Friday 02 September 2005 2:06:06 am

Ok thanks for your suggestion Salvatore, that sounds like the type of method I need to consider.

My only question is how do I single out the attributes I need. That is how do i define my attributes within the content class and then make the template get the right attributes?

The thing I cant get my head around is the attributes, I know I can specify an image attribute for Australia and an attribute for USA, but what would I do within my templates to filter the required information?

I noticed you mention full view and line view, I gather this is where the answer lies but to be honest I am really not very familiar with the line view thing. I understand the concept of overrides but I have never looked into the line view override, only the full view.

Can I assume the line view override has the ability to gather information from specific attributes?

Sorry if I ask too many questions but for a non programmer it can be difficult to get your head around the methods of ezPublish.

Cheers.

Pardon me while I burst into flames...

Sunday 04 September 2005 4:34:31 pm

Thanks for that explanation Salvatore, I have gone over the documentation a few times, though the docs are much better than they used to be I still find it hard to figure out sometime due to a lack of examples and scenarios.

I'll look into the methods you have suggested and see how I go, thanks for your help.

Pardon me while I burst into flames...

Thursday 15 September 2005 9:16:37 pm

Ok so after hours of trial and error it seems that the <b>complete inflexibility</b> of the matrix datatype is going to cause me a lot of grief to come.

So far I have found it imposable to access the column name attributes so that I can configure the table structure to suit my needs, I have no chance it seems of hiding empty unused columns and there seems to be a rather large shortage of documentation surrounding the implementation of said datatype.

That leaves me to ask the question, can EzPublish handle this type of catalogue or have I just waisted the last 2 months developing a site with arguably the most powerful CMS on the planet only to be let down by lack of the <b>most required feature</b> on the final leg?

The problem I have is I am unable to access the values individually so that I can do what I will with them. If I use these commands I can see all of the attributes and their values but I don't know how to access them within my sections.

input: {$matrix.columns.sequential|attribute(show)}
Output:

Columns Sequential

Attribute 	Type 	     Value

0 	        array 	     Array(4)
>identifier 	string 	     'colour_swatch'
>index 	        integer      0
>name 	        string 	     'Colour Swatch'
>rows 	        array 	     Array(5)

1 	        array 	     Array(4)
>identifier 	string 	     'colour_name'
>index 	        integer      1
>name 	        string 	     'Colour Name'
>rows 	        array 	     Array(5)

2 	        array 	     Array(4)
>identifier 	string 	     'colour_extended'
>index 	        integer      2
>name 	        string 	     'Colour Extended'
>rows 	        array 	     Array(5)

3 	        array 	     Array(4)
>identifier 	string 	     '120_ml'
>index 	        integer      3
>name 	        string 	     '120 ml'
>rows 	        array 	     Array(5)

4 	        array 	     Array(4)
>identifier 	string 	     '250_ml'
>index 	        integer      4
>name 	        string 	     '250 ml'
>rows 	        array 	     Array(5)

5 	        array 	     Array(4)
>identifier 	string 	     '1000_ml'
>index 	        integer      5
>name 	        string       '1 Litre'
>rows 	        array 	     Array(5)

---------------------------------------------
input: {$matrix.columns.id|attribute(show)}
output:

Columns id

Attribute 	Type 	     Value

colour_swatch 	array 	     Array(4)
>identifier 	string 	     'colour_swatch'
>index 	        integer      0
>name 	        string 	     'Colour Swatch'
>rows 	        array 	     Array(5)

colour_name 	array 	     Array(4)
>identifier 	string 	     'colour_name'
>index 	        integer      1
>name 	        string 	     'Colour Name'
>rows 	        array 	     Array(5)

colour_extended array 	     Array(4)
>identifier 	string 	     'colour_extended'
>index 	        integer      2
>name 	        string 	     'Colour Extended'
>rows 	        array 	     Array(5)

120_ml 	        array 	     Array(4)
>identifier 	string 	     '120_ml'
>index 	        integer      3
>name 	        string 	     '120 ml'
>rows 	        array 	     Array(5)

250_ml 	        array 	     Array(4)
>identifier 	string 	     '250_ml'
>index 	        integer      4
>name 	        string 	     '250 ml'
>rows 	        array 	     Array(5)

1000_ml 	array 	     Array(4)
>identifier 	string 	     '1000_ml'
>index 	        integer      5
>name 	        string       '1 Litre'
>rows 	        array 	     Array(5)

I have tried all manner of requests from:

{section show=$matrix.columns.contentclass_attribute_identifier,'colour_name'}
			<th>{$:item.name}</th>
{/section}

To (similar variations of this): -

{section show=$node.object.data_map.xx.content.rows.sequential}
{attribute_view_gui attribute=$node.object.data_map.xx}

{/section}
from the documentation

And many more variations to no avail. I'm sorry I sound so frustrated (I don't intend to offend)

Is there anybody on these forums that has a good deal of experience with the matrix datatype, who may be able to guide me in the ways of presenting matrix data the way a client expects it?

This catalogue is the key feature of the site, if the matrix can't do it, is there any other alternative to the matrix datatype? (other than creating massive amounts of custom classes).

Please help, any ideas / suggestions / knowledge welcome.

Cheers!

Pardon me while I burst into flames...

Saturday 17 September 2005 7:01:37 pm

Thanks for the suggestion Lex I'll look into that idea when I get past the matrix problem.

I'm doing my head in on the matrix, I've spent almost 3 full days trying to extract information from individual columns but for the life of me can't get it no matter what I try.

I hate to beg but I'm begging, if anybody has any idea how to access column attributes please please help.

Cheers!

Pardon me while I burst into flames...