Content type created in module: (1) Not listed on admin/content/types and (2) has_title, has_body are not honored

As documented in http://api.drupal.org/api/function/hook_node_info and shown in the example in http://api.drupal.org/api/function/node_example_node_info, hook_node_info() allows to return two switches title_label and has_body. Still, these fields are not included in the generated node form. Another - related - effect is that the node type is not listed on admin/content/types.

I can offer a workaround and a patch of node.module for this.

Workaround

In addition to implementing hook_node_info(), also implement a node form through hook_form(). This can either include title and body fields manually as examplified on http://drupal.org/node/132845 or - if you really only want title + body + listing on admin/content/types it can be a simple

function MODULE_form($node, $form_state) {
  return node_content_form($node, $form_state);
}

Patch

See attached file. I think it is important to include this patch in node.pages.inc as the current behaviour confuses developers. As opposed to the workaround, this patch makes title + body fields show but still does not list your content type on on admin/content/types. Thus its status code needs work.

Thanks you olav. Unfortunately your Workaround does not work with drupal 7 since hook_form is not called in drupal 7.

Sorry, that was totally wrong! But you have to pay attention to this:

<?php
function MODULE_form($node, $form_state) {
  return node_content_form($node, $form_state);
}
?>

MODULE should NOT be the module name but rather the base attribute defined in hook_node_info(). This might often be the modules name but not in my case...

Thank you olav, I didn't try the patch, but the workaround as described in #2 works.
When a bugfix in drupal core?

Closing old issues.

This is more of a support request. If anyone else finds this issue in the future, you should know a couple of things.

First, modules that provide a content type must implement hook_form(). Implementing hook_form() is not a "workaround" as suggested in #2; it's a requirement. If there's any problem, it's that I don't see anything in the API docs about this requirement.

Second, the hook_form() documentation explicitly says that you must return the node title field in the $form array. If you don't want to do that yourself, feel free to return node_content_form() as shown in the #2 example code.

Hi,

I have re-opened this issue as I don't agree with the comment made when this was closed.

I acknowledge that the requirement of implementing hook_form() when a module defines a content type exists and that it is partially documented / hinted at in the hook_form() documentation (if not - more importantly - in the hook_node_info() documentation.

However, I don't believe this requirement should exist and that it should instead be optional. If a content type is defined and is configured to have a title using the has_title property, then I think it should have a default title field added to the node_form as standard with the ability to override this field with your own hook_form() implementation IF you wish to. I don't think you should be forced to add this field for every content type defined as it's unnecessary work.

In fact, if you actually look at the node_content_form() hook_form implementation in node.module, while the comment on the first line quite clearly informs you about the requirement (// It is impossible to define a content type without implementing hook_form()), the comment on the second line is a todo to remove this requirement (// @todo: remove this requirement.)!

The current problem I am experiencing is that I want to implement hook_view(). However, I can't implement hook_view() in my module unless I change the base value in my hook_node_info from node_content to my module name. But as soon as I do that, the content type disappears from the admin/structure/types page and the title field disappears from the node add/edit form. So I then have to implement hook_form() just to return the return value of node_content_form().

It doesn't sound like much, but you shouldn't have to jump through so many hoops (or hooks!) just to implement hook_view()! And if you have more than one module that this applies to then it's even more of an issue.

I propose that the title field defined in node_content_form() should be added by default to all content types that have `has_title` = TRUE and that if you wish to remove or alter that field then you do so with hook_form().

Thanks

Hi @KeithC,

Whether or not your suggestion is a good idea is not the issue. Realistically, there is no way this will ever happen. It would be a major API change and could never be committed. I can't even guess at how many D7 modules - in core, in contrib, and custom-made - would suddenly have extra title fields popping up on their forms.

I'm sorry you've had to do extra work because of this requirement. I'm sure you have some reason why you feel that you need to use hook_view(), but I have to wonder why you're not using hook_node_view().

Hi @dcam,

Thanks for the reply. I tried to use hook_node view but unfortunately, it hooks in after a node's fields are processed where as hook_view is just before so hook_view is the only option I have for what I am trying to achieve (checking field data before it's processed).

It's disappointed that we are stuck with this issue however I understand the reasoning/implications.