Port to Drupal 6

There will be, when I find the time, and it'll definitely be *after* my exams. Patches or sponsoring are welcome of course, and will make D6 support come faster.

This module is the best thing since sliced bread. I wish it was in core.

It's times like these where I wish I had some coding expertise, because Hierarchical Select is the one module I absolutely need for Drupal 6.

Even more unfortunate is that for Drupal there is no Taxonomy Super Select, Form Tweaker, CCK Taxonomy, etc. solution. Applying terms to content types is a crazy bad experience in Drupal 6, at least for what I am developing.

Is paying to get a D6 release the best way to move this project to the fast track? Or is it more the lack of developer time in general?

If payment could fast-track Hierarchical Select for Drupal 6... in terms of sponsoring a D6 version, what kind of money do projects like this cost?

First of all, thank you for the compliments! :)

At the moment, it's lack of developer time. I still have several features to implement in version 3 (for Drupal 5). After there's a 3.x final release, I'll work on the D6 port.

A D6 port will *not* require a complete rewrite. It will allow me to strip several tricky parts of the code, and force me to make some changes (e.g. hook_menu() changed a lot, and virtually all Forms API hooks have changes in their parameters).

What is your timeframe?

It is looking more and more like I'll be developing with 5.7. I have 2 tracks at the moment - 6.2 and 5.7, and there's just no way I can justify the 4-6 week increase in dev time to get a usable 6.2 version of my project.

So my timeframe might be an N/A as far as Hierarchical Select is concerned, for the 5.x verion of your module works well for me. It's such a useful module.

Very well! :) The reason I'm developing version 3 for Drupal 5 instead of Drupal 6 is the same reason you implicitly mentioned here: Drupal 5 is still used by a lot of companies. And it will be for several more months. So it still makes sense to write big updates for 5.x modules.

HS3 sounds great!

I disagree with your last point, "it still makes sense to write big updates for 5.x modules". It makes much more sense to me to "wrap up" the working 5.x versions, port to 6.x, and then perform the next major version release on 6.x. Continued major development on old platforms encourages and convinces Drupal users to ignore the current product in favor of an older platform. That can't be a good thing. If Drupal 5.x contributions continue to grow, Drupal 6.x production sites will continue to lag. There's literally momentum being sucked from 6.x and reinvested into 5.x, and in some contributions' cases this seems to be accelerating.

Personally, I agree with you. However, not everybody (including some of my clients) can upgrade in the next, say 8 months or so, because they're still developing *big* sites on D5. So it really does make sense.

I agree that it makes sense on a micro level.

An FYI regarding my statement in #4 above...

Even more unfortunate is that for Drupal there is no Taxonomy Super Select, Form Tweaker, CCK Taxonomy, etc. solution. Applying terms to content types is a crazy bad experience in Drupal 6, at least for what I am developing.

A 6.x dev version of Content Taxonomy was released a few days ago, so there is at least a little more flexibility in the assigning of vocabulary terms by using radio buttons, check boxes, trees, etc. It's no Hierarchical Select by any means, but it can be friendlier than the standard select box on 6.x. I'm currently trying it out.

Hi Leers...Its a great module and i am sad i cant really release my site in D6 without Hierarchial Select...there are a lot terms in multiple vocabs which without this module will drive away any user after they try to narrow in on the right one...lets hope for a release soon!

Any help in testing the 6.x version count on me.

subscribe

I've been keeping watch on your CVS messages for v.3, and it's exciting to see all you've done. Kudos to you!!!

To update a post above, I've since committed on 6.x for my project, so I won't be reaping the fruits of your labor quite yet. I've decided to count on Hierarchical Select being available in the future, and I am developing with that assumption. It's that valuable a module.

I can handle the minor issues with Views 2, and I can deal with the manual workarounds for making my own panels. But Hierarchical Select - like the Drupal Admin Menu - it's just painful working without it once you've had a taste. And unlike the admin menu, this one extends outstanding functionality and usability to admins and users alike.

Applause for your active development. I'm sure v.3 will be great. Hopefully the eventual port to 6.x will be somewhat smooth.

I'm pretty certain that porting will be smooth. While I don't know all the details of D6, I'm aware of almost all changes, and I did the development of HS 3 with "D6 portability" in mind. :)

That said, time is, and will be scarse till the end of June. So I really can't make promises. Worst case scenario: first week of July. Bad case scenario: 3rd-4th week of June. Hoped case: 2-3 weeks from now. Best case: 2 weeks from now.

It's a weird feeling that somebody is actually tracking your CVS commits :P But it also gives you a feeling of appreciation, so thanks for that :)

come on leers ...put an end to this wait for D6 sake...really praying u get enuf time to release the module as what u said in the "hoped case scenario"...july will be quite long a wait...will surely be a great module for future D6 users...

I would also like to ask you sincerely when do you think(frm ur experience with Drupal) D6 will be usable with important modules like Hierarchial Selcect and other cool ones...and is there a way Drupal association can hasten dev of the modules used by more drupal based developers.
Thankyou

Copy/pasted from somebody who e-mailed me with the same question:

The reason for the delays is simply a lack of time on my side. Three big school projects (with one still being worked on, due for Friday) and exams starting next Wednessday, I'm sure you'll understand it's VERY hard to do any work on HS. I haven't had ANY free time during the past 6 weeks or so: haven't been out a single time.

Thanks for your understanding ;)

As you can see, there simply is no way for me to spend any time on it, since literally *all* my time is already being consumed.

Kick butt on the school stuff, Wim. I trust that you'll be back around when time permits.

So many other module maintainers/developers seem to disappear without so much as a brief explanation, so I appreciate the updates.

I'm looking forward to v3 for Drupal 5. I disagree with the other comments about ignoring D5. D6 wont be ready to use for more complex sites for at least a few months because Views and CCK aren't even ready.

I'm using Views and CCK versions for 6.x, and they are working pretty darn well. Obviously, we'd all like official releases, but for the basics I've come accustomed to in 5.x, the current dev/beta versions are doing the trick.

It seems Wim has got enough work to do apart frm his exams.Still he is updating 5x dev .Kudos to his spirit.Lets give him his time and wait for the best.

Yes, I'm still in my exam period, but I've got some time now. I worked on HS yesterday and will do so today. With some luck, I might get out a beta for the 5.x version.

As I said in this issue before: as soon as version 3 for Drupal 5 is stable, I'll port it to Drupal 6. And that will probably be less than a day of work. But if I'd be working on the Drupal 5 and 6 versions simultaneously, I'd have to keep fixes in sync, thus doubling the amount of work!

I think it's pretty likely now that you'll have a 6.x alpha on the 5th of July at the latest. (The Drupal 5 version is making excellent progress, lots of issues, but almost all of them small ones.)

All the best for 5.x-3 ,Wim!

If the 6x version comes out on July 5th...i will shift to D6 ....i really love D6.Sincerely hope to see it happening on 5th.

Also is there a way to display the taxonomy terms as links for the user to click on in the 6.x version....i mean some functionality like http://drupal.org/project/archive_by_terms .or
http://drupal.org/project/taxonomy_vtn

nirvana4ever: nope, that's for *displaying* hierarchies, HS is for *selecting* item(s) in hierarchies. Links don't make sense, especially because it would become WAY too big if you've got huge taxonomies (in the range of 10,000 or more).

ok.but are there sites running on 10,000 taxonomies?thts huge!

Not 10,000 taxonomy, 10,000 terms in a single vocabulary. I've heard of ones with +- 50,000 as well.

thts really big a no...i have around 60 terms in one vocab and had thought it was quite big ...but it appears to be nothing much!

subscribing:)

Hi Wim...is the work happenin as fast as intended ...is the gift on the way for 5th?

And ,wanna ask u whether we can use HS 6x for enabling users to select Country-->state or even Country-->state-->city in their profiles ?

Most of the webmasters will like to know the nationalities of the users and users of other users.So if this function can be inbuilt into HS 6x i feel it will be used abundantly.Now that the profile module for D6 , content profile makes profile a content type it would be possible to have HS in the profile page too.

Work on the D6 port will probably begin on July 4, i.e. after my exam. I was talking about an *alpha* version on July 5, not a beta or final ;)

I know.I expected the same.

what abt the country functionality?Can that be added.

Country? You can already do that with taxonomy. Perhaps you mean location CCK field support?

yes...have mentioned it in the previous post.Sorry if it wasnt well written.
Wont it be good if its available with the new HS? Or has it to be incorporated into taxonomy?

And ,wanna ask u whether we can use HS 6x for enabling users to select Country-->state or even Country-->state-->city in their profiles ?

Most of the webmasters will like to know the nationalities of the users and users of other users.So if this function can be inbuilt into HS 6x i feel it will be used abundantly

So you meant Location CCK field support, then? Still not entirely clear. Anyway, the answer to that question is yes, that's coming!

have added HS to Contributed modules status - version 6.x at
http://groups.drupal.org/node/5036

Please make any changes as appropriate.

lub dub......lub dub...lub dub..lub dub..the beat is gaining speed...please surprise me!

please....

waited long...ready to wait longer!

because really love HS.
All the best with the work.

Subscribing. :)

Also..... say I have something like Country --> Region --> State for my Taxonomies.

Will HS allow someone to select for a New Node "California", and HS automatically tag the Node as "California" *and* "Western US" *and* "United States"?

Or would it allow the Node to only be tagged as "California"?

Cheers!
//TB

There's a small delay due to some obligations I had to fulfill for a client. On the bright side, this resulted in a bunch of bug fixes/improvements to the HS 3 code for D5, which will of course also apply to the D6 port :)

You can expect an alpha in a couple of days.

k.i trust that.

dum dum di da.. Exellent module:)

whats happenin leers....stuck with sumdin...am really anxious ...

Chk out the drupal download statistics for Drupal.Drupal 6 is gonna have many more users I feel.
http://buytaert.net/drupal-download-statistics-2008

As you probably already understood, I didn't have the time yet to begin working on the port. Lots of unexpected things had come up.

Today, I've finally begun working on it. The necessary changes for the Menu system have already been made (including conditional file loading and a wild card loader), as well as taking advantage of hook_theme (again including conditional file loading).
I've read through the docs for the new FAPI version and that's going to be a big job to port to…

One baffling change is that while $op is gone, there's no clear replacement for me: I need buttons on $form_element level, not $form level. And that doesn't seem to be supported… As soon as I have it working, I will post a patch. And only then, possibly even only when most if it is working, I'll create a D6 branch.

Will keep you posted.

k Leers.ALL THE BEST with the work.
What i would like to request is to release D6 in July...I really need it.I feel a bit sad that its not out still.But again,I can only pray to you and keep hoping.

Thanks for the reply.

I found a work-around for the above issue.

Plenty of new ones though. One of which is that I was going to ditch my own form cache in favor of Drupal's own ($form_state with $form['#cache'] = TRUE). Unfortunately, merlinofchaos told me that if I choose that path, it won't be compatible with the Views exposed filters form.

So that means I'm back to where I begun. I essentially wasted an entire day because of the crappy documentation for D6 FAPI (equally crappy as D5's) and because some forms won't work when #cache = TRUE. Yay.

Because I'm keeping virtually all D5 code, less changes had to be made.

It's already working! When the Taxonomy implementation is fully operational, I'll post the patch.

First patch. Is against RC1.

So far only the taxonomy module is compatible, and only partially. Only its config form and the taxonomy term form's 'parent terms' and 'related terms' form items are using Hierarchical Selects.

From purely a spectator's standpoint, I think HS should be in core. The functionality of Hierarchical Select filled a huge hole in the Drupal experience, and I think it's time that future Drupal development takes HS's features into account.

Wim, you're fairly "connected" in Drupal dev circles. What type of feedback do you get regarding Hierarchical Select? Am I the only person who mentions core with regards to this module, or do others also agree that your module is a UI gamechanger?

Regardless, thanks again for your work and regular updates.

Rob, several "decision makers" are interested in getting HS into core. At this point, I don't think the code is clean/simple enough yet, but that's for a large part due to FAPI: I have to go through a lot of weird, painful constructs to get it working.
I will definitely try to get it in D7 core :)

subscribing

No doubt abt wat Rob Ts saying.It will be wonderful to have HS in core.

Chasing HEAD. Taxonomy term selection in node forms is working too.

I found another bug in the 5.x version, so I'll fix it there and re-roll the patch again.

It looks like I'll be making more improvements in the D5 version first. I also made a lot of changes to the D5 version while I was porting the code, mostly bad comments, but also bugs/weird code. I've attached my latest D6 code in .zip format so you can at least use that.

I'm an inexperienced guy here.So Wim,can you release a 6.x dev...So that i can start testing it.

Thank you.

Ehm. No. Only when the D5 version is finished. That's why I posted a .zip, just use that instead ;)

There were 2 folders in the zip above.I installed the hierarchial select folder(other folder is MACOSX)

HS modules appeared in modules page and there are many new ones too of which only HS and HS Taxonomy can be activated.Others show This version is incompatible with the 6.3 version of Drupal core.

I activated the available 2 .But And when i go to my Taxonomy page and click on edit vocabulary ..the error is displayed on a blank page

Fatal error: Call to undefined function dpm() in C:\wamp\www\Drupal 6ix\sites\all\modules\hierarchical_select\hierarchical_select.module on line 345

What has to be done?

Hah. That's the debug output :) Either disable "DEVELOPER_MODE" at the top of the file or install the devel module: http://drupal.org/project/devel.

ok.That one is solved.Thank you Wim,
And the HS configuration page is really Superb.THe 'Preview' option is very useful and helps to save time.Thanks for adding that.

But for me ,though its working in the 'Preview' .there seems to be no change in the content submission form.I added 'help Text' and it is appearing corectly in the contet submission form and still the vocab selection is not taken over by HS.its still the core way.

Is there anything i need to do?
(I dont know whether its a problem with my config..or i have missed some thing.

i activated HS for the content type
[]Use the Hierarchical Select form element for this vocabulary.

And The selection apperars to work well in the preview as i said.)

Your vocabulary is not yet hierarchical probably.

it is hierarchial and works well in the 'preview' in the HS config page

Thanks for rolling a zip for the D6 port. :) I've been playing with it and here are my findings.

D6 is working for both taxonomy and a custom implementation. I needed a custom implementation because I need to have multiple selection widgets each starting on one of the top-level terms of the hierarchy. Unfortunately, hs_taxonomy didn't allow me to supply the root parent in $params['tid'].

I looked at hs_content_taxonomy and while it did accept $param['tid'] in the config, it had a small issue._hs_content_taxonomy_term_within_allowed_depth(), which is used in hook_..._valid_item(), doesn't currently determine whether $item is a child of $param['tid']. Is this a bug or feature? :) My desired depth is zero.

More thanks for rolling the .zip file of this functional version for D6. I managed to get it working for taxonomy (it took a few manipulations to get it right).

I disabled DEVELOPER_MODE, which got rid of the
Fatal error: Call to undefined function dpm() in ...hierarchical_select/hierarchical_select.module on line 345.

Just an FYI that the Implementation tab in HS settings yields:
Call to undefined function _module_parse_info_file() in ...hierarchical_select/hierarchical_select.admin.inc on line 114.

So far, I have been able to use this young version for what I need it for. Thanks again, Wim.

sammys: Likely a bug then. Care to roll a patch? :) In any case, please create an issue for it!

Rob T: The developer_mode thing was documented and the other thing is a D5->D6 API change probably :) Thanks for reporting it here!

I'm running into the same issue nirvanajyothi had.

Intially, after some semi-random configuration changes, I was able to get HS working for a vocabulary. I have since applied that other vocabulary to an additional content type, and "poof", I can no longer get HS working for my content types.

The preview works fine, (like nirvanajyothi), but once it's time to add or edit one of the content items, the form goes back to Drupal core's PIA select box.

UPDATE:
I cleared the cache (performance), and resubmitted my "list terms" page, and the HS reappeared as intended.

UPDATE 2: I had another instance where the taxonomy HS disappeared from the content type. I had changed an HS property - the "create new item" feature... I turned that off, and when I went back to my content type, the HS had reverted to Drupal's core select box. Again, I cleared the cache, then I resubmitted that vocabulary's "list terms" page, and the HS reappeared again.

Another issue in D6 version...

If the Hierarchical Select is set to save only the deepest term, and is later switched to term lineage, nodes with terms already selected lose those associations, at least when editing such a node. Kinda spooky.

Hi there, I've installed the zipped version of Hierarchical Select for drupal 6, im very pleased to see that this module is progressing for Drupal 6. Isn't hierarchical select suppose to display a dropdown list with the parent terms and then display another dropdown with the children terms, something similar to "Related Terms in the configurations? Why isn't it doing it?

Wim,

great module, the demo looks stunning.
Waiting for Drupal 6 version.

Marius

subscribing - this should definitely be core. Can't wait to use the first released version on 6.x.

Wow, amazing! The config screen is really great. A lot of effort has been put into the UX - much appreciated.

I am also having problems getting HS to show up on my content type form. Just like nirvanajyothi, I can see the preview just fine but when it comes to adding content, no luck.

I have also bee clearing Drupal cache and browser cache - it doesn't help.

I am curious to know what others have done to get this to work. They have mentioned "random" configuration changes, but any clues as to what those were would be helpful.

I have attached (in two parts) my configuration settings for a very simple taxonomy structure which looks like this:

AAA
- A1
- A2
BBB
- B1
- B2

I see that it HS is successfully working in the "Advanced options" section of the "add terms" page. That screenshot is also attached.

I have also attached an array output I saw at the top of the screen once when adding a new node of the content-type I had applied my HS taxonomy to. I tried to reproduce it, but couldn't find it.

Yet another attachment is the array structure I am seeing when I go to the taxonomy list page (admin/content/taxonomy/list).

Subscribing.

I don't mean to be annoying, but is there any progress with Hierachical Select for Drupal 6 Wim? It's an awesome tool and it's a MUST for Drupal's core. If at least tell us it's progress!!!

thx in advance!!

Subscribing

subscribe

+1

+10000

Hi Wim, two questions about this initial port so far:
1. does this initial port support Hierarchical Select for menu parent selection?
2. is it possible to use HS in combination with Node reference? (e.g., is it possible to use the existing menu hierarchy to form the node reference hierarchy level?)

* The site is D6, using the Primary Links menu to create a 4 or 5-level hierarchy for nodes.
* We will have primary links menu tree completely set up in advance, and then allow employees to add new nodes to the bottom level menu items.
* We want to make selecting a new node's place in the hierarchy as simple as possible for the user, so Hierarchical Select seems ideal rather than having employees scroll through hundreds of nodes.
* The reason that we wouldn't just show the bottom level menu items in the node reference field is that some of those have the same name... So the only way to distinguish those bottom-level items from one another is by their parent (or grandparent etc).

It would be great if we could use hierarchical select to filter a node reference form field based on their menu hierarchy :)

Thanks in advance for your advice on this!
Scott

1. No.
2. No. You can sponsor this if you really want, or if you want it soon (as in: in less than 2 months or longer). Just porting to D6 itself will be plenty of work already…

understood - i was mainly wondering about existing functionality - it sounded like maybe this was possible in the 5.x version but even that I'm not totally sure about. Thanks for letting me know... good luck with the port! Cheers -- Scott

I'll be working on this during the code sprint today. Hopefully I can make substantial progress!

@People having problems with HS not showing up on the node/add/whatever form, it's because you installed it in the modules directory. DON'T do that, it's EVIL.

@All: DON'T use this D6 port if you don't consider yourself an advanced user of HS already. Support requests like these slow me down in my work, because they're not bugs, but mistakes.
At a later stage, when it's almost ready, thus ready for beta testing, then everybody can test.
Thanks for your understanding.

I installed the module in /site/all/modules but HS not showing up on my node/add/whatever form. I test all the tricks of these thread but without success...

EDIT: ok, I add ONE content for my content type that i would like use with HS and HS work :) YEAH!

Subscribing. I'll provide testing. Thanks Wim for posting ZIP files I'll use that for my testing.

Here are my testing results with hierarchical_select.zip (#53). Hope this testing help.

The good news:

• I really like to new Configurations tab on HS setting screen. Plus when I click the action EDIT it brings me to the config box. That's a big time saver. The two other actions EXPORT and IMPORT are fantastic. I can save a set of settings and import them into another Drupal website. Wow. Attached screenshoot (2g_settings_hs_config.png).
• Preview box is very handy. Thanks for this great new feature.

The bad news:

1. Seven sub-modules are incompatible with the 6.4 version of Drupal core. This is probably normal and can be ignore since development is in progress for those sub-modules. To reproduce install module hierarchical_select.zip (#53) then visit module admin page. Seven red X will show. Attached screenshot (1_incompatible.png).
2. EDIT: Fixed with gagarine's patch #84. In preview box when selecting a Root level the Sublevel 1 isn't displaying. Expected result is when user select chapaspoc the Sublevel 1 should appear on the right side. (Attached video 2a_vid_preview.zip & screenshots for various HS settings). [Preview box is located at: Administer > Content management > Taxonomy > Hierarchical Select configuration > Preview.]
3. HS not working on node. This is probably normal since the sub-module Hierarchical Select Content Taxonomy can't be activated yet. Attached screenshot (3_not_working_with_cck.png).
4. EDIT: Fixed with gagarine's patch #84. Same as Rob T clicking Implementations button return error. Expected result is to be directed to Implementations page. [Implementations button location: Administer > Site configuration > Hierarchical Select > Implementations button.]
   Attached screenshots (2g_settings_hs_config.png & 2h_settings_hs_implementations.png).

Testing with a Drupal 6.4 fresh intall and Devel 6.x-1.10 to quickly generate dummy taxonomy, CCK 6.x-2.0-rc6, jQuery Update 6.x-1.1, Content Taxonomy 6.x-1.0-beta3. HS is install into /sites/all/modules instead of modules directory. I consider mysef an advanced user of HS using & configuring it often since version 1. Using hard refresh, clear Drupal cache and browser cache before each test.

The following are notes to myself for future testing reference:

• Run Cron. [Located at Administer > Reports > Status report > run cron manually link]
• Install module jQuery Update 6.x-1.1
• Do NOT check Indent child terms with ' - ' signs. [Located at Administer > Content management > cck_conttax > mytaxonomy > Settings for Options.]
• Maybe clearing Drupal cache. [Located at Administer > Site configuration > Performance > Clear cached data button.]

For the problem in the Implementation tab in HS settings yields:
"Call to undefined function _module_parse_info_file() in ...hierarchical_select/hierarchical_select.admin.inc on line 114."

So in line 114 in the file .hierarchical_select/hierarchical_select.admin.inc

Replace the line

@Onopoc
In attachment a archive with this little correction and debug message disabled.
You find here http://drupal.org/node/60108 how you can apply a patch.

EDIT: @Onopoc oups we have posted comment in the same time lol

Hey Wim,

First I want to say a big thank for your great efforts. Then I have a question, Is it a normal port to v6 or it needs more than that. I mean if I used Coder and just replaced the deprecated and added the new methods, is that enough?!

Thanks again

Onopoc: I'm sorry, but half of that was useless. See #79:

I'll be working on this during the code sprint today. Hopefully I can make substantial progress!

I've made progress, but it wasn't ready yet, so I didn't post it yet, but you, my friend, tested using the outdated port. Of course there are no improvements!

Luckily, the other half IS useful, so it wasn't a waste of your time either :) By the way, your "good news" is not new, it's been in HS 3 for quite some time now :)

gagarine: thanks, will fix that.

All: PLEASE wait with testing/commenting until the next .zip :) That's more effective for everybody! The next update wil have menu system support, yarrr!

gagarine: Thanks for the patch #84. It works. Issues 2 & 3 are fixed.

Wim: Ok I'll wait with testing until you decide that a new .zip is ready for testing. Thanks.