Hide table header of formatted List-Widget ouput

#1

Hello,

I’m a new TiddlyWiki-user and I like it very much.
I even managed to format the output of the list-widget as a table.
This works pretty well, but is there a way to hide the table header when there are no entries?

Here’s the macro which formats the output:

\define Items(filter)
<table class="items-table">
<tr class="items-header">
<td>count</td><td style="text-align:left;">description</td><td>updated</td></tr>
<$list filter="$filter$">
   <tr>
     <td class="items-count">{{!!count}}</td>
     <td class="items-description"><$link/></td>
    <td  class="items-default"><$view field="modified" format=date template="0DD.0MM.YY/0hh:0mm"/></td>
  </tr>
</$list>
</table>
\end

Here’s the macro-call:
<<Items "[tag[item]field:location<currentTiddler>]">>

Maybe there is a way to call the macro only when the filter returns some hits (checking it with count[]), but I’m afraid that with my current (filter-)knowledge doesn’t allow me to do this.
Any help would be very appreciated, thank you.

I’m using TiddlyWiki 5.2.5 with Mozilla Firefox browser 112.0

#2

Try this:

First, add these two lines at the beginning of your macro:

<$set name=items filter="$filter$">
<$list filter="[<items>!match[]]">

and replace this line:

<$list filter="$filter$">

with

<$list filter="[enlist<items>]">

  • The first line invokes the desired filter and captures the resultant item list in a variable named “items”

  • The second line tests the items list to see if it had any contents. If it doesn’t, the remainder of the macro is skipped

  • The replaced line iterates over all the items found to display the table rows.

  • Note that there is no need for closing </$list></$set> at the end of the macro. This is because any “unterminated” widgets are automatically closed when the end of the macro is encountered.

2 Likes
#3

Hi SoonToBeAnExpert :wink: … Welcome!

You should probably use: <$list filter=<<__filter__>> > here. There is a bit of an advantage internally.

You can either use the reveal-widget or the list-widget to “render” optional content. The disadvantage of the reveal-widget is, that it always creates at least 1 HTML DOM element.

So the way to go, if you don’t want to have any output is with the list-widget like so:

\define Items(filter)
\whitespace trim
<$set name="items" filter=<<__filter__>> >
  <$list filter="[<items>!match[]]" variable="ignore">
    <table class="items-table">
      <tr class="items-header">
      <td>count</td><td style="text-align:left;">description</td><td>updated</td></tr>
      <$list filter="[enlist<items>]" >
         <tr>
           <td class="items-count">{{!!count}}</td>
           <td class="items-description"><$link/></td>
           <td  class="items-default"><$view field="modified" format=date template="0DD.0MM.YY/0hh:0mm"/></td>
        </tr>
      </$list>
    </table>
  </$list>
</$set>
\end

<<Items "[tag[HelloThere]]">>

Since calculating complex filters can take much time I did calculate the filter only once, with
<$set name="items" filter=<<__filter__>> > … early in the macro.

Then reusing it with filter="[enlist<item>]", which is fast, since it only needs to get the info from the “items-variable”. … I can use this mechanism 2 times.

  • 1st for the “display nothing if empty” logic: <$list filter="[<items>!match[]]" variable="ignore">
    • See the variable="ignore" … We do not need that variable … the list-widget is used like an “if statement”
    • otherwise it would use currentTiddler
  • 2nd for the “real filter” … <$list filter="[enlist<items>]" >

… That’s basically it. … Hope that helps.

Have fun!
mario

2 Likes
#4

Thank you Eric, works like a charm!
Exactly what I like to achieve.

#5

Hi Mario,
thank you for your detailed reply!

I’m afraid that I wouldn’t be an expert soon, I think this could take a BIT longer :wink:
Although I’m into programming, too, TiddlyWiki is “another class” and I think that most of the times I’m thinking to complicated about solutions in TiddlyWiki.

What I have learned today is:

  1. Don’t torture, ask a question and save time. this problem has kept me busy the whole weekend.
  2. Filters are much more important than I thought at the first sight
  3. TW has a great user community :slight_smile:

My first contact with Tiddlywiki was at the end of January and now I’m wondering how I didn’t found it earlier?
This is a masteriece of software and flexibility and each day I find new possibilities. Easy to learn, but hard to master. I’m simply overwhelmed.

Have a nice day!

Best,
Roland

P.S.: Thank you for your expert tips for “calculating complex filters”

5 Likes
#6

Could you expand on that, or point to an earlier discussion about it? I’m very curious to learn such things!

#7

You may try dynamic tables from Shiraz!

#8

Thank you for the hint, Mohammad.
I have actually installed this on another wiki and it is a great plugin.
But in this wiki (where I wanted to hide the table headers) I tried to solve this without any external help (plugins), i.e. only with the on-board means of the Tiddlywiki.
(and I failed :sweat_smile:)
But thanks to the help of Eric and Mario, the solution was easy again.