I think we need to provide more help to users to help them know what "Field type(s)" are available on the "Add a new formatter" form.

I just spent a good deal of time trying to figure out what the field type was for a Boolean field that I needed a custom formatter for. I tried typing in "Boolean" and "boolean", but the autocomplete didn't return anything and I was quite frustrated. Eventually I had to dive into the code a bit to figure out that I actually wanted to use "list_boolean" as the field type (which is counter-intuitive since my field was just a single on/off checkbox).

Regardless, I just created a patch to add a collapsible fieldset under the "Field type(s)" autocomplete box that displays a list of the currently active field types on the site. I think this will go a long way in helping users know the proper field type to use.

Patch coming in the first comment below...

Thanks,
-mike

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#1 better_field_type_help-1979894-1.patch1007 bytesultimike
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ultimike’s picture

ultimike
Primary language English
Location Florida, USA
CreditAttribution: ultimike commented
FileSize
better_field_type_help-1979894-1.patch1007 bytes

...and here's the patch.

Thanks,
-mike

Deciphered’s picture

Deciphered CreditAttribution: Deciphered commented
Issue summary: View changes
Status: Active » Needs work

I get where you're coming from, but this is only relevant for the PHP engine (currently) as the basic formatter types use a select list instead of an autocomplete.

Marking as 'Needs work' as I think this could be a good addition to the module for those who don't want to guess and field types.

  • Deciphered committed 9e48e08 on 7.x-2.x 
    #1979894: Updated Field type selection form.
Deciphered’s picture

Deciphered CreditAttribution: Deciphered commented
Status: Needs work » Fixed

Thanks for the patch @ultimike, but in the end I opted for a different approach; The PHP field type selection is now just a Multi-select field.

For added niceties, added the Chosen module.

  • Deciphered committed 8ec1f47 on 7.x-2.x 
    #1979894: Fixed issue with PHP field types format.

Status: Fixed » Closed (fixed)

Automatically closed - issue fixed for 2 weeks with no activity.