Category descriptions in sidebar

Comments

• whu606 MVP

  July 2014

  @nolageek‌

  To get the best advice, you should always add your numerical Vanilla version when asking a question.

  You could start by taking a look at the Pockets addon:

  http://vanillaforums.org/addon/pockets-plugin

  :

  6
• R_J Admin

  July 2014

  The blocks in the sidebar are called "Module" in Vanilla-Speak. Here's something I've written down few weeks ago: http://vanillaforums.org/discussion/comment/210188#Comment_210188

  1
• nolageek New

  July 2014

  Geesh. Even as a non-programmer I can usually pick up a web software's template and figure out what needs to edited to add custom elements to a theme. Vanilla has just about the most non-friendly code I've ever seen. I'm just trying to figure out how to add text to a sidebar and it's so confusing.

  I managed to manipulate the ForumDonate module, using some bits and pieces of code elsewhere on the forum to get the description in the sidebar, but good lord I can't just get the title of the category in there now.

    return $this->_Sender->Category->Description;
  

  Gets me the description.

    return $this->_Sender->Category->Name;
  

  Gets me the Category name.

  But I can't seem to get them to both show at the same time.

  0
• hgtonight MVP

  July 2014

  Hiya!

  Modules in Vanilla override the ToString() method. This method must return a string.

  The key is that you are trying to return twice. In PHP (and every other language I am familiar with), execution of a block of code will stop after the first executed return statement. You are looking to concatenate two strings and return the result.

  Try something like this in your ToString() method:

  public function ToString() {
    $CatName = $this->_Sender->Category->Name;
    $CatDesc = $this->_Sender->Category->Description;
  
    return $CatName . ' ' . $CatDesc;
  }
  

  0