Display user inputs in frontend - Overview
Visforms provides you with different means to publish submitted user inputs (form data) in frontend. Each means has a different aim with regards to what you can to achieve with the data view. You can display user inputs in frontend using:
- a menu item type Visforms >> Formdata (Shipped with the free Visforms Component)
Aim: Display published data of a single form - the Content Plugin Data Views (Shipped with the Visforms Subscription)
Aim: Display a subset of data of a single form, which fits with the content of the current page, in Joomla! content. - a menu item type Visforms >> Form data with edit link (Shipped with the Visforms Subscription)
Aim: Display user inputs of a single form, which a user can edit according to their privilegs. Entry page for edit data in frontend. - a menu item type Visforms >> My Submissions (Shipped with the Visforms Subscription)
Aim: Display all record sets of all forms, which the currently logged in user has submitted. Entry page for edit data in frontend.
In order to protect submitted user inputs from unintentional dislosure and in order to control which record sets are displayed using a specific "means", Visforms comes with quite some options, which might be confusing on first glance. Hopefully the following list and text, will clarify the matter a bit.
Which option is used for which views?
1 = Menu item type Visforms >> Formdata
2 = Content Plugin Data View
3 = Menu item type Visforms >> Form data with edit link
4 = Menu item type Visforms >> My Submissions
| Parametername | Location | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allow Frontend Data View | Formular | yes | yes | no | no | |
| Own Data only | Formular | yes | yes | no | no | Subscription Feature |
| Frontend Dataview Access | Formular | yes | yes | yes | no | |
| Display Counter | Formular | yes | yes | yes | no | Plg Data View can override |
| Display IP Address | Formular | yes | yes | yes | no | Plg Data View can override |
| Display ID | Formular | yes | yes | yes | no | Plg Data View can override |
| Display Modified | Formular | yes | yes | yes | no | Plg Data View can override |
| Display Created | Formular | yes | yes | yes | no | Plg Data View can override |
| Created as Datetime | Formular | yes | yes | yes | no | Plg Data View can override |
| Display Data Details | Formular | yes | yes | yes | no | Plg Data Viewcan override |
| Title of Detail View | Formular | yes | yes | yes | no | Plg Data View can override |
| Detail Link Icon | Formular | yes | yes | yes | no | |
| Title of List View | Formular | yes | yes | yes | no | |
| Description | Formular | yes | yes | yes | no | |
| Display Data In Frontend | Feld | yes | yes | yes | no |
Using the first 2 means of publishing data in frontend (menu item of type Visforms >> Formdata and Content Plugin Data View), the form options (tab "Dataview in Frontend") and the field options (tab "Advanced") are the general set-up, for what is allowed and how data are displayed in frontend. Within this general set-up you can adjust the data display with menu options or plugin parameters (depending on which means you use), for example select a subset of record sets with the Content Plugin Data View. Please note, that you can never allow more with menu or plugin options than is allowed by the general set-up, you can only allow less.
Using the 3rd means of publishing data in frontend (Menu item type Visforms >> Form data with edit link) only options which effect the layout (i.e. which fields are displayed in list and detail view) of the data view are used from the general set-up made in the form and the field configuration. Any form or field option from the general set-up, which effects the record set selection is omitted (i.e. the option "Allow Frontend Data View"). The record set selection depends on the menu options instead. A view of type "Form data with edit link" can only be accessed in the frontend if a menu item of type "Visforms >> Form data with edit link" exists.
Using the first 3 means, you can only publish data of a single form at a time.
If you use Visforms in order to build a small web application or to manage a more complex process, it is often the case that you have a whole set of forms which belongs together. In this case you might want to display all user inputs with were made for all forms in a single view. This ist the purpose of the 4th means to publisch data in frontend, with a menu item of type Visforms >> My Submissions.
Using a menu itemof type Visforms >> My Submissions, any of the above listed form or field configuration option is omitted. Which record sets are displayed and the layout of the data list is determined by the menu options only. A view "My Submissions" can only be accessed, if a menu item of this type exists.