README

This Contao CMS extension streamlines the filtering and listing of entities on the frontend while also supporting individual detail views (readers).

Note

Flare is a work in progress and is not yet feature-complete. We are actively working on it and will release updates regularly.

Installation

Install the bundle via Composer:

composer require heimrichhannot/contao-flare-bundle

Requires Contao ^4.13 or ^5.0 and PHP ^8.2.

Features

Filter and list entities (e.g. news, events, or any generic data-container)
Filter forms created and displayed using Symfony FormTypes
Pagination included (not based on Contao's pagination, this one is actually good!)
Individual detail views (readers) using the Contao standard auto_item feature
Customizable filter and list templates
Batteries-included: Comes with a set of predefined filter and list types
Easy to extend with custom filter and list types
Easy to use: Only one place to manage list and filter configurations
Easy to use: Only two content elements (a filter and list view and a reader)
No modules, no worries!

Usage

Create a new list configuration in the Contao backend under "Layout" → "Lists FLARE"
Each list is an archive of filter elements
Add filters as child elements to the list configuration
Add a list view content element to a page and select the list configuration
Add a reader content element to a separate page and select the list configuration
Select the reader page in the list configuration
Profit!

Filter Configuration

Each filter element type specifies its own configuration options. The following options are available for all filter types:

Title: A title that should briefly describe the filter and is shown in the backend listings.
Type: The filter element type to use.
Intrinsic: If checked, the filter is always applied to the list view and not visible in the form shown to the user.
Published: If unchecked, the filter is not shown in the form and not applied when filtering the list view.

What is intrinsic?

Each filter has an "intrinsic" option, which means that the filter is always applied to the list view and not visible in the form shown to the user.
A filter that has intrinsic unchecked is shown in the form and can be used by the user to filter the list view.
Some filters can only be intrinsic, e.g. the "published" filter. Under the hood, these filters do not specify a Symfony FormType.

Extending FLARE

We encourage you to extend FLARE with custom filter and list types. This is done by creating a new class with the #[AsFilterElement] or #[AsListType] attributes and implementing the __invoke() method. See the examples below.

Creating a custom filter element

<?php

namespace App\Flare\FilterElement;

use HeimrichHannot\FlareBundle\Contract\Config\PaletteConfig;
use HeimrichHannot\FlareBundle\Contract\FilterElement\FormTypeOptionsContract;
use HeimrichHannot\FlareBundle\Contract\FilterElement\HydrateFormContract;
use HeimrichHannot\FlareBundle\Contract\PaletteContract;
use HeimrichHannot\FlareBundle\Filter\FilterContext;
use HeimrichHannot\FlareBundle\Filter\FilterQueryBuilder;
use HeimrichHannot\FlareBundle\Form\ChoicesBuilder;
use HeimrichHannot\FlareBundle\Model\FilterModel;
use HeimrichHannot\FlareBundle\Model\ListModel;
use HeimrichHannot\FlareBundle\Util\DcaHelper;
use Symfony\Component\Form\FormInterface;

/**
 * Create a custom filter element by using the AsFilterElement attribute.
 *
 * The **alias** is used to reference the filter element in the Contao backend
 *   and has to start with a letter and can only contain letters, numbers, and
 *   underscores.
 *
 *   USE A VENDOR PREFIX on the alias of each custom filter or list-type to
 *   prevent naming conflicts. For example: 'mycompany_awesomenessRating'.
 *   Use 'app_' as prefix in your application code that is not distributed as
 *   a library. All flare-included filter elements use 'flare_' as prefix.
 *
 * The **palette** parameter is used to define the basic contao palette that
 *   is inserted between the title and footer legends when editing a filter
 *   element in the Contao backend. (optional)
 *
 * The **formType** parameter is used to specify the Symfony FormType that is
 *   used to render the filter form in the frontend. Feel free to define your
 *   own FormType or use one of many provided by Symfony.
 *
 * If you do not specify a formType, the filter element can only be intrinsic.
 *
 * You MAY implement additional contract interfaces that allow you to modify
 *   the behavior of the filter element in various ways. These interfaces are
 *   documented in the following code on the methods that they require.
 */
#[AsFilterElement(
    alias: MyCustomElement::TYPE,
    palette: '{custom_legend},customFilterField',
    formType: AnySymfonyFormType::class,
)]
class MyCustomElement implements FormTypeOptionsContract, HydrateFormContract, PaletteContract
{
    public const TYPE = 'app_custom';

    public function __invoke(FilterContext $context, FilterQueryBuilder $qb): void
    {
        /** {@see \HeimrichHannot\FlareBundle\Filter\FilterContext} for available methods */
        $filterModel = $context->getFilterModel();  // how the filter element has been configured in the backend
        $submittedData = $context->getSubmittedData();  // the user-submitted form data

        /**
          * {@see \HeimrichHannot\FlareBundle\Filter\FilterQueryBuilder} to see how it works,
          *   although practically you only need to use the where() and bind() methods.
          *
          * Using `$qb->where(...)` multiple times will concatenate the conditions with AND.
          *   For a usage example with OR, see below.
          *
          * `$qb->bind(...)` accepts an optional third parameter for the PDO-type of the value.
          *   {@see \Doctrine\DBAL\ParameterType} and
          *   {@see \Doctrine\DBAL\ArrayParameterType} for available types.
          *   This is only necessary when the data type cannot be inferred from the value
          *   (e.g., on some mixed-type arrays or objects) and is usually not needed.
          */
        $qb->where('someColumn = :custom')
            ->bind('custom', $filterModel->myCustomField,
                /* optional PDO-type: */\Doctrine\DBAL\ParameterType::STRING);

        /**
         * For more complex queries, you may also use doctrine's expression builder,
         *   which can be easily accessed through the FilterQueryBuilder::expr() method.
         *
         * The following example also demonstrates how to create an OR query condition.
         */
        $qb->where(
            $qb->expr()->or(
                $qb->expr()->eq('someColumn', ':custom'),
                'secondColumn = :second',  // functionally equivalent to line above
                $qb->expr()->isNotNull('anotherColumn'),
            )
        )
            ->bind('custom', $filterModel->myCustomField)
            ->bind('second', $filterModel->thirdWhatever);
    }

    /**
     * Specify options, load, and save callbacks for the dca fields when this filter element is used.
     * Use the AsFilterCallback attribute just like you would on a regular Contao Data Container, only
     *   with **specific arguments, that are automatically injected on demand**.
     *
     * #[AsFilterCallback(self::TYPE, 'fields.<field>.options')]
     * MAY receive these optional, auto-injected arguments:
     *   - {@see \HeimrichHannot\FlareBundle\Model\FilterModel}
     *   - {@see \HeimrichHannot\FlareBundle\Model\ListModel}
     *   - {@see \Contao\DataContainer}
     * MUST return an array of options.
     */
    #[AsFilterCallback(self::TYPE, 'fields.myCustomField.options')]
    public function getMyCustomFieldOptions(ListModel $listModel, /* ... */): array
    {
        if (!$listModel->dc) {
            return [];
        }

        return DcaHelper::getFieldOptions($listModel->dc);
    }

    /**
     * #[AsFilterCallback(self::TYPE, 'fields.<field>.load')] AND
     * #[AsFilterCallback(self::TYPE, 'fields.<field>.save')]
     * MUST receive this first argument:
     *   - mixed $value
     * MAY receive these optional, auto-injected arguments:
     *   - {@see \HeimrichHannot\FlareBundle\Model\FilterModel}
     *   - {@see \HeimrichHannot\FlareBundle\Model\ListModel}
     *   - {@see \Contao\DataContainer}
     * MUST return the modified value.
     */
    #[AsFilterCallback(self::TYPE, 'fields.myCustomField.load')]
    #[AsFilterCallback(self::TYPE, 'fields.myCustomField.save')]
    public function onLoadSave_myCustomField(mixed $value, /* ... */): mixed
    {
        return $value;
    }

    /**
     * Implement the `FormTypeOptionsContract` interface to modify the form type options.
     *   e.g. to add choices to a choice field.
     *
     * The result of this method is passed to the Symfony FormType during form creation.
     *   i.e. `Symfony\Component\Form\AbstractType::buildForm(..., array $options)`.
     * 
     * To ease the process of adding choices to a form type, we provide a ChoicesBuilder
     *   abstraction layer. An instance of this class is always passed to the method, but
     *   its usage is optional.
     *
     * This method should return an array of options related to and configured by the
     *   respecitve Symfony form type. Returning invalid options will result in an error.
     */
    public function getFormTypeOptions(FilterContext $context, ChoicesBuilder $choices): array
    {
        // This is how to use the choices builder.
        $choices
            ->enable()  // It's disabled by default and will be ignored unless enabled.
            ->add('some_key', 'A Contao\Model instance, value, or label')
            ->add('another_key', 'Another string or object from which a label can be made')
            // If you add Model instances as choices, specify how their label should be created
            //   by using placeholders. The placeholders are replaced with the respective
            //   properties of the model instance.
            // Sensible default label placeholders are already set for the most common models.
            ->setLabel('%title%')
            // When setting labels, specify the model class or table name to only use this label
            //   on the respective choices of this model. This way, you can use different labels
            //   for different models.
            ->setLabel('%id% - %title%', 'tl_news');

        // ... this is all you need to do to add choices to a choice field. The respecive choice
        //     callback options for the Symfony FormType are created and applied automatically.

        return [
            'any_option' => 'any_value',
        ];
    }

    /**
     * Implement the `HydrateFormContract` interface to modify the form field after it has been created.
     * This is useful for setting default values, adding attributes, or even changing the field type.
     */
    public function hydrateForm(FilterContext $context, FormInterface $field): void
    {
        // example: set a default value that is stored in the filter model
        
        $filterModel = $context->getFilterModel();

        if ($preselect = \Contao\StringUtil::deserialize($filterModel->preselect ?: null))
        {
            $field->setData($preselect);
        }
    }

    /**
     * Implement the `PaletteContract` interface to assemble custom palettes for the filter element.
     *   e.g. to respect certain conditions following the filter element's configuration.
     *
     * {@see \HeimrichHannot\FlareBundle\Contract\Config\PaletteConfig} to see available methods.
     *
     * The method should return the palette string (or null if the default palette that is defined
     *   in the `AsFilterElement` attribute should be used).
     *
     * Just like the attribute palette, the returned palette string is inserted between the title
     *   and footer legends. But here you can manipulate the palette string to your liking, e.g.
     *   to conditionally add fields or legends, depending on the respective configuration.
     *
     * Tip: You may also use Contao's PaletteManipulator and apply it to an empty string to create
     *   the desired palette.
     */
    public function getPalette(PaletteConfig $config): ?string
    {
        // e.g. $filterModel = $config->getFilterModel();
        
        return '{custom_legend},customFilterField';
    }
}

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