How to add checkboxes to a table and auto-add/delete rows

[johnnynav]

Forum URL: vampire-requiem.freeforums.net/thread/4/favors-granted-incurred

Hello, ProBoards coders!

On the forum page above, I am trying to build a table that contains text data entered and edited by forum members. The styling of the table in the link above is pretty much exactly how I want it (at least for desktop). The functionality is where I need help. Here are the basic requirements:

1) Each row will have a small [+] and [-] icon/button positioned to the left of the row. Clicking [+] will add a new row directly below the active row. Clicking [-] will delete the active row.

2) Upon clicking [-], a simple "Y/N" warning will pop up to confirm deletion.

3) Background color of table rows will alternate between black (#ffffff) and an off-white (#001b3a).

4) If a user deletes an inner row, the background color scheme for remaining rows will adjust so that it still alternates between black and white.

5) Table headers are listed in bold below with a description of the data for each column:

• Date: Text field (max: 20 characters)
  
• Type: Checkbox buttons*: Trivial, Minor, Major, Life
  
• Grantor: Text field (max: 30 characters)
• Debtor: Text field (max: 30 characters)
• Terms/Description: Text field (no text limit)
• Status: Checkbox buttons*: Paid, Outstanding, Transferred, Defalcated
  

*NOTE:  The checkbox buttons for "Type" and "Status" will be visual indicators only. They will not be programmed to capture data and send it anywhere. We simply want to use them to show which of the options is selected. A user will be able to check or uncheck any box. No more than one checkbox per table cell will be checked, though.

If this table needs to be built as a separate HTML page with custom CSS styling, I'd appreciate some guidance on where to put the HTML and CSS, and how to call it within the forum post above.

Thank you for your assistance!

[johnnynav]

Okay. I don't seem to be getting much traction or attention from anyone here on PB, which is kinda a bummer; but, I have made much progress on my own...

After battling endlessly with the limitations of BBcode and taking a stab at the old Style Tag plugin (sadly, no success), I've figured out how to create custom radio buttons using HTML and CSS. I created a custom page, styled it up to my satisfaction, and successfully linked it to my forum. The custom page has the forum wrapper as well. Winning!

vampire-requiem.freeforums.net/page/book-of-boons

The only requirements left to solve are definitely more programmatic and well beyond my skill:

1) Still need the [+] and [-] buttons to add/delete new rows;

2) Need the code to ensure alternating background colors are maintained as rows are appended or deleted from the table. (I think the nth-child(even/odd) selector that I already used might have it covered… just need to confirm.)

If anyone could chime in on these items I'd greatly appreciate it. 😎

Nav

[Kami]

Yeah, the thing is, you can't put content you want other people to be able to edit in a post without them being staff with editing powers any more than you can ask someone to clean your house without unlocking the door for them or giving them a key. I'm glad you were able to figure out the custom page ability, as that would have been my suggestion.

You would need to use javascript to have + and - to the rows; that said, there come a few questions with that:

- How will users, including guests, be prohibited from adding superfluous data
- How will users, including guests, be prohibited from manipulating existing data (I can modify the radio buttons you've selected, as it stands)
- How will form data be validated to prevent people from entering nonsense

I think the best bet is to actually go to Plugin Request Board and request a plugin to be created for the custom page. Unfortunately, my javascript skills are "what can I google" at best so I'll be unable to directly help with this, but a plugin should solve the above issues at least 90% since creating a plugin allows you to add read/write permissions to the javascript, which would be far more tedious if writing it from scratch sans-plugin..

EDIT: re not getting traction/attention from folks on PB, I think I need to levelset expectations here. While ProBoards as a service is pretty active, the Support Board is less so when it comes to users who want to customise their forums beyond default available options. Even back in the hayday of forums, that was always the case -- as someone who also likes having innovative ideas and fun outside-the-box theme designs, I sympathise greatly (I actually learned HTML and CSS / got into my profession because I grew too impatient to wait for people to answer my questions). If you're seeking for help beyond the forum software's inherent options, it's not uncommon to have a bit of a wait as a lot of PB's most knowledgeable volunteers are now of the age where they have busy day jobs and their overall participation is lower than it used to be. Just have a bit of patience, and bump regularly (min. 24 hours between bumps).

[johnnynav]

Nov 4, 2022 7:31:04 GMT -8 Kami said:

Yeah, the thing is, you can't put content you want other people to be able to edit in a post without them being staff with editing powers any more than you can ask someone to clean your house without unlocking the door for them or giving them a key. I'm glad you were able to figure out the custom page ability, as that would have been my suggestion.

You would need to use javascript to have + and - to the rows; that said, there come a few questions with that:

- How will users, including guests, be prohibited from adding superfluous data
- How will users, including guests, be prohibited from manipulating existing data (I can modify the radio buttons you've selected, as it stands)
- How will form data be validated to prevent people from entering nonsense

I think the best bet is to actually go to Plugin Request Board and request a plugin to be created for the custom page. Unfortunately, my javascript skills are "what can I google" at best so I'll be unable to directly help with this, but a plugin should solve the above issues at least 90% since creating a plugin allows you to add read/write permissions to the javascript, which would be far more tedious if writing it from scratch sans-plugin..

EDIT: re not getting traction/attention from folks on PB, I think I need to levelset expectations here. While ProBoards as a service is pretty active, the Support Board is less so when it comes to users who want to customise their forums beyond default available options. Even back in the hayday of forums, that was always the case -- as someone who also likes having innovative ideas and fun outside-the-box theme designs, I sympathise greatly (I actually learned HTML and CSS / got into my profession because I grew too impatient to wait for people to answer my questions). If you're seeking for help beyond the forum software's inherent options, it's not uncommon to have a bit of a wait as a lot of PB's most knowledgeable volunteers are now of the age where they have busy day jobs and their overall participation is lower than it used to be. Just have a bit of patience, and bump regularly (min. 24 hours between bumps).

Great feedback, again, Kami! Yeah, point taken on your concerns about creating a 'free-for-all' situation with publicly editable online forum pages. Especially when said pages are supposed to be a visual record-keeping page! I'm gonna rethink what I'm trying to do with that particular custom page.

And I hear you on the expectations about how to use PB support. Thanks for that, too. This isn't my first time using PB forums, but it is my first time building a custom theme and tapping support. I also see 15-years'-worth of threads and history in the support boards, which gives the impression to new members like me that a lot of great help is extended by volunteers to members, often and freely, to this day.

I recognize, though, that I'm coming into a very mature, long-in-the-tooth environment here… and kinda late in the game, to boot. Consequently, my enthusiasm to 'get things done' and to find answers may not be reciprocated with the same energy anymore. No worries. I'm used to working with coders, and I have a network I can tap. I also know I can jump over to Discord, Reddit or any number of other modern community-building platforms that have largely replaced forums… but, I don't wanna. 😉

'Old school' suits me just fine, and the PB forum platform does what it does quite well thanks to people like you.

[Kami]

Nov 4, 2022 13:47:16 GMT -8 johnnynav said:

Nov 4, 2022 7:31:04 GMT -8 Kami said:

Yeah, the thing is, you can't put content you want other people to be able to edit in a post without them being staff with editing powers any more than you can ask someone to clean your house without unlocking the door for them or giving them a key. I'm glad you were able to figure out the custom page ability, as that would have been my suggestion.

You would need to use javascript to have + and - to the rows; that said, there come a few questions with that:

- How will users, including guests, be prohibited from adding superfluous data
- How will users, including guests, be prohibited from manipulating existing data (I can modify the radio buttons you've selected, as it stands)
- How will form data be validated to prevent people from entering nonsense

I think the best bet is to actually go to Plugin Request Board and request a plugin to be created for the custom page. Unfortunately, my javascript skills are "what can I google" at best so I'll be unable to directly help with this, but a plugin should solve the above issues at least 90% since creating a plugin allows you to add read/write permissions to the javascript, which would be far more tedious if writing it from scratch sans-plugin..

EDIT: re not getting traction/attention from folks on PB, I think I need to levelset expectations here. While ProBoards as a service is pretty active, the Support Board is less so when it comes to users who want to customise their forums beyond default available options. Even back in the hayday of forums, that was always the case -- as someone who also likes having innovative ideas and fun outside-the-box theme designs, I sympathise greatly (I actually learned HTML and CSS / got into my profession because I grew too impatient to wait for people to answer my questions). If you're seeking for help beyond the forum software's inherent options, it's not uncommon to have a bit of a wait as a lot of PB's most knowledgeable volunteers are now of the age where they have busy day jobs and their overall participation is lower than it used to be. Just have a bit of patience, and bump regularly (min. 24 hours between bumps).

Great feedback, again, Kami! Yeah, point taken on your concerns about creating a 'free-for-all' situation with publicly editable online forum pages. Especially when said pages are supposed to be a visual record-keeping page! I'm gonna rethink what I'm trying to do with that particular custom page.

And I hear you on the expectations about how to use PB support. Thanks for that, too. This isn't my first time using PB forums, but it is my first time building a custom theme and tapping support. I also see 15-years'-worth of threads and history in the support boards, which gives the impression to new members like me that a lot of great help is extended by volunteers to members, often and freely, to this day.

I recognize, though, that I'm coming into a very mature, long-in-the-tooth environment here… and kinda late in the game, to boot. Consequently, my enthusiasm to 'get things done' and to find answers may not be reciprocated with the same energy anymore. No worries. I'm used to working with coders, and I have a network I can tap. I also know I can jump over to Discord, Reddit or any number of other modern community-building platforms that have largely replaced forums… but, I don't wanna. 😉

'Old school' suits me just fine, and the PB forum platform does what it does quite well thanks to people like you.

Yeah for sure, 'long in the tooth' is a great way to describe it. My contemporaries that had all the activity in the customisation support areas have either moved on to other endeavours, or still visit here when they can but are doing something like this or adjacent to this in their professional lives now. PB has been around for a very long time, as you know; I've literally gone from a wide-eyed 17 year old with no idea what to do for a major to a 34 year old with a house and responsibilities and a job in the games industry, haha. A lot of the once-super-active folks I effectively grew up with are now like... parents and/or working professionals too.

That said, I do think that whenever v6 releases we'll get a resurgence of interest (especially with a lot of social media outlets... ah, having an Interesting Time as of late) due to the increased capabilities w/out the need for much coding knowledge + built in mobile responsiveness. So once that happens, I expect you'll get answers faster; maybe not as fast as they once were, and it may take some time for folks to rebuild their knowledge wells, but I don't think it would be unreasonable to expect a faster pace than currently.

If you're intending a visual record-keeping page but don't want to do too much work on your own, you could always opt for a semi-manual process. What I normally do for things like this is design a static custom page, and then have a thread where people fill in a form (in this case, you can preformat the HTML you need and replace all the text with something like PUT YOUR TEXT HERE or something) and respond to the OP. You'd then take their filled HTML snippet and paste it into the custom page. It's not as nice as just letting members do it, but it beats having to type it all out yourself every time. You can also then cross link (a link to the form thread in the custom page, and a link to the custom page in the thread OP) so it's easy to access and cross reference.