Edit Table Plugin

This plugin allows you to edit TWiki tables using edit fields and drop down boxes. Tables have an [ Edit table ] button if preceeded by an %EDITTABLE{...}% variable. Each column can be a text field, a drop down box or a row number. Multiple tables per topic can be editable, but only one at a time canbe edited.

EditTablePlugin Global Settings

Plugin settings are stored as preferences variables. To reference a plugin setting write %<plugin>_<setting>%, for example, %INTERWIKIPLUGIN_SHORTDESCRIPTION%

  • One line description, shown in the TextFormattingRules topic:
    • Set SHORTDESCRIPTION = Edit TWiki tables using edit fields and drop down boxes.

  • Set DEBUG to 1 to get debug messages in data/debug.txt. Default: 0
    • Set DEBUG = 0

Per Table Settings

Add a %EDITTABLE{...}% variable just before an existing table to make it editable, or add the variable anywhere in a topic to start a new table. Parameters:

Parameter Comment DefaultSorted ascending
changerows Rows can be added and removed if "on";
Rows can be added but not removed if "add"
"on"
format The format of one row when editing the table. A cell can be a text input field, a drop down box, a fixed label, or a row number. Cell definitions:
-Text input field (1 line): | text, <size>, <initial value> |
-Textarea input field: | textarea, <rows>x<columns>, <initial value> |
- Drop down box: | select, <size>, <option 1>, <option 2>, etc |
- Fixed label: | label, 0, <label text> |
- Row number: | row, <offset> |
- Date: | date, <sizet> |
"text, 16" for all cells
header Enable static header if "on", e.g. disable editing of the first row;
Else specify the header format of a new table like "|*Food*|*Drink*|".
(no header)
helptopic Topic name containing help text shown below the table when editing a table. The %STARTINCLUDE% and %STOPINCLUDE% variables can be used in the topic to specify what is shown. (no help text)
include Other topic defining the EDITTABLE parameters. The first %EDITTABLE% in the topic is used. This is useful if you have many topics with the same table format and you want to update the format in one place. (none)

Note: By default, variables in <initial value> (of text input field) and <label text> (of fixed label) get expanded when a new row is added. This can be used for example to add a timestamp to a label. You can escape characters if you do not want that:

Text: To Escape:
$quot Double quote ("). Alternatively write \" to escape it
$percnt Percent sign (%)
$dollar Dollar sign ($)
$nop or $nop() Is a "no operation"

Examples

Line before table: %EDITTABLE{ header="|*Nr*|*Text field sandbox*|*Drop down sandbox*|*Timestamp*|" format="| row, -1 | text, 20, init | select, 1, one, two, three, four | label, 0, %SERVERTIME{"$day $mon $year $hour:$min"}% |" changerows="on" }%

Nr Text field sandbox Drop down sandbox Timestamp
1 hello table one 26 Jun 2002 12:30
2   two 27 Jun 2002 12:40

If this plugin is installed you will see an [ Edit table ] button above; when you click on it you get this form:

Nr Text field sandbox Drop down sandbox Timestamp
1 26 Jun 2002 12:30
2 27 Jun 2002 12:40
(demo only, these buttons do not work)

Limitations and Known Issues

  • This Plugin does not support TWiki table formatting like Multi-span cells (e.g. | ... ||) and cell justification (e.g. |  centered  |   right |).
  • There is a performance issue when editing a large table, say, with more then 50 rows.
  • The Plugin fails if the table is at the very end of the topic (without a new line) Always ensure there is a newline after the table
  • Variables like %ATTACHURL% get expanded unless they are in a label.
  • Warning: This plugin uses undocumented functions to read, save and lock a topic. The plugin will likely break in a future TWiki release.
  • You cannot put two %EDITTABLE% statements on the same line in the source.
  • You can include %-vars now in select values, by quoting them with <nop>, as in %<nop>X% for ALERT!, say for instance:
    select,1,%<nop>X%,%<nop>Y%
  • date field type for the format parameter adds a button popping a javascript calendar to choose the date on browsers supporting it. It uses the nice Mishoo DHTML calendar at http://dynarch.com/mishoo/calendar.epl, that should be included in Cairo release, or see TWiki:Codev/JavaScriptDatePickerForForm for installing it on Beijing Release

Plugin Installation Instructions

  • Download the ZIP file from the Plugin web (see below)
  • Unzip EditTablePlugin.zip in your twiki installation directory. Content:
    File: Description:
    data/TWiki/EditTablePlugin.txt Plugin topic
    data/TWiki/EditTablePlugin.txt,v Plugin topic repository
    lib/TWiki/Plugins/EditTablePlugin.pm Plugin Perl module
  • The plugin depends on the viewauth script to authenticate the user. As described in TWikiAccessControl, copy the view script to viewauth (or better, create a symbolic link) and add viewauth to the list of authenticated scripts in the .htaccess file.
  • Test if the plugin is correctly installed:
    • Check above example if there is an [ Edit table ] button below the table in above example
    • Click on [ Edit table ], make changes and save the table

Plugin Info

Plugin Author: PeterThoeny
Plugin Version: 16 Oct 2003
Change History:  
16 Oct 2003: small typo fixed (garbled if ---+ header on top)
15 Oct 2003: new date field type with javascript calendar - CN
14 Oct 2003: docfix: the documentation page was an old one - CN
13 Oct 2003: bugfix: %-vars in select were resetted to first on add/del row - CN
18 Sep 2003: incompatibility: changed default of changerows to =on=
support for %-vars, Quietsave for saving without notification, all other fixes in Dev topic integrated - CN
08 Nov 2002: Prevent variable expansion in label text; added escape characters
27 Jun 2002: New helptopic parameter
26 Jun 2002: Support for variables in included EDITTABLE parameters; fixed problem with HTML in cells
21 May 2002: Added fixed label format; new changerows="add" parameter
27 Apr 2002: Fixed bug where text after a double quote in a cell disappeared
18 Apr 2002: Fixed bug where table was breaking when pasting multiple lines into an edit field using Netscape on Unix
08 Apr 2002: Check for change permission and edit lock of topic
05 Apr 2002: Initial version
CPAN Dependencies: none
Other Dependencies: none
Perl Version: 5.0
Plugin Home: http://TWiki.org/cgi-bin/view/Plugins/EditTablePlugin
Feedback: http://TWiki.org/cgi-bin/view/Plugins/EditTablePluginDev

Related Topics: TWikiPreferences, TWikiPlugins

-- PeterThoeny - 08 Nov 2002


This topic: TWiki > EditTablePlugin
Topic revision: r1 - 12 Dec 2003 - 05:31:00 - PeterThoeny
 
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