing information is stored within the category page.

[MuchDev]

It really sounds like you want ProFields, the table plugin is extremely flexible. Are you wanting to make changes to all of you separate pages via one template, or are you still wanting to edit all of the pages directly?

[charger]

It really sounds like you want ProFields, the table plugin is extremely flexible. Are you wanting to make changes to all of you separate pages via one template, or are you still wanting to edit all of the pages directly?

As I mentioned at the beginning, I already tried to use the ProFields Table, Multiplier and Page Table. The screenshot in my post above is actually from the ProFields Table fieldtype.

It should be one template in the end that I can use on different pages (-> product categories).

[Joss]

Are you basically creating a main page and the variants are children of that page?

So, they all have the same prices, for instance, but other variations are possible with the children?

If so, you could do something like this:

Parent - T-Shirts

Field: Default price (USD)

Child page - 

T-shirt crazy style

Field: override price (USD) - normally left blank.

In your template for the child, you can call the price from the parent page (see the API for parents), checking whether the override price as been set. If it hasn't you display from the parent, if it has been set, you display from the child.

You can do this will any field - set defaults in the parent, but allow for overrides for the children.

[charger]

I'm not sure if I can follow your example. Let me add another screenshot to clarify my setup. I have a product page (T-Shirt) that is displayed on the frontend. Then, there's the Tools page (only for backend), where I define a products attributes and categories.

Now, within the page T-Shirts (which represents a product category) I want to be able to have the table I mentioned above where I can set the prices for each product variant of the attributes size and color – pretty much as in my other screenshot above.

The product page T-Shirt then actually just has a drop-down to select a product category (in this case T-Shirts).

[Joss]

Okay, I am probably going to get this wrong, but let me think this through.

You want a list of attributes, but without prices - you add the price later in the T-Shirt page?

So, for instance, you could have a repeater (possibly better with a page table) that has two fields:

Page Field, picking up a list of attributes and a text field for the price.

You add a line, choose the attribute type from the page field drop down (must be single select, of course) and you put in your price.

You can then loop through the repeater to list out all the attributes and associated prices for that product..

When it comes to a category, if you are creating the product page under its parent, then it already has a category - its parent!

Oh, I should add, that the attributes can have more than just a title - they can have images, extra info, anything you like as they are pages in their own right - but you only use the title field when selecting them.

[charger]

I think we got tangled up in my use case. Maybe I have to go back to the beginning, because what I'm looking for has different use cases in my opinion.

What I'm looking for is to have some kind of matrix fieldtype where I can define the row and column headers. Now, these headers should automatically be built by the page title of definable pages (actually their respective child pages).

Say I have two pages (Size and Color) with the following child pages:

Size

   – S

   – M

   – L

 

Color

   – Red

   – Blue

   – Green

Now in this matrix fieldtype, I could apply Size to be the row header and Color the column header. This would result in a matrix like this:

   | Red | Blue | Green |

–––––--------------------

S  |     |      |       |

–––––--------------------

M  |     |      |       |

–––––--------------------

L  |     |      |       |

–––––--------------------

 

Now, if I add another child to the page Color (e.g. Black), the matrix would be automatically extended: 

   | Red | Blue | Green | Black |

–––––----------------------------

S  |     |      |       |       |

–––––----------------------------

M  |     |      |       |       |

–––––----------------------------

L  |     |      |       |       |

–––––----------------------------

Is there already a fieldtype like that?

[kongondo]

OK, let me wade in as well

@Charger,

I don't think there is a module like that. Does this have to be a fieldtype or would a ProcessModule do? i.e. a custom view/page within the admin. The table cells would be input fields that contain any data you want. This is a similar idea to what Adrian mentioned above. The ProcessModule would just be a means of easily entering your data but these would be stored within the fields of your pages themselves. The advantage with this approach is that you could have a table of all your products, then clicking on an edit button/link would bring up the matrix. This would be built on the fly based on the number of your 'child pages'...Anyway, just thinking out loud here...

[kongondo]

Hmmm...

Creating the matrix is the easy part. The problem is deciding where and how that data will be stored. At the end of the day you want to be able (preferably) to easily query your data using PW API, say find the price of 'small red' t shirts.... The problems with my solution are, e.g. where do you store the price of a 'Large Blue' t-shirt? If you had a fixed number of variations, fine, but in your case they are dynamic. A 'pink' variant can be added later and you want to be able to accommodate that...hmm...

Maybe the fieldtype route is the way to go . I am not sure how Martijn's FieldtypeJson works but it seems to be able to accommodate any number of columns. If you want to go down that route, then you can adjust that Fieldtype to suit your use case. It's a matter of rewriting the code and renaming the module class. Of course, you need to know what you are doing... . There's also Ryan's event fieldtype that could be modified to do what you are after...

[kongondo]

Me again...

Will your product sizes be fixed, i.e, always S, M, L? If yes, can your matrix be like this instead?

           |  S  |  M   |  L   |

–––––------------------------

Red   |      |        |       |

–––––------------------------

Blue    |     |        |       |

–––––------------------------

Green  |     |       |       |

–––––------------------------

Black   |     |       |       |

–––––------------------------

 

meaning....only add rows with new variants but columns will be fixed...

[netcarver]

@kongondo,

I like the thinking but you never know when an extra X will get added to a size; particularly medium. In other words, I suspect the table would need to accept changes in either dimension.

How about simply concatenating the x and y variable to give a key that can then have a simple value stored against it? So you'd end up with a table that had an indexed product page id, an indexed "key" and an "amount" column. The function to make the key would just do something like...

function makeKey($size, $variation)
{
    $size      = wire()->sanitizer->name($size);
    $variation = wire()->sanitizer->name($variation);

    $key = "$size/$variation";

    return $key;
}

[kongondo]

@Steve,

Good point. I was thinking along those lines (the indexed key) but wasn't sure how search would work (i.e. grab 'red small' t-shirts) using PW API and related performance issues. Back then, I was thinking storing the pairs using json like syntax $size:$variation - something similar to yours. 

[kongondo]

Was having some fun with this already....nothing concrete atm..customising Ryan's FieldtypeEvents 

[kongondo]

@Steve,

Just to answer my own question about how the search for the 'indexed key' would work [database side of things] - this could either work  the way PW handles repeater fields - data stored as comma separated integers (1234, 5688), i.e. $size,$variation ID pages respectively as you suggested, or why not store them as PW multiple page fields - i.e. a row for each addition, consisting of page id (integers) i.e. 

E.g. assuming Red = ID 1124, small = 2545 and medium = 2745

$variation    $size   $amount

1124           2545    $20

1124           2745   $10

On the inputfield side of things, the user will still be able to see a table similar to the one I posted above that would grow both vertically and horizontally with each new addition of size and variation...Of course horizontal growth could get very messy very quickly...

Edited October 12, 2014 by kongondo

[charger]

Wow, lots of action here I'm sorry, but I can't keep up with the discussion. It's too low-level for me. I don't know the interns of PW that well yet. But I'm happy to help where I can.

[kongondo]

Hi Charger,

I thought you'd given up on this given your absence   

I'd started to work on something (it was actually working, i.e. dynamically adding rows and columns - except for saving to the DB) but then I hit a few snags and was wondering whether this wouldn't be best achieved by a dedicated ProcessModule or an extended PageTable....If you are about later, I could try and explain...

ps: low-level or high-level??