View source for Grouping attributes into two columns

{{howto|easy|Jorge Garifuna <info at garidigital.com>}}
{{unstable}}

== Requirements ==

ATK 6.2+

== Summary ==

As of the ATK 6.2 nightly after July 29, 2008, there is a new way to add  attributes into two columns. This howto walks you through the process.

I would like to commend [Rik http://forum.achievo.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10341&highlight=column] for bringing this great contribution to the ATK community.

== Procedures ==

By default attributes are position on one single column in ATK. To position attributes on the right column you will need to call the following new method within your node:

<syntaxhighlight lang="php">
    $this->setColumnAttribs($attributes=array())
</syntaxhighlight>

This method will position any provided attributes to the right column of the node, to make a two column layout.

Assuming you had the following node:

<syntaxhighlight lang="php">
        function employee()
        {
            $this->atkNode("employee", NF_ADD_LINK);//

            $this->add(new atkAttribute("id", AF_AUTOKEY));
            $this->add(new atkAttribute("name", AF_OBLIGATORY|AF_UNIQUE|AF_SEARCHABLE));
            $this->add(new atkManyToOneRelation("department_id","lesson3.department", AF_SEARCHABLE));
            $this->add(new atkManyToOneRelation("manager_id","lesson3.employee", AF_SEARCHABLE|AF_RELATION_AUTOCOMPLETE));

            $this->add(new atkDateAttribute("hiredate"));
            $this->add(new atkNumberAttribute("salary", AF_TOTAL));
            $this->add(new atkTextAttribute("notes", 0, AF_HIDE_LIST));

            $this->setOrder("name");
            $this->setIndex("name");
            $this->setTable("lesson3_employee");
        }
</syntaxhighlight>

To display the attributes, name, salary and hiredate on the right column, you would need to apply the following to your node:

<syntaxhighlight lang="php">
$this->setColumnAttribs(array("name","salary","hiredate"));
</syntaxhighlight>

So your final code would look as follows:

<syntaxhighlight lang="php">
        function employee()
        {
            $this->atkNode("employee", NF_ADD_LINK);//

            $this->add(new atkAttribute("id", AF_AUTOKEY));
            $this->add(new atkAttribute("name", AF_OBLIGATORY|AF_UNIQUE|AF_SEARCHABLE));
            $this->add(new atkManyToOneRelation("department_id","lesson3.department", AF_SEARCHABLE));
            $this->add(new atkManyToOneRelation("manager_id","lesson3.employee", AF_SEARCHABLE|AF_RELATION_AUTOCOMPLETE));

            $this->add(new atkDateAttribute("hiredate"));
            $this->add(new atkNumberAttribute("salary", AF_TOTAL));
            $this->add(new atkTextAttribute("notes", 0, AF_HIDE_LIST));

            $this->setColumnAttribs(array("name","salary","hiredate")); // places name, salary and hiredate on the right column
            $this->setOrder("name");
            $this->setIndex("name");
            $this->setTable("lesson3_employee");
        }
</syntaxhighlight>

Below is an additional example with other options to display other fields on the right column:

<syntaxhighlight lang="php">
        function employee()
        {
            $this->atkNode("employee", NF_ADD_LINK);//

            $this->add(new atkAttribute("id", AF_AUTOKEY));
            $this->add(new atkAttribute("name", AF_OBLIGATORY|AF_UNIQUE|AF_SEARCHABLE));
            $this->add(new atkManyToOneRelation("department_id","lesson3.department", AF_SEARCHABLE));
            $this->add(new atkManyToOneRelation("manager_id","lesson3.employee", AF_SEARCHABLE|AF_RELATION_AUTOCOMPLETE));

            $this->add(new atkDateAttribute("hiredate"));
            $this->add(new atkNumberAttribute("salary", AF_TOTAL));
            $this->add(new atkTextAttribute("notes", 0, AF_HIDE_LIST));

            // $this->setColumnAttribs(array("name","salary","hiredate")); // places name, salary and hiredate on the right column
            $this->setColumnAttribs(array("name","department_id")); // places name and department_id  on the right column
            // $this->setColumnAttribs(array("manager_id","hiredate","salary","notes")); // places manager_id, hiredate, salary and notes on the right column
            // $this->setColumnAttribs(array("salary","notes")); // place salary and notes on right column
            $this->setOrder("name");
            $this->setIndex("name");
            $this->setTable("lesson3_employee");
        }
</syntaxhighlight>

Until next time,

[Jorge Garifuna http://www.GariDigital.com]