README

This is forked for CakePHP2.

Quickly enable CSV output of your model data.

Background

I needed to quickly export CSVs of stuff in the database. Using a view class to iterate manually would be a chore to replicate for each export method, so I figured it would be much easier to do this with a custom view class, like JsonView or XmlView.

Requirements

CakePHP 2.12+
PHP8.0+

Installation

composer require pieceofcake2/csv-view

Enable plugin

In 2.0 you need to enable the plugin your app/Config/bootstrap.php file:

    CakePlugin::load('CsvView');

If you are already using CakePlugin::loadAll();, then this is not necessary.

Usage

To export a flat array as a CSV, one could write the following code:

public function export() {
    $data = [
        ['a', 'b', 'c'],
        [1, 2, 3],
        ['you', 'and', 'me'],
    ];
    $_serialize = 'data';

    $this->viewClass = 'CsvView.Csv';
    $this->set(compact('data', '_serialize'));
}

All variables that are to be included in the csv must be specified in the $_serialize view variable, exactly how JsonView or XmlView work.

It is possible to have multiple variables in the csv output:

public function export() {
    $data = [['a', 'b', 'c']];
    $data_two = [[1, 2, 3]];
    $data_three = [['you', 'and', 'me']];

    $_serialize = ['data', 'data_two', 'data_three'];

    $this->viewClass = 'CsvView.Csv';
    $this->set(compact('data', 'data_two', 'data_three', '_serialize'));
}

If you want headers or footers in your CSV output, you can specify either a $_header or $_footer view variable. Both are completely optional:

public function export() {
    $data = [
        ['a', 'b', 'c'],
        [1, 2, 3],
        ['you', 'and', 'me'],
    ];

    $_serialize = 'data';
    $_header = ['Column 1', 'Column 2', 'Column 3'];
    $_footer = ['Totals', '400', '$3000'];

    $this->viewClass = 'CsvView.Csv';
    $this->set(compact('data', '_serialize', '_header', '_footer'));
}

You can also specify the delimiter, end of line, newline, escape characters and byte order mark (BOM) sequence using $_delimiter, $_eol, $_newline, $_enclosure and $_bom respectively:

public function export() {
    $data = [
        ['a', 'b', 'c'],
        [1, 2, 3],
        ['you', 'and', 'me'],
    ];

    $_serialize = 'data';
    $_delimiter = chr(9); //tab
    $_enclosure = '"';
    $_newline = '\r\n';
    $_eol = '~';
    $_bom = true;

    $this->viewClass = 'CsvView.Csv';
    $this->set(compact('data', '_serialize', '_delimiter', '_enclosure', '_newline', '_eol'));
}

The defaults for these variables are:

_delimiter: ,
_enclosure: "
_newline: \n
_eol: \n
_bom: false
_setSeparator: false

The _eol variable is the one used to generate newlines in the output. _newline, however, is the character that should replace the newline characters in the actual data. It is recommended to use the string representation of the newline character to avoid rendering invalid output.

Some reader software incorrectly renders UTF-8 encoded files which do not contain byte order mark (BOM) byte sequence. The _bom variable is the one used to add byte order mark (BOM) byte sequence beginning of the generated CSV output stream. See Wikipedia article about byte order mark for more information.

The _setSeparator flag can be used to set the separator explicitly in the first line of the CSV. Some readers need this in order to display the CSV correctly.

If you have complex model data, you can use the $_extract view variable to specify the individual paths for each record. This is an array of Hash::extract()-compatible syntax:

public function export() {
    $posts = $this->Post->find('all');
    $_serialize = 'posts';
    $_header = ['Post ID', 'Title', 'Created'];
    $_extract = ['Post.id', 'Post.title', 'Post.created'];

    $this->viewClass = 'CsvView.Csv';
    $this->set(compact('posts', '_serialize', '_header', '_extract'));
}

If your model data contains some null values or missing keys, you can use the $_null variable, just like you'd use $_delimiter, $_eol, and $_enclosure, to set how null values should be displayed in the CSV.

$_null defaults to 'NULL'.

You can use Router::parseExtensions() and the RequestHandlerComponent to automatically have the CsvView class switched in as follows:

// In your routes.php file:
Router::parseExtensions('csv');

// In your controller:
public $components = [
    'RequestHandler' => [
        'viewClassMap' => ['csv' => 'CsvView.Csv']
    ]
];

public function export() {
    $posts = $this->Post->find('all');
    $_serialize = 'posts';
    $_header = ['Post ID', 'Title', 'Created'];
    $_extract = ['Post.id', 'Post.title', 'Post.created'];

    $this->set(compact('posts', '_serialize', '_header', '_extract'));
}

// Access /posts/export.csv to get the data as csv

For really complex CSVs, you can also simply use your own view files. This is only supported in 2.1+. To do so, either leave $_serialize unspecified or set it to null. The view files will be located in the csv subdirectory of your current controller:

// View used will be in app/View/Posts/csv/export.ctp
public function export() {
    $posts = $this->Post->find('all');
    $_serialize = null;
    $this->viewClass = 'CsvView.Csv';
    $this->set(compact('posts', '_serialize');
}

Setting the downloaded file name

By default, the downloaded file will be named after the last segment of the URL used to generate it. Eg: example.com/my_controller/my_action would download my_action.csv, while example.com/my_controller/my_action/first_param would download first_param.csv.

To set a custom file name, use the CakeResponse::download method. The following snippet can be used to change the downloaded file from export.csv to my_file.csv:

public function export() {
    $data = [
        ['a', 'b', 'c'],
        [1, 2, 3],
        ['you', 'and', 'me'],
    ];
    $_serialize = 'data';

    $this->response->download('my_file.csv'); // <= setting the file name
    $this->viewClass = 'CsvView.Csv';
    $this->set(compact('data', '_serialize'));
}

CsvView Component Usage

The CsvView component provides a few methods to help you quickly export the results of complex Model find('all') calls.

Note: nested belongsTo associations are handled no problem. Others (eg. hasMany) will be ignored (I can't see why you'd want them in a CSV export, or how you'd include them gracefully).

To use the component, include it in your Components array:

// In your controller:
public $components = ['CsvView.CsvView'];

The component has the following methods:

prepareExtractFromFindResults($data, $excludePaths = array())

Recursively searches $data and returns an array of all unique Hash::extract()-compatible paths, suitable for the $_extract variable

$data: the results of a Model find('all') call.
$excludePaths (optional): an array of paths to exclude from the returned array, using Hash::extract()-compatible syntax. Eg. ['MyModel.column_name']

prepareHeaderFromExtract($extract, $customHeaders = array())

Returns an array of user-friendly colum titles, suitable for use as the $_header, based on the paths in $extract. Eg, the path 'City.Country.name' becomes 'Country Name'.

$extract: an array of paths, using Hash::extract()-compatible syntax.
$customHeaders (optional): an array of 'path' => 'Custom Title' pairs, eg. ['City.population' => 'No. of People']. These custom headers, when specified, override the default generated headers.

quickExport($data, $excludePaths = array(), $customHeaders = array(), $includeHeader = true)

Quickly export an the results of a Model find('all') call in one line of code.

$data - the results of a Model find('all') call.
$excludePaths (optional): Same use as in prepareExtractFromFindResults method, above
$customHeaders (optional): Same use as in prepareHeaderFromExtract method, above
$includeHeader (optional): if true, a $_header will be included. Defaults to true.

Example 1 - using quickExport, simplest use:

$results = $this->MyModel->find('all');
$this->CsvView->quickExport($results);

Example 2 - using quickExport, advanced use:

$results = $this->MyModel->find('all');
$excludePaths = ['City.id', 'State.id', 'State.Country.id']; // Exclude all id fields
$customHeaders = ['City.population' => 'No. of People'];

$this->CsvView->quickExport($results, $excludePaths, $customHeaders);

Example 3 - NOT using quickExport:

$results = $this->MyModel->find('all');

$excludePaths = ['City.id', 'State.id', 'State.Country.id']; // Exclude all id fields
$_extract = $this->CsvView->prepareExtractFromFindResults($results, $excludePaths);

$customHeaders = ['City.population' => 'No. of People'];
$_header = $this->CsvView->prepareHeaderFromExtract($_extract, $customHeaders);

$_serialize = 'results';
$this->viewClass = 'CsvView.Csv';
$this->set(compact('results' ,'_serialize', '_header', '_extract'));

License

See LICENSE for details.

pieceofcake2 / csv-view

Maintainers

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