Controls Plugin

This plugin creates controls that can be used to define HTML forms from possible values defined in a topic.

T Wiki Forms allow possible values for a form field to be defined in a topic (see Section "Defining a Form with Multiple Topics"). The same set of values are often used as the values of HTML form controls (e.g., when defining a search where these values are selectable parameters). Using this plugin, these lists of values can be kept synchronized by having the form controls generated based on the topic that defined the values in the first place.

Background: I often found myself defining the possible values for a field of a T Wiki Forms in a TWiki:Codev/TWikiApplication, and then had to manually define the same possible values for a drop down selection or similar in an HTML form. Keeping these consistent was a nuisance. This plugin automates that process.

Syntax Rules

• Syntax: %CONTROL{form="name"}%
• can be used to automatically create a HTML form to enter T Wiki Form^? data
• Supported parameters:

  Parameter:	Description:	Default:
  form="..."	The topic containing the form definition (resultes in nothing if there is no form in that topic)	Current topic
  createtopic="..."	name of topic to create using this form (the 10 X syntax can be used very well for the (eg Control XXXXXXXXXX?))	undefined

• Syntax: %CONTROLS{"name" ...}%
• Supported parameters:

  Parameter:	Description:	Default:
  topic="..."	The topic defining the field values	Current topic
  web="..."	The web from which the topic is taken	Current web
  type="..."	The control to be rendered. Possible values are select, radio, or checkbox	select
  size="..."	The size parameter for the control.	1
  urlparam="..."	Generates a select option to be passed as URL parameter (valid only with type="select" ). Possible values are on, off	off

Example

Below is the definition of the field values for TopicClassifications from T Wiki Forms:

If this plugins is installed, the variable

%<nop>CONTROL{"firstInput" type="checkbox" size="1"}%

will expand as follows:

Plugin Settings

• One line description, is shown in the Text Formatting Rules topic:
  • Set SHORTDESCRIPTION = This plugin renders a control (typically used in an HTML form) based on values defined in a topic.

• Debug plugin: (See output in data/debug.txt)
  • Set DEBUG = 0

Plugin Installation Instructions

Note: You do not need to install anything on the browser to use this plugin. The following instructions are for the administrator who installs the plugin on the server where TWiki is running.

• Download the ZIP file from the Plugin web (see below)
• Unzip ControlsPlugin.zip in your twiki installation directory. Content:

  File:	Description:
  data/TWiki/ControlsPlugin.txt	Plugin topic
  data/TWiki/ControlsPlugin.txt,v	Plugin topic repository
  lib/TWiki/Plugins/ControlsPlugin.pm	Plugin Perl module

• (Dakar) Visit configure in your TWiki installation, and enable the plugin in the {Plugins} section.
• Test if the installation was successful:
  • See if above example rendered correctly

Plugin Info

Related Topics: T Wiki Forms

-- TWiki:Main/ThomasWeigert - 20 Feb 2005