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PluginList format control block


The FORMAT control block is used to create individually formatted objects that can then be used in any of the individual OUTPUT methods.

Available filters

Name Description Boolean Sample Tiki Version
default Display a default value or a default file when no value is available no "empty", "1140" (fileId) -
format format the displayed value to something different that the db value (human readable) no "trackerrender", "date", "objectlink", etc. (see format parameters here) -
editable Make the field editable so the value can be changed from the results display. Inline editing (found in admin control panels => trackers) must be enable. Must be used in conjunction with the trackerrender format (see above) and may require mode="raw" when using it with the table output template} editable="inline" -
The jQuery Sortable Tables feature must be activated for the sort feature to work.


Note that in some cases the field that will be displayed has its own behavior and it can clash with the format you selected.
IE: A tracker field that is a "title" is pre-formatted as a link. If you set the format as "objectlink" (or you set the display inside a link) the display will end broken as Tiki will try to display a link inside a link.

For the default parameter, it's important to remember that the tracker field "Files" works a bit differently than the others with this parameter. The tracker field Files expect an Id from the File Gallery. When most of the other fields type will display the text of the default parameters the default for "Files" must be an existing file in a gallery. The file can be an "anonymous" portrait file or a plain white image or an image with only the text "Not Available", etc. Whatever you feel right for your usage.

Basic example

In most of the examples shown in PluginList output control block and PluginList advanced output control block you will see a FORMAT control block have been used. E.g. in the example shown for Table output as below, two FORMAT control blocks are used:

Sample using the default table formatting
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{LIST()} {filter type="trackeritem"} {filter content="water"} {OUTPUT(template="table")} {column field="title_link" sort="title" label="Title" mode="raw"} {column field="description" label="Description"} {column field="event_date" sort="tracker_field_18" label="Event Date"} {OUTPUT} {FORMAT(name="title_link")}{display name="title" format="objectlink"}{FORMAT} {FORMAT(name="event_date")}{display name="tracker_field_18" format="date"}{FORMAT} {LIST}


The first FORMAT control block defines an object with the name title_link that is displayed in a specific way - this object reference is then used in the column control block in the body of the table OUTPUT. Similarly the second FORMAT control block defines the event_date object which is also used in a column control block.

A similar use of the FORMAT control block allows the normal set of Smarty variables, eg {user} etc, to be made available in Smarty templates - for example:

Format example to reference a normal smarty variable
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{FORMAT(name="theuser")} { {user} } {FORMAT}
 Note
The double brackets ( {{}} ) around user should have no spaces between them. Spaces are used here only to keep the user variable from being interpreted.

This creates a reference object theuser with the userId of the current user which can then be invoked in a server stored smarty template using the variable {$row.theuser}.

Examples of the use of the FORMAT control block (format and default value)

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{LIST()} {filter field="tracker_id" content="1"} {filter field="tracker_status" content="o"} {OUTPUT()} {DIV(class="h3")}{display name="name"}{DIV} {display name="photo"}%%% {display name="email"} {OUTPUT} {FORMAT(name="name")}{display name="tracker_field_userName"}{FORMAT} {FORMAT(name="photo")}{display name="tracker_field_userPhoto" format="trackerrender" default="1140"}{FORMAT} {FORMAT(name="location")}{display name="tracker_field_userLocation" format="trackerrender" default="Unknown"}{FORMAT} {LIST}


Default parameter applied on the "photo" field will display a default generic image if not file found.
Default parameter applied on the "location" field will display the text "Unknown" if the field is empty.

Example with comments


You might want to display all comments, and this script will retrieve them:

Wiki Output Sample
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{LIST(cache="n")} {filter type="comment"} {pagination max="10"} {OUTPUT( template="table")} {column field="title"} {column field="comment_content"} {column field="object_link" mode="raw"} {column field="date"} {OUTPUT} {FORMAT( name="object_link")} {display name="object_id" format="objectlink"} {FORMAT} {sort mode="date_desc"} {LIST}

The FORMAT control block defines an object with the name object_link which is displayed in such a way that it is object_id which is displayed and formatted as objectlink; which makes the id clickable. This object reference is then used in the column control block in the body of the OUTPUT table.
This gives us the following result:

Title Comment Thread Id Date
Re: Comment on Overview No new table is created. Data is stored in existing tables. 599 2008-03-20 11:34:27
Some system considerations To be able to upload image for fckeditor, the server needs to have permission to scan the directory img/wiki_up/ tikidomain /image (repalce tikidomain with the domain if working in a multitiki context) and no index.php must be in this directory 598 2008-02-25 20:57:32
Re: Border in {img}? The HTML img border tag is deprecated and so isn't recommended. CSS is the modern way to give an image a border. Currently (as of Tiki 1.10 anyway) the Quicktag image syntax includes a "class" argument, so it would be easy to add a "borderimage" (or something) class to your stylesheet specifying a border that suits you, and you'd get a whole lot more control than with HTML. 😊. 596 2008-02-21 06:47:00
Border in {img}? Been searching all over tw.o and doc.tw.o for any mention of the BORDER modifier in the syntax, which does not appear be included. I've seen the ^ tag used to frame images, but it leaves whitespace around the image, so isn't quite the same thing. Was this left out for a reason? Does everyone just use HTML when they want a border? 595 2008-02-14 19:34:48
Syntax Pages List Incomplete - Found Orphaned 'Heading' Page While trying to learn Tiki syntax, I found this (apparently orphaned) page: http://doc.tikiwiki.org/tiki-index.php?page=Wiki-Syntax+Separators&highlight=syntax%20heading It has syntax information not listed in the other syntax pages. I would have plugged it in, but the syntax pages are linked with a (TOC) element, and I have not figured that out yet 592 2008-02-14 02:09:39
textarea usage 😑 When you add a field as a textarea, then TIKI should allow you to use the functionality similar to Tiki pages where you can bold, colour, change font etc for the contents of that textarea. 590 2008-02-04 19:39:45
Comment on Overview The documentation reads: Each tracker has its own mini database. Is this actually correct? Is a new MySQL database set up for each tracker OR is it that a NEW TABLE withing the existing MySQL database is set up. Having a table set up would be much more logical in my opinion. perhaps this needs to be corrected?? I'd like to hear from someone as to which is correct. 589 2008-02-04 17:29:03
some more bugs There is some problems when I include anything else except text in an expandable area, for example html tables. The next item is interpreted as a part of previos one. 588 2008-01-27 12:16:15
You can enable that permission setting in apache I use cPanel. Could you please state these instructions in cPanel terms? I have phpMyAdmin, not apache. Please help. Thanks. 581 2008-01-10 18:15:26
Re: Page image bugs fixed picture not found img/icons2/alert.gif Thanks! 565 2007-12-13 10:29:58


We see that this only gives us the information about the object (the comment in this case), but what if I want to have more information before visiting the comment?

One way to do this is to add a column which indicates the item being commented on. It is typically a wiki page or tracker item which is clickable and takes me there.

So let's make some changes and see what we have:

Wiki Output Sample
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{LIST(cache="n")} {filter type="comment"} {pagination max="10"} {OUTPUT( template="table")} {column field="contributors"} {column field="title"} {column field="comment_content"} {column field="parent_object_title" mode="raw"} {column field="object_link" mode="raw"} {column field="date"} {OUTPUT} {FORMAT( name="object_link")} {display name="object_id" format="objectlink"} {FORMAT} {FORMAT( name="parent_object_title")} {display name="parent_object_type"}: {display name="wikiplugin_objectlink" format="wikiplugin" type="parent_object_type" id="parent_object_id"} {FORMAT} {sort mode="date_desc"} {LIST}

Here we have just added a new column whose label is "Parent Object".
The new FORMAT control block formats the parent_object_title field, which is the title of the comment's parent object, then with {display} tag we first display the name of the parent object, which is stored in the parent_object_type field. For example, if the parent object is a trackeritem, it will display "trackeritem:", and finally we display the link to the parent object, using the wikiplugin_objectlink plugin. This plugin allows you to create a link to a Tiki object according to its type and its identifier. Here you specify the link format as "wikiplugin", the object type as parent_object_type, and the object id as parent_object_id. For example, if the parent object is a trackeritem with id 1, this will generate a link to "tiki-view_tracker_item.php?itemId=1".
So you get a field that displays the name and link of the comment's parent object. For example, if the comment is linked to an item called "This is my first item", you display "trackeritem: This is my first item".
This gives us the following result:

Title Comment Parent Object Thread Id Date
Re: Comment on Overview No new table is created. Data is stored in existing tables. wiki page: Trackers 599 2008-03-20 11:34:27
Some system considerations To be able to upload image for fckeditor, the server needs to have permission to scan the directory img/wiki_up/ tikidomain /image (repalce tikidomain with the domain if working in a multitiki context) and no index.php must be in this directory wiki page: Wysiwyg Editor Admin 598 2008-02-25 20:57:32
Re: Border in {img}? The HTML img border tag is deprecated and so isn't recommended. CSS is the modern way to give an image a border. Currently (as of Tiki 1.10 anyway) the Quicktag image syntax includes a "class" argument, so it would be easy to add a "borderimage" (or something) class to your stylesheet specifying a border that suits you, and you'd get a whole lot more control than with HTML. 😊. wiki page: Wiki-Syntax Images 596 2008-02-21 06:47:00
Border in {img}? Been searching all over tw.o and doc.tw.o for any mention of the BORDER modifier in the syntax, which does not appear be included. I've seen the ^ tag used to frame images, but it leaves whitespace around the image, so isn't quite the same thing. Was this left out for a reason? Does everyone just use HTML when they want a border? wiki page: Wiki-Syntax Images 595 2008-02-14 19:34:48
Syntax Pages List Incomplete - Found Orphaned 'Heading' Page While trying to learn Tiki syntax, I found this (apparently orphaned) page: http://doc.tikiwiki.org/tiki-index.php?page=Wiki-Syntax+Separators&highlight=syntax%20heading It has syntax information not listed in the other syntax pages. I would have plugged it in, but the syntax pages are linked with a (TOC) element, and I have not figured that out yet wiki page: Using Wiki Pages 592 2008-02-14 02:09:39
textarea usage 😑 When you add a field as a textarea, then TIKI should allow you to use the functionality similar to Tiki pages where you can bold, colour, change font etc for the contents of that textarea. wiki page: Tracker User 590 2008-02-04 19:39:45
Comment on Overview The documentation reads: Each tracker has its own mini database. Is this actually correct? Is a new MySQL database set up for each tracker OR is it that a NEW TABLE withing the existing MySQL database is set up. Having a table set up would be much more logical in my opinion. perhaps this needs to be corrected?? I'd like to hear from someone as to which is correct. wiki page: Trackers 589 2008-02-04 17:29:03
some more bugs There is some problems when I include anything else except text in an expandable area, for example html tables. The next item is interpreted as a part of previos one. wiki page: Wiki-Syntax Lists 588 2008-01-27 12:16:15
You can enable that permission setting in apache I use cPanel. Could you please state these instructions in cPanel terms? I have phpMyAdmin, not apache. Please help. Thanks. wiki page: Mods Admin 581 2008-01-10 18:15:26
Re: Page image bugs fixed picture not found img/icons2/alert.gif Thanks! wiki page: Wiki-Syntax Lists 565 2007-12-13 10:29:58

Using Font Awesome icons instead of content depending on the value of the field content


Tweaking the sample above and using font awesome (integrated in Tiki) you can display corresponding icons for a content.
In this demo case we have a tracker with a "gender" field that hold 2 values, "male" or "female". There is a "male" and a "female" icon in Font Awesome and as both use the same term we can assign it to a div type icon and class.

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{LIST()} {filter field="tracker_id" content="42"} {OUTPUT(template="table")} {column label="Title" field="title" sort="title"} {column label="Gender" field="gender"} {OUTPUT} {FORMAT(name="gender")}{DIV(type=i class=fa fa-{display name="tracker_field_gender"})}{DIV}{FORMAT} {LIST}

Editable inline sample using the table template

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{column label="First Name" field="firstName" mode=raw} ... {FORMAT(name="firstName")}{display name="tracker_field_firstName" format=trackerrender editable=inline}{FORMAT}

Editable inline sample in a smarty (or wiki) template

In this wikiplugin embedded in a smarty (or wiki) template the field is set to be editable inline (note: format="trackerrender" is required ad well as the Inline editing (found in admin control panels=>trackers)

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{wikiplugin _name=list} {literal} {filter content="2" field="tracker_id"} {output(template="mytemplate.tpl")} {ALTERNATE()} empty {ALTERNATE} {FORMAT(name="name")}{display name="tracker_field_name" editable="inline" format="trackerrender" default=""}{FORMAT} {/literal} {/wikiplugin}


So the 2nd column uses a FORMAT plugin where the contents of the field in question, tracker_field_data, is used as the class for a div but the default (used if the data field is empty) is set to be the bootstrap class "hidden" so the contents, the check mark, only appears if there is some data.

Obviously if the data is the name of some other class weird stuff might happen, but for most usual cases, it works as expected and saves having to make a new smarty template just for this simple list.

(Tip and example taken from a message from JonnyB in the developers list - thanks!)

Using Font Awesome icons instead of content depending on the value of the field content


Tweaking the sample above and using font awesome (integrated in Tiki) you can display corresponding icons for a content.
In this demo case we have a tracker with a "gender" field that hold 2 values, "male" or "female". There is a "male" and a "female" icon in Font Awesome and as both use the same term we can assign it to a div type icon and class.

Copy to clipboard
{LIST()} {filter field="tracker_id" content="42"} {OUTPUT(template="table")} {column label="Title" field="title" sort="title"} {column label="Gender" field="gender"} {OUTPUT} {FORMAT(name="gender")}{DIV(type=i class=fa fa-{display name="tracker_field_gender"})}{DIV}{FORMAT} {LIST}

It will display a
if the content of the field = male and a
if the content of the field = female.


When you use a template to display your plugin list you want other item related or linked to the item to open using the same template (or another it doesn't matter) but not to open the trackers built-in system. For this you need to enable the Alias feature and set it to use the template to display the tracker item, "record-" for this sample.

When you use an item link to link an item to other item (related, friend of, etc.) this is a kind of a problem.
Item link has 2 option to display and item link. Value and Link.
Value display the id of the content (ie: 6).
Link display the value of the content linked to the tracker item (ie: Bernard).

Your link should be like:

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[record-6|Bernard]

So it open the item "Id6" in the "record-" template showing the value "Bernard" for the link.
To achieve this you need to create and use 2 row.

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{FORMAT(name="name")}{display name="tracker_field_contact" format=trackerrender}{FORMAT} {FORMAT(name="id")}{display name="tracker_field_contact"}{FORMAT}


The first one with format=trackerrender will display the content of the tracker Item Link field as it is shown in the tracker (Bernard).
The second one without the format=trackerrender will show the real value for this field (6).

The assemble your link as follow:

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[record-{display name="id"}|{display name="name"}]

It will complete the trick and open the item 6 using the record- template while the link displayed will show the right value, Bernard.

All the LIST Plugin control blocks