Displaying category description

Tudor

How can I display the categories descriptions in the category list?

And also on the category page?

Tudor

Nevermind, I figured out myself. :)

smac

and how? ;)

Tudor

To add the category description on the category page:
- Create a custom theme
- You have to customize a "views" file (see the Theme QuickStart page). In this case it's /applications/vanilla/discussions/helper_functions.php. You don't have to modify the original one, just copy it into /themes/Your_Custom_Theme/views/discussions/helper_functions.php.
- Somewhere around line 100 you'll see this:


if (property_exists($Sender, 'Category') && is_object($Sender->Category)) {
?>
<div class="SubTab">↳ <?php echo $Sender->Category->Name; ?></div>
<?php
}


I replaced it with this:


if (property_exists($Sender, 'Category') && is_object($Sender->Category)) {
?>
<h2 class="DTPCategoryName"><?php echo $Sender->Category->Name; ?></h2><p class="DTPCategoryDesc"><?php echo $Sender->Category->Description; ?></p>
<?php
}
?>


And you can see the result here.

Tudor

To add the category description on the category page:
- Create a custom theme
- You have to customize a "views" file (see the Theme QuickStart page). In this case it's /applications/vanilla/discussions/helper_functions.php. You don't have to modify the original one, just copy it into /themes/Your_Custom_Theme/views/discussions/helper_functions.php.
- Somewhere around line 100 you'll see this:


if (property_exists($Sender, 'Category') && is_object($Sender->Category)) {
?>
<div class="SubTab">↳ <?php echo $Sender->Category->Name; ?></div>
<?php
}


I replaced it with this:


if (property_exists($Sender, 'Category') && is_object($Sender->Category)) {
?>
<h2 class="DTPCategoryName"><?php echo $Sender->Category->Name; ?></h2><p class="DTPCategoryDesc"><?php echo $Sender->Category->Description; ?></p>
<?php
}
?>


And you can see the result here.

Tudor

Oops, sorry for posting twice.
And remove all the < br / > from the code, they were inserted by the forum here (< code > tag parsing bugs?)

smac

good to know. Many many thanks :)

oliverraduner

@Tudor: how to paste codes here in the forum... ;-)

Rardor81

This works great. Is there any way though to get it in the sidebar panel?

judgej

I did this too, in the discussions view to show the description at the top of each category listing. I also did this to make formatting the description a little easier:

Gdn_Format::To($sender->Category->Description, 'markdown')

This allows *markdown* to be _used_ in the description to tart it up a bit, avoiding the need to add HTML tags (which affect the admin views of the categories).

Lincoln

Tart it up. Awesome. :D

judgej

It's what we used to say in the UK years before people "pimped" their wagon.

happy2b

would have been great. but the code has changed. helper_functions.php is no longer what it used to be :-(

Pamela

happy2b said: would have been great. but the code has changed. helper_functions.php is no longer what it used to be :-(

aarch :( you 're right... I can't find this suggested code in the latest v2.0.18.4

Nobody could help us? thanks in advance

MarkWienands

@Pamela said: happy2b said: would have been great. but the code has changed. helper_functions.php is no longer what it used to be :-(

yea trying to do that in the latest 2.1 version.... codes are not hte same