CiviCRM Community Forums (archive)

What is the proper way to reference a custom field in a custom template? My custom template for Individual.tpl is working great except when I try to add a custom field.

I'm using the custom field ID (custom_23_-1) I found in the Smarty Debug Console and following the existing Smarty code in the template as a pattern.

When I include the following in the Individual.tpl:

{$form.custom_23_-1.label}
{$form.custom_23_-1.html}

I get an error message that says:
Parse error: syntax error, unexpected T_STRING, expecting ',' or ';' in /home/mysite/.../templates_c/en_US/en_US/...Individual.tpl.php on line 124

And when I use:
{$form.custom_23.label}
{$form.custom_23.html}

there is no error message but the field does not display on the form.

I have cleaned the templates_c directory several times and it doesn't change the result.

So how should a custom field be referenced in a custom template?

Thanks.

I have used custom fields in a template, but used the $viewCustomData array. That was in summary.tpl though, I am not sure what you are getting in the Individual.tpl. But you could try to retrieve them with an API from the template? (read http://en.flossmanuals.net/CiviCRM/DevelopAPI)
Erik

However, it only displays if the field is empty. Once the custom field contains data, it no longer displays. I don't know why. If you have a thought about this, I'd be glad to hear it!

That's why this field is named a bit differently in create and update modes. In create mode, the name of the field is custom_23_-1, in update mode it will be called something like custom_23_XX, where XX is the id of custom_value_sth_sth_23 table record. First thing, you need to introduce condition - if action is create, display custom_23_-1, if update, display something starting with custom_23. Not sure how to do the latter in smarty.

Thx,
m

For the Indivdual, there is a contact_get API, but also a contact_create and a contact_update. You should be able to use the contact_update to update a custom field? Check this page : http://wiki.civicrm.org/confluence/display/CRMDOC33/Contact+APIs
Erik

Hi,

I'm trying to get a custom field to display and be editable in the Contact Details area, right after the last name and suffix, instead of in a separate block.

Yeap, the way the custom data fieds change names between the update and create (and that's a bit more complex than that, at least 3 or 4 different names).

Have you tried to use jquery to move the fields you want out of the separate box ? Bit of a hack, but if it's only a cosmetic issue, might be faster to code.

X+