Great module. The only thing I don't understand is what the hidden columns can be used for. As far as I can tell, you don't need to add a hidden column to add a sort or filter, those can be added independently of the columns.

I thought it might be to include columns in the CSV/Excel exports, but that doesn't seem to be the case either. In my use case that would make the most sense, and on that note I would find it useful to have a (per webform report) preference to include all columns in the CSV export. I know including hidden fields in CSV exports is just a matter of removing an if statement, but including all columns would be trickier. Thoughts or suggestions?

CommentFileSizeAuthor
#6 Sorting by Date_Time71.84 KBvako

Comments

star-szr’s picture

star-szr
he/him
Primary language English
commented

I decided to code the "export all columns in CSV" feature, please see http://drupal.org/node/1174516

vako’s picture

vako commented

But some people might not want to export all columns, that's why they use the hidden option.

Hidden columns can be very useful when you use a special PHP coding.
e.g.: I use it to display country flags based on the poster's IP address, check this post: http://drupal.org/node/986232

star-szr’s picture

star-szr
he/him
Primary language English
commented

Custom PHP code was the only reason I could come up with too. Good to know.

There is actually a bug in the module related to hidden columns, where extra cells are added to the report whether it's displayed in HTML or CSV. It's proving a bit hard to track down, not every hidden column creates an extra cell so I'm not sure where they're coming from at the moment. If I manage to fix it I will post the patch in a separate issue.

Edit: found the culprit, patch here: http://drupal.org/node/1175514

jimbullington’s picture

jimbullington commented

Thank you for your report. If I remember correctly, this was originally created to allow initial sorting on a column that did not need to be displayed - when I implemented this, it only made sense to be able to sort on a column that is included on the report. However, I see that is not the case anymore (if it ever was) as all of the webform components appear to be on the select under Add Sort - I'll need to check that out...

Grecy’s picture

Grecy commented

RE:
"you don't need to add a hidden column to add a sort or filter, those can be added independently of the columns."

I'm working with this right now, and finding the opposite to be true.
I have a very simple filter, where the value of a select must be "is empty".
if that column is NOT in the report, the filter does nothing and rows show up that are clearly not empty.
if that column IS IN the report, then the filter works.
(NOTE: this works the same if I hide the column or not)

Can anyone comment on this?

Thanks.

vako’s picture

vako commented
StatusFileSize
new Sorting by Date_Time71.84 KB

In my case, in order to sort by latest entries, I must add two hidden fields; Submitted Date and Submitted Time.
Otherwise the sort will not work, I have tried it a lot. see attached image.

jimbullington’s picture

jimbullington commented
Status: Active » Closed (won't fix)