My client has asked me to research a method for doing this, and I would like to know whether CRED can help. I am already an active user of Types and Views but CRED is new to me.
The client has a wide range of products which are each used independently or (more usually) in combination, to solve waterproofing issues in the construction industry. They are wanting to put out a large range of 'solution sheets', which would be pdfs, with tags, so that their visitors can answer a series of multiple choice questions in order to locate the solution sheet relevant to them.
This isn't dissimilar to faceted search, for which there are several plugins available. However, it would be more efficient, in this case, to go through a series of questions in which the answer of one gave rise to the second question, and so on (perhaps up to five questions deep).
Here's an example:
1. Is your waterproofing requirement above or below ground?
Answer: Below
2. Is it in a residential or commercial basement?
Answer: Residential basement
3. What age is the basement?
a) New Build b) up to 10 yrs old c) 10-40 yrs d) older than 40 yrs
Answer: New Build
... from the answers to these three questions, it would be possible to locate the correct solution sheet for the visitors particular waterproofing problem. Each question is dependent on the answer to the previous one, however.
Is it possible to do this in CRED, or should I be looking for something else to achieve this with? This website already has Views and Types in place.
Thanks for your help.
Hi, Tim.
You might be able do this with CRED and using Conditional Displays:
https://toolset.com/documentation/user-guides/conditional-display-for-form-inputs/
However, it is more efficient to go through Types & Views:
1. Create a custom post type in View: Types > Post Types. Name it PDF (or whichever you prefer).
2. Create fields in Types > Custom Fields related to your questions. For example, you would create a select field for the question "Is your waterproofing requirement above or below ground?" with two options: Above, Below. For the pdf file itself: Create a file field or you can create a URL to the file. Make sure to choose "PDF" under 'Where to display this group'. Save.
3. Go to the newly created PDF post type > Add New. Add title, body, fields, etc.
4. Create a View. Go to Views > Add New View. Call it PDF View (or whichever you prefer) and choose "Display the results as a parametric search". Under content selection, choose "PDF" (the CPT you created above).
5. From there you would work on building the rest of your filters & settings which we have a guide for here:
https://toolset.com/documentation/user-guides/front-page-filters/
Please let me know if this resolves your issue or if you still need more help.
Thanks for your help Tia
I have been delayed getting back to you because of the time taken for the client to decide how they wish to display this functionality.
It looks likely that we are now going to run with a Faceted Search function instead. We will use Types to generate custom tag-style taxonomies therefore, and some other plugin to show them in the left margin. The page results are then shown (and narrowed down) each time a tag check-box is checked by the user.
If you happen to know any software which is known to work well with WP-Types for this kind of thing, or if Views can be worked to do it, please let me know. Otherwise, the hunt is on.
Best wishes
Tim
