[Resolved] Support for repeating field groups in CRED forms

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[Mike Stecher]

I have a site that is under a tight schedule and have discovered that what I need to do seems to be only possible using the release candidate. So I an considering installing it, however I need to know before I do.

1) Will I have to remake any of my controls or will they be there once I install the release candidate?
2) Should I uninstall the current versions first and then install the new versions or will the new versions overwrite the old?

3) Is there another way before I install the beta?
The exact problem that I am having is that I have several forms that all have children. On the back end forms the children can be added in a repeating fashion, but when I build a CRED form there does not appear to be a way to attach a child form that can repeat . Is this correct or is there a way to do this that I am missing?

Thank you in advance for your replies all help is much appreciated.

Regards,
Mike

[Nigel]

Hi Mike

First, the new versions don't alter what's required for your CRED forms, so there is no need to update to the RC's, although when these complete testing in a week or so they will become the new stable versions and so you will likely update before too long in any case.

The updates are backwards compatible and updating to the new post relationships requires manually activating a wizard in any case. Your existing site should continue to work as-is, but as a general rule you should always make a backup before upgrading plugins in case a bug is introduced and you can roll back to the prior version. (And, ideally, you would be testing this on a staging version of your site first.)

An improved UI for handling repeating field groups is part of the new releases, but is initially only available in Types for the backend. Adding the same to CRED didn't make the cut for the initial release, but is a priority feature for a subsequent update.

Your current set up includes a child post type that acts as a container for the repeating fields (and under the hood this will be the same in the new versions).

To add groups of repeating fields to your parent posts via CRED involves creating a child post form, as described here:
https://toolset.com/documentation/user-guides/cred-forms-for-child-content/

The workflow is somewhat cumbersome (which is why it will be overhauled), and goes something like:

- you have a CRED form to publish parent posts that redirects to display the newly published post on submission
- the template to display these posts includes a link to a child form to add one group of repeating fields
- on submit reload the same page (so that the form can be submitted again to add a second group if required)
- the form includes a link back to the parent post

So, I suggest you stick with what you have for now and implement the CRED forms as described. Upgrade to the new versions when they are published as stable releases (being sure to test). When, in a subsequent update, CRED gets the ability to publish parent posts with repeating field groups in the same form update your site to take advantage of the improved workflow.

[Mike Stecher]

Thank you Nigel. That is not great news, but I'll work with the current scenario. Seems like a popup data entry for children would be the best solution so I'm going to see if I can implement that wish me luck.

Regards,
Mike