Hypothetical Template

A hypothetical website template

Dashboard

Unless otherwise stated all examples in this section are to be added to app/Http/Controllers/DashboardController.php.

Adding a Viewable Model to the Dashboard

Viewable List of Rows

First add a function to generate the page:

    public function getContact()
    {
        return view('dashboard.view', [
            'heading' => 'Contact Form Submissions',
            'model'   => 'contact',
            'rows'    => Contact::getContactSubmissions(),
            'cols'    => [
                [ 'Date', 'created_at' ],
                [ 'Name', 'name' ],
                [ 'Email', 'email' ],
                [ 'Message', 'message' ]
            ]
        ]);
    }

• heading: The title that will appear for this page
• model: The model that will be accessed on this page
• rows: A function returning an array containing the data to be shown on this page
• cols: An array containing a set of arrays where the first element of each is the visible column name and the second is the column name in the array

Export Functionality

Viewable models must have an entry in the switch statement of the getExport function to make the export button work:

    switch ($model) {
        case 'contact':
            $headings = [ 'Date', 'Name', 'Email', 'Message' ];
            $items = Contact::select('created_at', 'name', 'email', 'message')->get();
            break;
        default:
            abort(404);
    }

• $headings: The visible column names in the same order as the array containing the items to be exported
• $items: A function returning an array containing the data to be exported

Adding an Editable Model to the Dashboard

Editable List of Rows

Editable List for Unsortable Model

    public function getShows()
    {
        return view('dashboard.edit-list', [
            'heading' => 'Shows',
            'model'   => 'shows',
            'rows'    => Shows::getShowsList(),
            'column'  => 'title',
            'sortcol' => 'false'
        ]);
    }

Editable List for Sortable Model

NOTE: Sortable models must have an entry configured in the postReorder function (details below)

    public function getNews()
    {
        return view('dashboard.edit-list', [
            'heading' => 'News',
            'model'   => 'news',
            'rows'    => News::getNewsList(),
            'column'  => 'title',
            'sortcol' => 'order'
        ]);
    }

• heading: The title that will appear for this page
• model: The model that will be accessed on this page
• rows: A function returning an array containing the data to be shown on this page
• column: The column name in the array that contains the data to display in each row
• sortcol: The name of the column containing the sort order or 'false' to disable

Delete Functionality

Editable models must have an entry in the switch statement of the deleteDelete function to make deletion functionality work:

    switch ($request['model']) {
        case 'shows':
            $items = new Shows();
            break;
        case 'news':
            $items = new News();
            break;
        default:
            return 'model-access-fail';
    }

Editable Item

This function should be named the same as the one above except with Edit at the end

Editable Item for Unsortable Model

    public function getShowsEdit($id = 'new')
    {
        if ($id != 'new') {
            if (Shows::where('id', $id)->exists()) {
                $item = Shows::where('id', $id)->first();
            } else {
                return view('errors.no-such-record');
            }
        } else {
            $item = null;
        }

        return view('dashboard.edit-item', [
            'heading' => 'Shows',
            'model'   => 'shows',
            'id'      => $id,
            'item'    => $item,
            'help_text' => '<strong>NOTE:</strong> This is some help text for the current page',
            'columns' => [
                [ 'name' => 'venue',       'type' => 'text' ],
                [ 'name' => 'date',        'type' => 'date' ],
                [ 'name' => 'address',     'type' => 'text' ],
                [ 'name' => 'phone',       'type' => 'text' ],
                [ 'name' => 'website',     'type' => 'text' ],
                [ 'name' => 'cover',       'type' => 'text' ],
                [ 'name' => 'description', 'type' => 'mkd' ]
            ]
        ]);
    }

Editable Item for Sortable Model

    public function getNewsEdit($id = 'new')
    {
        if ($id != 'new') {
            if (News::where('id', $id)->exists()) {
                $item = News::where('id', $id)->first();
            } else {
                return view('errors.no-such-record');
            }
        } else {
            $item = new News();
            $item['order'] = News::count();
        }

        return view('dashboard.edit-item', [
            'heading' => 'News',
            'model'   => 'news',
            'id'      => $id,
            'item'    => $item,
            'imgup'   => true,
            'columns' => [
                [ 'name' => 'title',  'type' => 'text', 'label' => 'The Title' ],
                [ 'name' => 'iframe', 'type' => 'text' ],
                [ 'name' => 'story',  'type' => 'mkd' ],
                [ 'name' => 'order',  'type' => 'hidden' ]
            ]
        ]);
    }

• heading: The title that will appear for this page
• model: The model that will be accessed on this page
• id: Always set this to $id
• item: Always set this to $item
• imgup: Set this to true to enable image upload, otherwise set to false
• help_text: An optional value that will add a box containing help text above the form if set
• columns: An array containing a set of arrays where:
  • name is the name of the column to be edited
  • type is the type of column (details below)
  • label is an optional value that overrides the visible column name

Editable Column Types

The following is a list of possible types in the columns array for Editable Items:

• text: Text input field for text data
• mkd: Markdown editor for text data containing markdown
• date: Date and time selection tool for date/time data
• hidden: Fields that will contain values to pass to the update function but won't appear on the page (this must be used for the sort column)

Edit Item Functionality

Editable models must have an entry in the switch statement of the postEdit function to make create and edit functionality work:

    switch ($request['model']) {
        case 'shows':
            $item = $id == 'new' ? new Shows : Shows::find($id);
            break;
        case 'news':
            $item = $id == 'new' ? new News : News::find($id);
            break;
        default:
            return 'model-access-fail';
    }

Additional Requirement for Sortable Models

Sortable models must have an entry in the switch statement of the postReorder function to make sorting functionality work:

    switch ($request['model']) {
        case 'news':
            $items = new News();
            break;
        default:
            return 'model-access-fail';
    }

Additional Requirements for Image Upload

If the value of imgup has been set to true, ensure public/uploads/model_name exists (where model_name is the name of the given model) and contains a .gitkeep that exists in version control.

By default, uploaded images are saved in JPEG format with the value of the id column of the respective row as its name and .jpg as its file extension.

When a row is deleted, its respective image will be deleted as well if it exists.