Item group API methods

Adding custom select item groups

Registration of a select item group takes place in Configuration/TCA/tx_mytable.php for new TCA tables, and in Configuration/TCA/Overrides/a_random_core_table.php for modifying an existing TCA definition.

For existing select fields additional item groups can be added via the api method ExtensionManagementUtility::addTcaSelectItemGroup.

ExtensionManagementUtility::addTcaSelectItemGroup(
    'tt_content',
    'CType',
    'sliders',
    'LLL:EXT:my_slider_mixtape/Resources/Private/Language/locallang_tca.xlf:tt_content.group.sliders',
    'after:lists'
);

When adding a new select field, itemGroups should be added directly in the original TCA definition without using the API method. Use the API within TCA/Configuration/Overrides/ files to extend an existing TCA select field with grouping.

Attaching select items to item groups

Using the API method ExtensionManagementUtility::addTcaSelectItem a a fourth parameter in the array can be used to specify the id of the item group.

ExtensionManagementUtility::addTcaSelectItem(
    'tt_content',
    'CType',
    [
        'LLL:EXT:my_slider_mixtape/Resources/Private/Locallang/locallang_tca.xlf:tt_content.CType.slickslider',
        'slickslider',
        'EXT:my_slider_mixtape/Resources/Public/Icons/slickslider.png',
        'sliders'
    ]
);

History

With the introduction of the itemGroups the TCA column type select has a clean API to group items for dropdowns in FormEngine. This was previously handled via placeholder --div-- items, which then rendered as <optgroup> HTML elements in a dropdown.

In larger installations or TYPO3 instances with lots of extensions, Plugins or Content Types (tt_content.CType), or custom Page Types (pages.doktype) drop down lists could grow large and adding item groups caused tedious work for developers or integrators. Grouping can now be configured on a per-item basis. Custom groups can be added via an API or when defining TCA for a new table.