Collection

The Collection type generates a field for Inline-Relational-Record-Editing (IRRE), which allows nesting of other field types. This field type allows building structures like image sliders, accordions, tabs and so on.

Collections will automatically create custom tables and use the identifier as table name. It is possible to override this with the setting table. Collections are always hidden in the List module. Usually Collections only have one type. To realise multiple types it is recommended to extract the definition to a separate Record Type and use foreign_table instead.

Custom icon

In order to define a custom icon for your Collection field, you may place an image file inside assets folder called {identifier}.svg. So for example if your identifier for the Collection is my_collection, then your image should be named my_collection.svg. Alternatively, you can also provide png or gif files. These should be 64x64px.

Settings

Name	Type	Default	Required
labelField	string\|array		true
fallbackLabelFields	array
table	string
fields	array		true
minitems	integer	"0"
maxitems	integer	"0"
relationship	string	oneToMany
appearance.collapseAll	bool\|null	null
appearance.levelLinksPosition	string	top
foreign_table	string (table)
foreign_field	string (field)
shareAcrossTables	boolean	false
shareAcrossFields	boolean	false

labelField

Type: string|array
Required: true

Defines which field should be used as the title of the record. If not defined, the first valid child field will be used as the label. It is possible to define an array of fields, which will be displayed comma-separated in the backend.

# a single field for the label
labelField: title

# multiple fields will be displayed comma-separated
labelField:
    - title
    - text

fallbackLabelFields

Type: array

Defines which fields should be used as fallback, if labelField is not filled. The first filled field which is found will be used. Can only be used if there is only one labelField field defined.

# fallback fields will be used, if title from labelField is empty
labelField: title
fallbackLabelFields:
    - text1
    - text2

table

Type: string

Alternative table name for the Collection. Default is identifier with prefix if enabled.

table: tx_vendor_my_custom_table_name

fields

Type: array
Required: true

Configures a set of fields as repeatable child objects. All fields defined in field types are possible as children. It is also possible to further nest Collection fields.

Example:

fields:
  - identifier: text
    type: Text
  - identifier: image
    type: File

minitems

Type: integer
Default: "0"

Minimum number of child items. Defaults to 0. JavaScript record validation prevents the record from being saved if the limit is not satisfied.

maxitems

Type: integer
Default: "0"

Maximum number of child items. Defaults to a high value. JavaScript record validation prevents the record from being saved if the limit is not satisfied.

relationship

Type: string
Default: oneToMany

The relationship defines the cardinality between the relations. Possible values are oneToMany (default), manyToOne and oneToOne. In case of a [x]toOne relation, the processed field will be filled directly with the record instead of a collection of records. In addition, maxitems will be automatically set to 1.

appearance.collapseAll

Type: bool|null
Default: null

Default (null): Last collapsed/expanded state is remembered
true: Show all child records collapsed
false: Show all child records expanded

appearance.levelLinksPosition

Type: string
Default: top

Defines where to show the "New record" link in relation to the child records. Valid keywords are top, bottom and both.

foreign_table

Type: string (table)

It is possible to reference another table instead of creating a new one. This table can be defined by another Content Block, but can also be an existing table defined by the Core or another extension.

Note

When you use foreign_table it is not possible to define fields anymore. They will not be evaluated.

foreign_field

Type: string (field)

It is possible to override the field name pointing to the parent record. Per default it is called foreign_table_parent_uid. This corresponds with the TCA option foreign_field.

shareAcrossTables

Type: boolean
Default: false

Allows to reference a Record Type across multiple tables, if foreign_table is used.

Make sure to add this to every Collection, which shares the table.

This will create a new field called tablenames. It corresponds to the TCA option foreign_table_field. The field name can be overridden by defining foreign_table_field explicitly.

shareAcrossFields

Type: boolean
Default: false

Allows to reference a Record Type across multiple fields, if foreign_table is used.

Make sure to add this to every Collection, which shares the table.

This will create a new field called fieldname. It corresponds to the TCA option foreign_match_fields.

Example

Minimal

name: example/collection
fields:
  - identifier: collection
    type: Collection
    labelField: text
    fields:
      - identifier: text
        type: Text

Advanced / use case

name: example/collection
fields:
  - identifier: slides
    type: Collection
    labelField: title
    maxitems: 5
    minitems: 1
    appearance:
      collapseAll: true
      levelLinksPosition: both
    fields:
      - identifier: image
        type: File
        minitems: 1
        maxitems: 1
      - identifier: title
        type: Text

This custom table my_slide needs to be defined as a Record Type in order to be used as a foreign table in slides.

name: example/slide
table: my_slide
labelField: title
fields:
  - identifier: title
    type: Text
  - identifier: image
    type: File

name: example/collection
fields:
  - identifier: slides
    type: Collection
    foreign_table: my_slide
    shareAcrossTables: true
    shareAcrossFields: true