Plugin: Entries Number

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Hi,

I would like to present to your attention a new plugin: Entries Number. It allows to find number of entries posted into certain weblogs and/or into certain categories and/or having certain url_title or entry_id. The idea to write such plugin may seem strange: {exp:weblog:entries} tag has {total_results} variable, which can be used in conditionals, and if no_results conditional. The problem is that in case you use no_results conditional, you cannot wrap {exp:weblog:entries} tag into a plugin. That is, the code as this

{exp:category_id category_group="3" category_url_title="segment_3" parse="inward"}
{exp:weblog:entries weblog="my_weblog" category="{category_id}"}
{if no_results}
No entry found! 
{/if}
{/exp:weblog:entries}
{/exp:category_id}

will not work. In order to be able to find number of entries and to use other plugins at the same time I have developed this plugin.

PARAMETERS:

1) category - Optional. Allows you to specify category id number (the id number of each category is displayed in the Control Panel). You can stack categories using pipe character to get entries with any of those categories, e.g. category=”3|6|8”. Or use “not” (with a space after it) to exclude categories, e.g. category=”not 4|5|7”. Also you can use “&” symbol to get entries each of which was posted into all specified categories, e.g. category=”3&6&8”. 2) weblog - Optional. Allows you to specify weblog name. You can use the pipe character to get entries from any of those weblogs, e.g. weblog=”weblog1|weblog2|weblog3”. Or you can add the word “not” (with a space after it) to exclude weblogs, e.g. weblog=”not weblog1|weblog2|weblog3”. 3) author_id - Optional. Allows you to specify author id number. You can use the pipe character to get entries posted by any of those authors, e.g. author_id=”5|11|18”. Or you can add the word “not” (with a space after it) to exclude authors, e.g. author_id=”not 1|9”. 4) site - Optional. Allows you to specify site id number. You can stack site id numbers using pipe character to get entries from any of those sites, e.g. site=”1|3”. Or use “not” (with a space after it) to exclude sites, e.g. site=”not 1|2”. 5) status - Optional. Allows you to specify status of entries. You can stack statuses using pipe character to get entries having any of those statuses, e.g. status=”open|draft”. Or use “not” (with a space after it) to exclude statuses, e.g. status=”not submitted|processing|closed”. 6) url_title - Optional. Allows you to specify url_title of an entry. 7) entry_id - Optional. Allows you to specify entry id number of an entry. 8) show_expired - Optional. Allows you to specify if you wish expired entries to be counted. If the value is “yes”, expired entries will be counted; if the value is “no”, expired entries will not be counted. Default value is “yes”. 9) invalid_input - Optional. Accepts two values: “alert” and “silence”. Default value is “silence”. If the value is “alert”, then in cases when some parameter’s value is invalid plugin exits and PHP alert is being shown; if the value is “silence”, then in cases when some parameter’s value is invalid plugin finishes its work without any alert being shown. Set this parameter to “alert” for development, and to “silence” - for deployment. 10) required_field - Optional. Allows you to specify which custom field should not be emty. Pipe character is supported; “not” operator is not supported. E.g. if we have required_field=”custom_field1|custom_field2”, then only those entries will be counted which have at least one of these fields not empty.

VARIABLES:

1) entries_number - outputs the number of entries which satisfy condition entered in prameters.

EXAMPLE OF USAGE:

{exp:entries_number category="6" weblog="not weblog1|weblog4" site="1"}
{entries_number}
{/exp:entries_number}

The variable {entries_number} placed between {exp:entries_number} and {/exp:entries_number} tags will output the number of entries which satisfy condition entered in prameters.

You can use {entries_number} variable in conditionals:

{exp:entries_number category="6" weblog="not weblog1|weblog4" site="1"}
{if entries_number==0}
Some code
{if:elseif entries_number==1}
Some other code
{if:else}
Yet another code
{/if}
{/exp:entries_number}

In contrast with “if no_results” conditional, which does not allow its parent tag {exp:weblog:entries} to be wrapped in a plugin, contionals inside {exp:entries_number} does not interfere with outer plugins. That is, the code as this

{exp:category_id category_group="3" category_url_title="segment_3" parse="inward"}
{exp:entries_number weblog="my_weblog" category="{category_id}"}
{if entries_number==0}
No entry found! 
{/if}
{/exp:entries_number}
{/exp:category_id}

will work properly.

Entries Number2 is clone of Entries Number. Having installed both Entries Number and Entries Number2 you can write the code as this:

{exp:entries_number category="6" weblog="not weblog1|weblog4" site="1"}
{if entries_number==0}
Some code
{exp:entries_number2 category="9" weblog="weblog5|weblog8" site="1"}
{if entries_number2>0}
Some code
{/if}
{/exp:entries_number2}
Some code
{/if}
{/exp:entries_number}

Changelog:

-1.7 // Added “required_field” parameter. -1.6 // Added “author_id” parameter. -1.5 // Added “show_expired” parameter. -1.4 // Added possibility to use “&” in “category” parameter values. Fixed bug - entries number being equal to “0” when “status” parameter has a value consisting of two strings and space symbol between them. Fixed bug - entries posted into several categories being counted several times. -1.3 // Added “status” parameter. -1.2 // Added “invalid_input” parameter. -1.1 // Made possible to use {entries_number} variable both inside and outside conditional at the same time. -1.0 // First release.