Views Mini-Course, Part I: An Introduction to Views

Part 1!
Views mini-course
acquia.com
1
Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Heather James
Manager of Training at Acquia
HELLO!
@learningdrupal
@hjames
2

Acquia Training
http://training.acquia.com
3

Course materials
• Tested in hundreds of
classrooms.
• Continuously updated.
• Clear and easy follow, but
engaging content.
• Blend of guided and
challenge exercises to
test skills.
http://training.acquia.com/courses
The materials /
handouts were very
comprehensive -
personally I would not
change anything.
- O.G. Jan 2012
4

The trainers are partners
• Our trainers are
experienced developers
who love teaching.
• They provide subject
matter expertise as well
as well as passion for the
topic.
• Partners are placed all
over the globe.
http://training.acquia.com/testimonials
Lovely presenter, very
patient and open to
questions. I feel a lot
more confident to use
drupal myself and
understand the
technical
underpinnings.
- C.L., Sept 2012
5

• On site training for teams, pre-course assessment and
personalized training programs
Tailored courses available
http://training.acquia.com/courses
TRAINING@ACQUIA.COM
6

The first class!!
• Viws mini course
- May 2nd: Introduction to Views < -- you are here
- May 8th: How to build flexible views
- May 15th: Build your first module to back up your views!
• Drupal essentials
- May 22nd: Drupal Essentials: How to Configure Accounts in Drupal
• Drupal for Project Managers mini-course
- May 29th-June 19th: 4 weeks - Drupal for Project Managers!
Adam Boysen, Jakub Suchy, Amye Scavarda, Jenn Sramek
7

Views mini course!
• How to expose data across your site.
• Create lists of content, users, terms.
• Tables, lists, galleries, slideshows, whoah!
8

What weʼre doing today
• Today: the very basics.
• Whatʼs the point?
• How Views works - What it does
• General orientation and terminology.
• Enough to be dangerous!
9

What you need to know already!
• How to add content
• How to customize content types (add fields)
• What modules are
• How to install and configure modules
10

Where are you at?
New to
Drupal
Experienced
with Drupal
What the heck
is Views??
I can make views
with one hand
behind my back
11

VIEWS!
12

What you may be thinking
example.com news
about
masthead
politics
sports
contact
Your mental
site map
13

A mental hurdle
example.com news
about
masthead
politics
sports
contact
Your mental
site map
News headlines
on sidebar of
contact page?
14

Drupal holds data
Articles
Users
Comments
“
“
Terms
Not everything you see is “content”
15

Demo: Add a view
A quick magic trick!
16

Demo! Your front page
• What does Drupal do out of the box?
• Override the front page
• Add a new view listing specific type of
content.
17

Potentially confusing
• Displaying “content” with
View mode options
• Displaying “fields” with
per-field settings
18

Query builder
• Click to create queries with Views.
• Filters to limit selection can be static or
contextual.
• You can see the actual query written.
19

WHY DO WE HAVE
VIEWS?
You’re gonna love this
20

Example: Jane Pickens Theatre
janepickens.com
21

This shows “content”
I am a node!
22

Landing page
23

Your perfect workflow?
24

Develop perfect markup!
25

The old days!
• <?php
// Connecting, selecting database
$link = mysql_connect('mysql_host', 'mysql_user', 'mysql_password')
or die('Could not connect: ' . mysql_error());
echo 'Connected successfully';
mysql_select_db('my_database') or die('Could not select database');
// Performing SQL query
$query = 'SELECT * FROM my_table';
$result = mysql_query($query) or die('Query failed: ' . mysql_error());
// Printing results in HTML
echo "<table>n";
while ($line = mysql_fetch_array($result, MYSQL_ASSOC)) {
echo "t<tr>n";
foreach ($line as $col_value) {
echo "tt<td>$col_value</td>n";
}
echo "t</tr>n";
}
echo "</table>n";
// Free resultset
mysql_free_result($result);
// Closing connection
mysql_close($link);
?>
• // Printing results in HTML
echo "<table>n";
while ($line = mysql_fetch_array
($result, MYSQL_ASSOC)) {
echo "t<tr>n";
foreach ($line as $col_value) {
echo "tt<td>$col_value</td>n";
}
echo "t</tr>n";
}
echo "</table>n";
26

Example: Expression engine
Alter query
Alter markup
Add logic
What if client wants changes?
27

Views is a query builder
Choose base table
Change types
Term filters
Simple sort
28

http://drupal.org/community-initiatives/drupal-core
29

Example: Events
• Control which user
groups can add
events.
- Easy date selection?
- Display “calendar”
page?
- Sidebar block showing
events?
• Where do you look?
Untitled
By hydropeek
Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)
30

• Drupal 5 or 6
- All-in-one solution.
• Drupal 7 +
- More generic, flexible.
- Don’t duplicate effort.
- Standardize
administration.
- Less dependence on
custom code.
Previous
Drupal 7
Create + display events
Display calendar or listing
Create "event content type"
Event module
Content types
and Field (core)
Date field
Calendar Views
+
31

Date entry field
• Date module stores
content in date
formate.
• “Date popup” for
entering in dates has
several options.
32

Modules format display
• Calendar or Full
Calendar
• Display formats or
templates
33

The Drupal Way
!"#$%&#'()*+, -&#*.#*, /)01('+, 2'+&"*, 311.'4'#$.,
!"#$%&#'()*+, -&#*.#*, /00.'1'#$.,
Drupal
Other systems
A big fancy
middle man
34

Typical Drupal website
0 25.00 50.00 75.00 100.00
Core and contrib Custom code
Less
custom
is
better
Through
sitebuilding
and configuration
** Based on a survey of Drupal executives in the CXO event, Belgium, 2011.
35

Say what?
• A CMS makes it easy for a “lay person” to
update content on a site without a developer.
• Drupal takes this one step further and puts
developer tools within their reach.
• Any questions at this point?
36

FINDING YOUR WAY
AROUND
Welcome to Views
37

Views wizard
Page or block
Display settings
Add to menu
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fdaphotos/8212408724/
38

Views editor
How to format & display
What to select & filter
39

1. Choose what to query
Taxonomy
city break
Comments
Users
D. Schrute
Germany
J. Halpert
Spain
adventure
city break
sailing
shopping
dwight
8 Sept
Wow, can't
wait to get
visit.
joe
8 Sept
Me too!
Content
Content title
• What do you want to list?
• You can’t change it later.
• You can use a relationship later to join
tables.
40

2. Filter to limit selection
• Limit a set of data to display for example,
filtering by author.
41

2. Filter to limit selection
• ... or limit by content type
42

2. Select fields
2
1
3
43

3. Specify format
44

3. Configure formatting
45

3. Even rewrite output!
2
1
3
46

4. Choose a display
47

Output
48

Step by step
• 1. Choose what to query
• 2. Limit selection with filters
• View modes or fields
• 3. Select and configure formatting
• 4. Choose displays - and/or add
attachments
49

Demo: Customize the
view add a display
The second demo!
50

Edit News view
• Add a block display
• Choose fields
• Place in sidebar & test it
• Change fields or filter
• Change display
51

Display tips
• Name your displays
• Make a new view if displays are very different
• Be careful to select specific displays when
editing options
52

Recap
• 1. What to select & filter?
• Select base table to start (you can combine
tables with relationships).
• Apply filters
• Select fields or “view mode”
• 2. How to format & display?
• Choose a format such as list, table, etc.
• Choose a display such as pages, blocks,
RSS feeds. More displays available!
53

Where are you at?
New to
Drupal
Experienced
with Drupal
What the heck
is Views??
I can make views
with one hand
behind my back
54

VIEWS NEXT STEPS!
Your assignment
55

Your assignment
• Create a view before next week!
• List a specific type of content or all terms
• Create a page display and a block display
• Place the block in the sidebar of your site
• Quick version: 4 parts, 5 mins each!
http://www.drupalgardens.com/content/new-
views-tutorials-4-part-intro
56

Views webinar!
• Tips and Tricks for Getting the Most Out of
Views [April 30, 2013]
• http://j.mp/mostviews
• Suzanne Kennedy, Evolving Web - one of our
training partners.
http://training.acquia.com/events/canada
• DrupalCon: Mastering Views Configuration
• http://portland2013.drupal.org/node/3718
57

Views tutorials
• Quick version: 4 parts, 5 mins
each!
http://
www.drupalgardens.com/
content/new-views-tutorials-4-
part-intro
• Drupalize.me
http://drupalize.me/videos/
overview-views
• 10 part series with “Toronto
Web Developer”
http://j.mp/Zc8nEO
58

Next up!
• Viws mini course
- May 2nd: Introduction to Views
- May 8th: How to build flexible views < -- next week!
- May 15th: Build your first module to back up your views!
• Drupal essentials
- May 22nd: Drupal Essentials: How to Configure Accounts in Drupal
• Drupal for Project Managers mini-course
- May 29th-June 19th: 4 weeks - Drupal for Project Managers!
Adam Boysen, Jakub Suchy, Amye Scavarda, Jenn Sramek
59

Notes from class
• I put the notes up here
• https://www.acquia.com/blog/totally-beginner-tutorial-
views-drupal-7
60

Events! Learn in person
• http://acquia.com/events
• http://training.acquia.com/events
• http://dublin2013.drupaldays.org/
• http://www.drupical.com/
61

Views Mini-Course, Part I: An Introduction to Views

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