Exposed views filter widgets as checkboxes and radio buttons

I am also interested in such a solution and I'm currently researching towards it.
Since I was made co-maintainer of this module, I'll try to supply a new version of it, once I have a patch or something, or once someone else will supply one.

This code is rather a mess, but it is working for me to replace exposed filter mulitple selects with checkboxes. I use it inside a hook_form_alter. Maybe it can help towards writting something more solid.

  if (isset($form['view']['#value']->exposed_filter) ) {
        $view = $form['view']['#value'];
        foreach ($view->exposed_filter as $count => $expose) {
          if (is_numeric($count)) {
            
          if ($form["filter$count"]['#multiple']) {
            $form["filter$count"]['#type'] = 'checkboxes';
            $options = array();
            foreach($form["filter$count"]['#options'] as $option){
              $option = $option->option;
              if(is_array($option)){
                $key = implode('',array_keys($option));
                $option = implode('', $option);
                $options[$key] = $option;
              }
            }
            $form["filter$count"]['#options'] = $options;        
          }     
          unset($form["filter$count"]['#theme']);
          unset($form["filter$count"]['#default_value']);
          $form["filter$count"]['#prefix'] = '<div class="exposed-filters">';
          $form["filter$count"]['#suffix'] = '</div>';
        }
      }
} 

Thanks Lynn, I'll take a look at it and I'll try to integrate it into formtweaker.

This patch uses a development of what Lynn sent, to turn views filters into checkboxes and radio buttons.
It works in my environment, and I'd like to know if it works for you too.

TODO:
1. Use formtweaker's helper functions to modify the selects into checkboxes (currently it is all done inside form_alter).
2. Add a checkbox to views' exposed filters interface to select whether the filter should be rendered as select or as checkboxes.

I would also appreciate comments about the quality of the patch itself, as I am not very experienced with patching etc.

This patch shortens the former one, and adds the checkboxes/radio buttons capability to other than taxonomy widgets.

The line if(isobject($form["filter$count"]['#options'][0])) does not work correctly with taxonomies that don't return an item with a key of "0". I suggest:

$optvalues = array_values($form["filter$count"]['#options']);
 if(isobject($optvalues[0]))

Yeah, I just ran into the same issue as well.
My solution was to check the first value for the ALL option:

<?php
if(isset($form["filter$count"]['#options']['**ALL**'])){
  // We dont need the ALL checkbox.drop it.
  array_shift($form["filter$count"]['#options']);
};
?>

It seems that your solution is better, cleaner, only the function name should be is_object (with an underscore).
I'll integrate it into CVS.

In any case, there is still one important thing to do before we create a new release with this feature, and that is to add the option in views exposed filters section. We need to let the user decide when to use checkboxes and when not to.

Subscribing

subscibe - thx

subscribing...
-N

In the new 5.x-2.0 release I didn't include the views filters since we still hadn't have a way to decide on which filters exactly the form is to be tweaked or not.
Meanwhile, a new module has appeared which is doing exactly that (I haven't tested it yet): http://drupal.org/project/views_checkboxes
I see that it belongs to nschelly who subscribed here a while ago :-) .

@nschelly - Do you think it answers the needs here, and do you want to keep the modules apart or combine them?

Thanks Neil & Zohar --
This seems to be a good solution, but there is an error that's happening. I would try to troubleshoot it, but my php skills are pretty larval.
Someone else already entered the issue and I commented here: http://drupal.org/node/192117#comment-630708

If anyone knows how to solve this (hopefully minor) issue, that would be great!

subscribing

I think it should be discussed in the other module's issue queue.

I will work on the errors in my own module, but I do still think the best place for this feature would be in this module. This module though was a little more complex than for me to presume knowing how you'd want to structure a fix.
-N

Here is how I accomplished this in Views2. If you turn on AJAX the form will refresh the filter in place when clicking Go!!!

function custom_module_form_alter(&$form, $form_state, $form_id) {
  if ($form_id == 'views_exposed_form') {
    $exposed_views = array('post_stream'); // KEEP IN MIND THIS IS AN ARRAY... SO YOU CAN DO MORE!
    if (in_array($form_state['view']->name, $exposed_views)) {

    //drupal_set_message('<pre>'.print_r($form_state['view']->display['default']->handler->options['filters'],1).'</pre>');
    //drupal_set_message('<pre>'.print_r($form,1).'</pre>');

    $form['type']['#options']['All']= 'All';
    $form['type']['#options']['article']= 'Editorial';
    $form['type']['#options']['feed_item']= 'Outside Source';
    $form['type']['#options']['post']= 'Member Post';
    
    $form['submit']['#value']= 'Go';
    
    $form['type']['#type']= 'radios'; // <--- HERE IS THE RADIO SWITCHEROO

    }
  }
}

This is fairly one off, but can get the job done.

I have had a problem with the pager though :(

I'm working on a module called Views filter pack and it work with views 2. My solution is not with much fancy Ajax, but you can alter the exposed selects to radio-buttons or even check boxes. At this point only the filters from user, node, comment and taxonomy are supported. The filters for files are on the roadmap and so is CCK support.

subscribing

I worked out a solution to this using a custom theme function for the select field. Details @ http://echodittolabs.org/blog/2009/09/how-make-views-exposed-filter-dropdown-appear-checkboxes.

I don't understand where to put this.

I just contributed a module similar to the solution @19: Better Exposed Filters. Sorry, only available for D6.

I was having problems with Views Filter Pack not working with multiple exposed filters and Ben's theme-layer suggestion (see the link @19) was an elegant solution.

Hope that helps.

- Mike

Had a related issue with the promoted to front page exposed filter. Solved here: http://drupal.org/node/549180#comment-3795560