Progress Report - May 2022

Quite a few new features to announce here. I'm so happy we've started writing these monthly reports for you. They've really helped us f...

Quite a few new features to announce here. I'm so happy we've started writing these monthly reports for you. They've really helped us focus on things you'd want to hear about. We'll definitely keep doing this.

To sum up, here they are... Depending on what you're using, here's what we've finished for you in May 2022:

• CRUD users (free):
  • CrudField JavaScript Library
• PRO users:
  • the above, plus:
  • slug field
• EVERYTHING users:
  • everything above, plus:
  • Editable Columns addon

We're super-excited about all of the features above, so let me tell you a little bit about each one.

New CRUD feature - CrudField Javascript Library

This one is so big, that it we bumped the version from v5.0 to v5.1. It took us 2 months to build, but we think it'll help you in so many complex use cases.

We made it dead-simple simple to do calculations, show/hide fields, enable/disable fields etc depending on what the admin does in the front-end. Custom front-end interactions, that were previously a chore... are now dead-simple, intuitive and officially supported.

Let's take a quick example: when the country is USA... show the state field. Here's how simple that is to do now:

// when country is USA, show state field
crud.field('country').onChange(function(field) {
    if (field.value == 'USA') {
        crud.field('state').show();   
    } else {
        crud.field('state').hide();   
    }
});

Or, because action methods take an optional boolean as argument, there's an even shorter way to do the same thing, if that's what you prefer:

// when country is USA, show state field
crud.field('country').onChange(field => crud.field('state').show(field.value == 'USA'));

Notice that:

• we select a field using crud.field('field_name'), which is super-intuitive because it's similar to the PHP syntax; and it will work for any field type; you don't have to tinker for hours to find the proper selector for where the value is stored;
• the field.value is available in the closure (but also field.input, field.name, field.type, field.wrapper etc.);
• we make it easy to watch for the change event using:
  • crud.field('title').onChange()
• you have methods to do the most common actions on fields:
  • crud.field('title').show()
  • crud.field('title').hide()
  • crud.field('title').enable()
  • crud.field('title').disable()
  • crud.field('title').require()
  • crud.field('title').unrequire()
  • crud.field('title').change()

We believe this library already covers 80% of all use cases. And best of all? It gives you the power to easily do the remaining 20% yourself - you can do literally whatever you want. At the end of the day, after you've selected the field... it's pure Javascript (or jQuery), so there are no limitations. If the library doesn't do something you want, you can do anything yourself - go wild.

Don't believe us? Check out the examples in the docs or use the examples live in our demo. We've already coded the top scenarios people have requested in the past 7 years... look at how simple it is. The more complex the scenario, the more you realize the incredible simplicity and flexibility of this solution. We love this new feature. And we think you will too.

Best of all? This is a FREE feature, inside Backpack\CRUD. That means everybody gets it:

• devs who are only using Backpack\CRUD;
• devs who are using Backpack\PRO;
• devs who have bought our EVERYTHING bundle;

Want to use it? Just run composer update, that's it. No strings attached.

New PRO Field - Slug

This new CrudField JS Library made it easy for us to create a field to provide a better AX (admin experience) for fields that hold URL segments: when an admin types into a targeted field, the slug field will automatically create the slug. It's simple and does what you probably need right out of the box, just look:

We've released this as a PRO field, so everybody who has access to Backpack\PRO (or has purchased our EVERYTHING bundle) will get access to it, and can use it right away, after a composer update.

For more info, check out its docs.

New Addon - Editable Columns

We've made a promise to the people who have purchased our EVERYTHING bundle... that we will make their purchase worth it. That we will keep adding value to their projects. We're proud to say - we've just put the final touches on an addon that easily solves something our own admins have asked for: do a quick change right from the table view.

Backpack Editable-Columns makes that dead-simple, by adding a few new columns you can use:

• editable_text
• editable_checkbox
• editable_switch
• editable_select

As you'd expect, those columns actually have an input inside them, and when changed they'll

• make an AJAX call
• run validation
• show a success or error message

They're a simple solution to a complex problem. You can even move between them using the keyboard alone. And they even work inside the details modal. We've really tried to "keep it simple" with this one, and I think it shows, in how easy we've made this complex feature to implement.

This is a premium add-on:

• people who have purchased EVERYTHING already have access to it;
• everybody else can purchase it separately for 99 EUR;

Big big thanks to Kevin Ohashi from reviewsignal.com and namebio.com, who's sponsored creating this add-on for us all!

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We hope you're as excited as we are proud of them. We worked so hard to make these happen... and I think it shows 😀 And we think it also shows we're committed to provided more and more value to you, even after you purchase / install Backpack.

Thanks for using our software, we love doing this for you. Cheers!