How to Customize a View in Drupal 7 to Reflect an Option in a ComboBox in a Block?

Introduction to View Customization in Drupal 7

Customizing views in Drupal 7 to reflect user roles in a combo box is a common requirement, especially when you need to display content based on user roles. This process helps in dynamically filtering content based on predefined user groups. This guide will walk you through the steps to achieve this in a user-friendly manner.

Steps to Customize a View in Drupal 7

1. Edit Your View and Add Necessary Fields and Relationships

The first step involves editing your existing view. If you don't have an existing view, you would need to create one specifically for listing blogs based on user roles.

Log in to your Drupal 7 site as an administrator. Navigate to Admin > Structure > Views > Add new view. Name your view (e.g., Blog List) and select the content type your view will display (e.g., Blog). Add a page or block display, based on your needs. In the Advanced settings, expand the Other options and tick the Expose filtering criterion to visitors option.

2. Add the Author UID Field and Create a Relationship

The next step involves adding the author's uid field and creating a relationship between the blog entity and the user entity:

From the available fields, add the Author UID field. Make sure to exclude it from display, as it won't be shown but will be used for a relationship. Create a Content: Author relationship and check the Require this relationship box. This ensures that the view knows which user is the author of each blog post. Add the User: Roles (Author) field. This field will allow you to filter based on roles the author belongs to.

3. Expose the ComboBox for User Roles

To allow visitors to change the user role filter, you need to expose the form in your view:

Go to the Advanced section of your view and expand Exposed form settings. Tick the Expose this filter criterion to visitors option. Choose the type of selection provided (e.g., ComboBox) to make the selection process easier for your users.

4. Add the ComboBox to a Block

Once your view is configured, you can create a block from the view:

In the Format settings, tick the Create a block from this view checkbox. Specify the block name and weight. Save the block and place it on your site where needed (e.g., in a sidebar).

5. Enhance User Experience with the Chosen Module

To provide a better user experience, consider enabling the Chosen module:

Go to Admin > Extend. Tick the Chosen module and install it. Clear the cache to load the new module. Go to the view configuration and add the Chosen module to the exposed filter. This will replace the standard dropdown with a more user-friendly combo box.

Conclusion and Further Customizations

By following these steps, you can customize your views in Drupal 7 to reflect user roles in a ComboBox, making it easier for your visitors to filter content based on specific roles. Remember, this is just the beginning. Drupal 7 offers a vast array of modules and customization options to achieve even more advanced functionalities in your site.

Additional Resources

For further information and advanced customization in Drupal 7, refer to the following resources:

Drupal 7 Views Advanced API DrChosen Module for Drupal