Contacts Directory / Businesscard storage
I've been working on a simple way to add a configurable contacts directory to Drupal sites. The contacts_dir.module didn't come across as very configurable if the module is used to power multiple sites from a single document root.
My solution is to allow the user to define their own contact card form using Flexinode. My module then works around the flexinode you've created to provide an interface to browse your contacts.
The upside of this is each contact is a Drupal node, so (in theory) other Drupal modules which work with nodes should work nicely.
I plan to release the module, but in the meantime I was wondering if anybody has suggestions for things they would like out of a *simple* contacts directory -- without going in to the realm of customer relationship management and CivicCRM.
For security of your business contacts I've opted for simple_access.module -- combined with a patch i submitted yesterday. This allows you to define the default view access when creating a node based on your new flexinode content type.
This sounds good!
I actually tried to build my own contact directory with flexinode and custom theming. It worked for the most part, with some limitations. Particularly, I can't seem to theme the title in 4.6 and somehow replace that node title with a combo of first and last name.
I would definitely be interested in seeing your efforts. One of the things missing from the current contact directory module is an ability to have hierarchal categories for contacts: departments: board, planning, etc. and then have organizations: first 5, friends of the library, etc.
I am testing civiccrm, which is incredible, but may not have hierarchal classification either (and it has many fields that I would like to disable, but can't seem to disable). We'll see-- I'll definitely keep an eye on your work, as it might be the best solution out there, especially if CivicCRM turns out to be too inflexible with its fields.
Well
I found the CivicCRM profile and it looks like you can configure everything, so I may stick with CivicCRM. We'll see if administering such a complex module will be too much of a pain. I still keep an eye on your work... thanks!
Ah, but...CRM is limited
A module apparently needs to be developed for CivicCRM contacts to be displayed within Drupal nodes. It's definitely one of my needs that these contacts be displayed in nodes (or with them, in some kind of related block based on taxonomy-- or perhaps on a flexinode selection of a CRM organization entity?). The main thing: I need a way to show contacts with my hierarchal pages that represent various departments...
The CRM API is out there, but I don't see a lot of discussion about this functionality. I suspect this ability is far down the line. If I'm right, your work may suit my needs better than CiviCRM. Thanks again for sharing your efforts!
CiviCRM is more complicated than limited
The CiviCRM API is documented and has been implemented in a number of production sites. Feel free to ask any questions you might have about it on CRM-dev email list.
In CiviCRM 1.3, the "listings" functionality offers a method to display contacts publicly. We would be very interested in hearing feedback on how this listing funnctionality can be improved. You can see a sample of the listings on our demo server.
David Geilhufe
Nice
David, that listing page looks nice. Sorry if my post misrepresented CiviCRM. I imagine that it is capable of just about anything, so perhaps the title of my post wasn't very fair. I am just one of those users who has little understanding of PHP and is seeking a satisfactory solution for the immediate future.
I'll keep trying with CivicCRM and I'll try posting to the development forums to see if there is some snippet I can use to access the api and show a particular contact or contacts on certain nodes or blocks within Drupal.
I must say that, overall, I am very impressed with all of the functionality that comes with CiviCRM!
Depending on CiviCRM
One of the projects I'm playing around with is a prayer requests module. I realised that I was going to need to have external contacts, and I didn't really see a lighter contact module than CiviCRM.
Fortunately for me, the prayer requests module is pretty much geared for churches, and they can benefit from installing CiviCRM regardless. I'm kind of hesitant to "tie" it to CiviCRM, given that the package is like 5M and requires editing of a config file to render it operational (perhaps the civicrm.module could handle that?)
I do really like the API though, and I think that'll provide some good functionality.
Btw, is civicrm.module working in 4.7b2? I haven't tested it out yet (still evaluating & trying to develop my own db schema needs), but the it doesn't appear to set off any red flags noted in the 4.6 to 4.7 migration document.
Not in 4.7
I posted on their development tracker, and CiviCRM won't be compatible with 4.7 until CRM 1.4 (they just released the beta of 1.3). It sounds like the release of 1.4 might be contigent on a release candidate for Drupal 4.7.
I have tried to run 1.2 CiviCRM with 4.7, and it doesn't work.
Beta release available
I've uploaded a preview of the module at http://www.ixis.co.uk/drupal-modules/business-card for anybody interested.
A-Z navigation still needs to be worked on, but I'm also open to feedback & feature suggestions from potential users now.
Drop me an email via my Drupal.org profile contact form as I might miss the comment on here.
A 4.7 compatible version will be sorted soon.
- mike
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Thanks! It works well,
Thanks! It works well, except for a couple of issues:
1.) When I click on the 'add a contact' tab, I get the following error message, although the contact creation form does display:
warning: Illegal offset type in /home/domain/public_html/beta2/modules/businesscard/businesscard/businesscard.module on line 71.I am using 4.6.3 and the flexinode version is v 1.46.2.3 2005/09/14 01:21:53
2.) What does one do with the 'Title' field that flexinode adds by default and can't be turned off?
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Acknowledging a reply to your question motivates the replier to answer more.
That warning could be caused
That warning could be caused by not having a 'Card Title Format' defined in your ?q=admin/settings/businesscard config?
In 4.6 it's impossible to hide the 'title' field. Whatever you enter in it gets over written when the form is submitted.
Under 4.7 i'm hoping it will be easy to remove the 'title' field when the form is displayed to avoid confusion.
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