Introduction to Custom Fields
For the custom fields we can say that they are additional fields added to posts. If you are already familiar with our EasyDNNnews module then you know that an article or a post contains standard fields like title, subtitle, summary and body. If you need additional fields, you are looking for the custom fields. The custom fields are a very powerful tool because they are converting your favorite blog/article module into the powerful CMS with which you can create different product catalogues, directories, real estate websites and more. And to use all that you don't need to know programing nor invest too much of your time. Though the custom fields don't sound very exciting at the first glance, and they seem like some obscure functionality which you will never use, it is really useful to read this article because the custom fields can be the right answer for some of the solutions that you have to deliver or with the help of which you can ease your everyday tasks.
Check out this infographics to learn all about custom fields in EasyDNNnews
How to use
In the EasyDNNnews module it is quite easy to create different types of the custom fields which then can be added to your posts. Of course, that is not all. Once you've added the custom fields in articles/posts, besides displaying this data in the article/post details, there are a lot of things you can do with the custom fields. You will be able to filter or sort articles/posts by data in the custom fields (e.g. displaying only posts that satisfy the criteria) or search articles/posts by values in the custom fields.
Types of custom fields
What kind of custom fields can you create in the EasyDNNnews module? You can create different text fields like Text (plain), Rich text (HTML), Integer, Decimal, Money, Email, Date and time, Hyperlink. You can create Checkbox field, Dropdown lists, RadioButton lists and CheckBox lists. There is the upload field where you can optionally upload a file or an image.
Let us mention the possibility to relate elements in DropDown lists (e.g. Country > State > City or Carmaker > car model).
One of more important features is the possibility to create your own search criteria. What are search criteria? Simply said, they are predefined query which you have defined and visitors can choose ways to display article/post list, according to criteria like the newest, the oldest, the cheapest, the most expensive, the most popular… Useful, right?
Advanced search possiblities
Even if you are a user that uses the EasyDNNnews module in a standard way without the custom fields in articles, thanks to the special type of custom fields which we call search custom fields, it is possible to enhance current search possibilities. Now is possible to search for articles within certain categories, articles of certain authors or articles published within some period of time.
Design & Layouts
Design and layout of article list and details pages in the EasyDNNnews module are based on HTML templates and tokens which display article elements such as authors, number of displaying, social sharing buttons and other. In other words, it means that you have a complete control over design and layout of your lists and pages with details. The EasyDNNnews module is delivered with plenty of predefined templates which can be modified according to your needs. You don't need the social sharing button? No problem. Just delete the token from the template.
What is especially significant, each custom field has its own field that you can add to any place within details page or article list.
Localization
If you have multi-lingual website, EasyDNNnews is brilliant there. Not only you can localize posts and custom fields to more languages, but it is also possible to translate the module interface.
Integrations
EasyDNNnews can be made even better when using with other our modules. Thanks to the EasyDNNgallery module, it is possible to have modern and responsive galleries within articles. The EasyDNNrotator can display articles by different criteria in some of their numerous slideshow presentations, and the EasyDNNmaps module can display posts that have a location added on a map. All of these integrations are very easy to use and a user doesn't have to take care of them.
Thanks to many other standard functionalities, EasyDNNnews is the right solution for different needs. You can learn more about the EasyDNNnews module here, and if you have any additional questions, feel free to contact our support team.
Check out this infographics to learn all about custom fields in EasyDNNnews