commons browsing widget: add ability to alter $settings and $tabs (with patch)

Patch attached

I am just seeing hook_quicktabs_alter now. And I did not see hook_commons_bw_[widget_type]_alter. Thanks, I will try those.

Actually, hook_quicktabs_alter does not work. This comes backas false so the drupal_alter is never called:

// quicktabs.module line 183
  if ($info = quicktabs_load($name)) {
    // Allow other modules to alter the Quicktabs instance before it gets output.
    drupal_alter('quicktabs', $info);

Perhaps the quicktabs style plugin needs to provide info/register for quicktabs?

It would also be nice to be able to affect all tabs that have been collected in one function rather than catching each type with hook_commons_bw_[widget_type]_alter.

What do you think?

It seems like the problem is in quicktabs. The quicktabs_load function calls quicktabs_load_multiple, but it returns an empty array:

/**
* Load the quicktabs data.
*/
function quicktabs_load_multiple($names = array()) {
ctools_include('export');
$defaults = empty($names) ? ctools_export_load_object('quicktabs', 'all') : ctools_export_load_object('quicktabs', 'names', $names);
dpm($defaults, '$defaults');
return $defaults;
}

ctools_export_load_object is looking in the quicktabs table, but quicktabs table is empty. I went to /admin/structure/quicktabs/styles and set it to Commons Pills, saved, but the quicktabs table was still empty. Any ideas?

One thing that is different about my implementation of commons is I am not using commons_origins or a subtheme of adaptivetheme (using a custom twitter bootstrap theme).

OK, to get the hook_quicktabs_alter to work, you need to go to: /admin/structure/quicktabs and add a new Quicktabs instance. It must have the machine name commons_bw and then the alter will work.

HOWEVER, you need to define tabs when you Add Quicktabs Instance which kind of screws up the browsing widget. So I think this should be reopened as the easiest way to allow changing the quicktabs would be to put in the alter as my OP suggests.

More on this, even if you set up the quicktabs instance, only the tabs setup in the instance will show up for the alter. The ones set up in the commons_bw_generate_group_widget will not appear. There is no way to set the group argument for the view in the quicktabs tab builder interface. So the only things that would be altered is to remove the tab created by the quicktabs instance GUI and change the style.

This is not optimal. (see attached screengrab)

I am using Font Awesome icons ( http://fortawesome.github.io/Font-Awesome/icons/ ), so I want to affect those for the tabs somehow...

I am changing this to a bug report because you cannot modify the quicktabs. I am attaching a patch based of todays (10 minutes ago) git repo.

Can you please put in the alter. It is a simple one line fix, has no repercussions and will provide users the only way to alter the quicktabs,

"If I apply this patch, where would I then go to alter the quicktabs? Will something show up in admin > structure > quicktabs for me to edit?"

No, it would need to be done in code. I define a quicktabs style in the alter and remove certain tabs that certain users should not see:

function mash_util_ctools_plugin_directory($module, $plugin) {
  if ($module == 'ctools' && $plugin == 'content_types') {
    return 'plugins/' . $plugin;
  }
}

/**
 * Implements hook_theme().
 */
function mash_util_theme() {
  return array(
    'mash_qt_quicktabs' => array(
      'render element' => 'element',
    ),
  );
}

function mash_util_commons_bw_generate_group_widget_alter(&$settings, &$tabs) {
  //unset() tabs based on user role
  $settings['style'] = t('Mash Tabs');
}

function mash_util_quicktabs_tabstyles() {
  $path = drupal_get_path('module', 'mash_util');
  return array(
    $path . '/plugins/quicktabs_styles/mash_tabs/mash_tabs.css' => t('Mash Tabs'),
  );
}

function theme_mash_qt_quicktabs($variables) {
  $element = $variables['element'];
  $output = '<div '. drupal_attributes($element['#options']['attributes']) .'>';
  $output .= '<div class="navbar"><div class="navbar-inner">';
  $output .= drupal_render($element['tabs']);
  $output .= '</div></div>';
  $output .= drupal_render($element['container']);
  $output .= '</div>';
  return $output;
}

I also duplicate the CTools plugin for the bw_group widget, e.g some_module/plugins/content_types/my_bw_group:

/**
 * Plugins are described by creating a $plugin array which will be used
 * by the system that includes this file.
 */
$plugin = array(
  'title' => t('Mash Group Browsing widget'),
  'description' => t('Mash Group Browsing widget.'),
  'category' => t('MASH'),
  'single' => TRUE,
  'content type' => 'mash_bw_group',
  'all contexts' => TRUE,
);

/**
* Output function for the '[content_type]' content type.
*/
function mash_util_mash_bw_group_content_type_render($subtype, $conf, $panel_args, $context) {
  $context = array_shift($context);
  $node = !empty($context->data) ? $context->data : NULL;

  $block = new stdClass();
  $block->title = '';
  $widget = commons_bw_generate_group_widget($node);
// don't really need the css as it is in the main CSS
  unset($widget['content']['#attached']['css']);
  $widget['content']['content']['#theme'] = 'mash_qt_quicktabs';
  $block->content = drupal_render($widget['content']);
  return $block;
}

/**
* Returns an edit form for the custom type.
*/
function mash_util_mash_bw_group_content_type_edit_form($form, $form_state) {
  return $form;
}

/**
* Returns an edit form for the custom type.
*/
function mash_util_mash_bw_group_content_type_edit_form_submit($form, $form_state) {
  return $form;
}

As this is getting closer to release changing priority to critical, there needs to be a way to alter the quicktabs. As explained above there is no ways to do this now. I am not using the commons theme and need to setup the HTML structure of the quicktabs (for twitter bootstrap). Can this get done please?

I have not had a chance to test this yet. The ticket does seem to address the problem, but the first and last time the issue was touched was in Sept 2012. In other words, not much activity on the issue. Putting the one-line alter in commons_bw does solve it without needing to patch another module. The alter could potentially expose other things specific to commons_bw, so it would be great to get this in. I am curious why the resistance? I am going to doing a dev build today, so can test out the latest changes. I am still working out how to use features effectively and still integrate with the latest changes that come down. I can't say it is working well.

In addition to features, might the configuration module help us all: https://drupal.org/project/configuration
...
My use case is that there are two types of users (among others): Teachers and Students. Teachers can see more content types than the student. The student should not see the content types that only teachers should see (one in commons is the Document content type).

I also use twitter bootstrap for my theming and need a specific structure for my version of their navbar http://twitter.github.io/bootstrap/components.html#navbar

OK, I applied the patch from #1795982: Allow for hook_alter for instances coming from code. It applies cleanly, but does not really do anything. The relevant quicktabs code is in the .module file:

function quicktabs_build_quicktabs($name, $settings = array(), $custom_tabs = array()) {
  if ($info = quicktabs_load($name)) {
dpm($info, '$info 1st if');
    // Allow other modules to alter the Quicktabs instance before it gets output.
    drupal_alter('quicktabs', $info);
    $info = (array) $info;
    $settings = array_merge($info, $settings);
    $contents = $settings['tabs'];
    unset($settings['tabs'], $settings['machine_name']);
  }
  elseif (!empty($custom_tabs)) {
    // We'll be creating a custom Quicktabs instance. Make sure we're using an
    // alphanumeric name.
    $name = preg_replace('/[^[a-zA-Z]_]/', '_', $name);
dpm($name, '$name elseif (!empty($custom_tabs))');
    $contents = array();
    drupal_alter('quicktabs', $info);
    $info = (array) $info;
    $settings = array_merge($info, $settings);
  }
  else {
    // If $name doesn't correspond to an existing Quicktabs instance, and there
    // are no custom tabs to render, then we have nothing to do.
    return array();
  }

No $info is found in if ($info = quicktabs_load($name)) { so it goes to the elseif (!empty($custom_tabs)) {
That will trigger the alter, but there is no $info to alter. And it does not send the $tabs along for me to filter based on user permissions and/or group role.

So, no, it does not provide any help.

I have attached a new patch. In this latest one, I moved the alter above the foreach loop where the views get executed. This in and of itself would make it useful for commons as it could remove unnecessary execution of views. What do you say? :)

No, I think this is an issue for commons. First, we can remove view execution for tabs we don't need. That cannot be done from quicktabs. In my case, I would have 4 unnecessary view executions done for student role'd users. I would think that would be enough to allow the alter from those who provide quicktabs in code. Attached is the patch I failed to provide earlier.

I will provide a patch for quicktabs that includes the $tabs in the alter, but that is going to have to wait until I get time to understand quicktabs more. For example, is it enough to pass the settings passed into quicktabs_build_quicktabs as the $info variable and leave that unchanged in mymodule? To me it seems this is something more deeply wrong with quicktabs. The code instance is registering itslef, so why can't quicktabs get $info from that? quicktabs made the decision not to send the $tabs in the alter. Why?

I have been seeing questions about how to modify commons going without answer. The answer is: You can't do it through the drupal web UI and expect to update commons et al. You have to do it through your whatever module's *_alter (but then things will change, so...). Commons is what it is. Love it exactly or leave it, apparently.

That being said, there is a great deal of amazing things (at least to this relative drupal newbie) that they have done to drupal. I did not know you could do the things they have done. However, and I don't know if it is drupal or a lack of foresight, but it comes at the cost of flexibility with what you want to do. It seems you must have a clone of commons, but you can choose your hair color (with the options provided).

Acquia: please correct me if I am wrong.

Quicktabs is one of most problematic dependencies with regard to affecting change. I don't get why it is used throughout.