# Structure with dynamic select field

**URL:** <https://forum.getkirby.com/t/structure-with-dynamic-select-field/1139>\
**Category:** Questions\
**Tags:** v2\
**Created:** [May 20, 2015, 8:31pm UTC](https://forum.getkirby.com/t/structure-with-dynamic-select-field/1139 "2015-05-20T20:31:42Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![griffiths](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/90ced4/32.png) [@griffiths](https://forum.getkirby.com/u/griffiths)\
**Post date:** [May 20, 2015, 8:31pm UTC](https://forum.getkirby.com/t/structure-with-dynamic-select-field/1139/1 "2015-05-20T20:31:42Z")

</div>

Hi - I’m trying to use a dynamic select field inside of a Structure element in the panel. My blueprint is as follows:

```
  artists:
    label: Artist(s)
    type: structure
    fields:
      artist:
        label: Artist
	    type: select
	    options: query
	    query:
	      page: artists

```

When I run this from my browser I get the following errors:

```auto
Warning: Illegal string offset 'name' in ~/panel/app/lib/blueprint/fields.php on line 16

Warning: Illegal string offset 'page' in ~/panel/app/lib/blueprint/fields.php on line 17

Warning: Illegal string offset 'type' in ~/panel/app/lib/blueprint/field.php on line 29

Warning: Illegal string offset 'default' in ~/panel/app/lib/blueprint/field.php on line 33

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in ~/kirby/toolkit/lib/obj.php on line 17

Warning: Illegal string offset 'name' in ~/panel/app/lib/blueprint/fields.php on line 16

Warning: Illegal string offset 'page' in ~/panel/app/lib/blueprint/fields.php on line 17

Warning: Illegal string offset 'type' in ~/panel/app/lib/blueprint/field.php on line 29

Warning: Illegal string offset 'default' in ~/panel/app/lib/blueprint/field.php on line 33

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in ~/kirby/toolkit/lib/obj.php on line 17

Warning: Missing argument 1 for FieldAbstract::__construct(), called in ~/panel/app/lib/form.php on line 240 and defined in ~/kirby/core/field.php on line 20

Warning: Missing argument 2 for FieldAbstract::__construct(), called in ~/panel/app/lib/form.php on line 240 and defined in ~/kirby/core/field.php on line 20

Notice: Undefined variable: page in ~/kirby/core/field.php on line 21

Notice: Undefined variable: key in ~/kirby/core/field.php on line 22

```

Any ideas? Thanks for your help!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![texnixe](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/forum.getkirby.com/texnixe/32/5754_2.png) [@texnixe](https://forum.getkirby.com/u/texnixe)\
**Post date:** [May 20, 2015, 8:45pm UTC](https://forum.getkirby.com/t/structure-with-dynamic-select-field/1139/2 "2015-05-20T20:45:11Z")

</div>

If your indents are like in the example above,then there is sth wrong, the label, type and options of the artist field should be unindented and in line with the label.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![griffiths](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/90ced4/32.png) [@griffiths](https://forum.getkirby.com/u/griffiths)\
**Post date:** [May 20, 2015, 8:51pm UTC](https://forum.getkirby.com/t/structure-with-dynamic-select-field/1139/3 "2015-05-20T20:51:09Z")

</div>

Sorry something must have happened to the formatting when I pasted in – this is how it’s structured in the file itself:

[http://imgur.com/0tXJrSg](http://imgur.com/0tXJrSg)

Thanks for your help!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![texnixe](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/forum.getkirby.com/texnixe/32/5754_2.png) [@texnixe](https://forum.getkirby.com/u/texnixe)\
**Post date:** [May 20, 2015, 8:54pm UTC](https://forum.getkirby.com/t/structure-with-dynamic-select-field/1139/4 "2015-05-20T20:54:54Z")

</div>

Nevertheless, I am missing what you are trying to fetch:

```nohighlight
artists:
    label: Artist(s)
    type: structure
    fields:
      artist:
        label: Artist
	    type: select
	    options: query
	    query:
	      page: artists
              fetch: children //or images or whatever ...

```

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![griffiths](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/90ced4/32.png) [@griffiths](https://forum.getkirby.com/u/griffiths)\
**Post date:** [May 20, 2015, 8:58pm UTC](https://forum.getkirby.com/t/structure-with-dynamic-select-field/1139/5 "2015-05-20T20:58:15Z")

</div>

I’m trying to fetch children (I believe fetch defaults to children) – when I specify it explicitly I get the same errors…

Thanks again,

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![texnixe](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/forum.getkirby.com/texnixe/32/5754_2.png) [@texnixe](https://forum.getkirby.com/u/texnixe)\
**Post date:** [May 20, 2015, 9:41pm UTC](https://forum.getkirby.com/t/structure-with-dynamic-select-field/1139/6 "2015-05-20T21:41:03Z")

</div>

Oh, you are right 😊 Then the code seems to be correct. Maybe there’s sth else in the file that is causing the error. I suppose you are using the lasted Kirby version?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![griffiths](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/90ced4/32.png) [@griffiths](https://forum.getkirby.com/u/griffiths)\
**Post date:** [May 20, 2015, 10:50pm UTC](https://forum.getkirby.com/t/structure-with-dynamic-select-field/1139/7 "2015-05-20T22:50:23Z")

</div>

Arg - yes, my apologies, had a tab in there instead of a double space.

One more question though, if you don’t mind.

Now that I am able to select pages from my Artists section, is there a way to have the system display the page Title instead of the URI? I tried the following:

```
  artists:
    label: Artist(s)
    type: structure
    entry: >
      {{title}}
    fields:
      artist:
        label: Artist
        type: select
        options: query
        query:
          page: artists

```

But it makes the entry area appear blank from within the panel. Is there documentation I can read somewhere on the entry template beyond what’s mentioned here:

[http://getkirby.com/docs/cheatsheet/panel-fields/structure](http://getkirby.com/docs/cheatsheet/panel-fields/structure)

Thanks again for all your help!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![texnixe](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/forum.getkirby.com/texnixe/32/5754_2.png) [@texnixe](https://forum.getkirby.com/u/texnixe)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 7:07am UTC](https://forum.getkirby.com/t/structure-with-dynamic-select-field/1139/8 "2015-05-21T07:07:37Z")

</div>

There are two options, `text` and `value` that determine what is shown to the user (text) and what is entered into the text file (value):

```nohighlight
artists:
    label: Artist(s)
    type: structure
    entry: >
      {{artist}}
    fields:
      artist:
        label: Artist
        type: select
        options: query
        query:
          page: artists
          text: '{{title}}'
         value: '{{uid}}' //this is the default, can be change to e.g. title

```

You can read more about it here [http://getkirby.com/docs/cheatsheet/panel-fields/select](http://getkirby.com/docs/cheatsheet/panel-fields/select) in the section on Option Queries.

And as regards the entry section: The entry section determines what is shown in the field after it was created, so you would have to put the name of the field there, in your case that would be `{{artist}}` not `{{title}}`. This would, however, still show the uid of the selected page in the list view. To avoid that, you would have to change the value from uid to title in you template you would then have to find the file by its title.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![griffiths](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/90ced4/32.png) [@griffiths](https://forum.getkirby.com/u/griffiths)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 3:04pm UTC](https://forum.getkirby.com/t/structure-with-dynamic-select-field/1139/9 "2015-05-21T15:04:26Z")

</div>

Got it - thank you, very helpful. Is there an easy way to show the title in the list view but store the uid?

Thanks again for all your help,

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![aftereffectsmagic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@aftereffectsmagic](https://forum.getkirby.com/u/aftereffectsmagic)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 7:37pm UTC](https://forum.getkirby.com/t/structure-with-dynamic-select-field/1139/10 "2015-05-21T19:37:49Z")

</div>

Hi there, @griffiths.

Wanted to throw this in as this may be of some help. I’m working on a project where I need to have a person’s name be selectable via a query from a structure field, similar to your artist problem. I want the person’s name to appear as text (as John Doe) vs. `john-doe` AND I want the user to be able to click on the name to get to the person’s profile page.

This is a two-part approach for the link and for changing up the uid that require the blueprint to be exactly as above from @texnixe. So use that blueprint, and then the list view in the panel will be formatted the way you want the administrator to read it in the panel. It actually outputs the UID, which is perfect for creating the link that the user clicks on the front end.

But the artist’s name appears to be OK in the panel, and on the site itself it looks like the UID comes out! Ew. We need to explode the UID in the template if it is a two-word artist name. For example, Andy Warhol would usually have an UID of `andy-warhol`, right? So we want to remove the `-` and replace it with a space, then capitalize the names. So here’s how we explode the UID in the template:

```
    <?php
$uid = $page->artist();
$names = explode("-", $uid);
//first name is $names[0]; first artist name
//last name is $names[1]; last artist name
?>

```

Obviously, if you have an artist with more than two names, you can refer to each additional name as $names[3] and so forth. When we echo $names[0], we get `andy` as a value. and with an echo of $names[1] we get `warhol`. This is pretty spiffy but when you echo them together, you get `andywarhol` with no space in between. So we need to echo them separately. And we need to capitalize the names too, which we can do just by calling `ucwords` before our strings, like so:

```
<?php echo ucwords($names[0]); ?>

```

Let’s focus on the link in the template that appears when the artist name is printed:

```
    <a href='<?php echo $site->url() . '/' . 'insertyourfoldernamehere' . '/' . urlencode($page->artist()) ?>'><?php echo ucwords($names[0]); ?> <?php echo ucwords($names[1]); ?></a></strong></a>

```

The above code points to the artist page (you’ll likely need to change stuff up depending on your folder structure and where your artist pages are stored). You now have a link to Andy Warhol’s artist page that looks like `Andy Warhol`. That space is tons better than the `andy-warhol` that would appear if left on its own, and it points directly to the artist page!

Hope this was helpful for you, @griffiths!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![aftereffectsmagic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@aftereffectsmagic](https://forum.getkirby.com/u/aftereffectsmagic)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 7:42pm UTC](https://forum.getkirby.com/t/structure-with-dynamic-select-field/1139/11 "2015-05-21T19:42:33Z")

</div>

Edited my comments above to include the capitalization portion!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![texnixe](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/forum.getkirby.com/texnixe/32/5754_2.png) [@texnixe](https://forum.getkirby.com/u/texnixe)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 8:02pm UTC](https://forum.getkirby.com/t/structure-with-dynamic-select-field/1139/12 "2015-05-21T20:02:47Z")

</div>

@griffiths I don’t know of a way to display the title in the panel list view and store the uid in the file. However, you can store the title (and it should then get displayed) and then fetch the corresponding page in your template.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![aftereffectsmagic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@aftereffectsmagic](https://forum.getkirby.com/u/aftereffectsmagic)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 8:12pm UTC](https://forum.getkirby.com/t/structure-with-dynamic-select-field/1139/13 "2015-05-21T20:12:00Z")

</div>

@texnixe Thanks for the tip. When I try your suggestion, it outputs the UID of my person, not her name.

It was helpful in replacing the `urlencode($page->artist())` part of the URL reference above, though!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![texnixe](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/forum.getkirby.com/texnixe/32/5754_2.png) [@texnixe](https://forum.getkirby.com/u/texnixe)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 8:37pm UTC](https://forum.getkirby.com/t/structure-with-dynamic-select-field/1139/14 "2015-05-21T20:37:41Z")

</div>

Hm, I wonder if it just doesn’t work with structure fields?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![griffiths](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/90ced4/32.png) [@griffiths](https://forum.getkirby.com/u/griffiths)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 9:01pm UTC](https://forum.getkirby.com/t/structure-with-dynamic-select-field/1139/15 "2015-05-21T21:01:42Z")

</div>

@texnixe Thanks for this - I think I will just stick with displaying the UID in the panel, not a huge deal. I’m a little weary of storing the page title as it’s not necessarily a unique identifier.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![texnixe](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/forum.getkirby.com/texnixe/32/5754_2.png) [@texnixe](https://forum.getkirby.com/u/texnixe)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2015, 8:02am UTC](https://forum.getkirby.com/t/structure-with-dynamic-select-field/1139/16 "2015-05-22T08:02:52Z")

</div>

The code above does not work, in fact the new method is called `toPage()` but that only seems to work on first level pages … So I will delete it as not to confuse people.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![hvsrmusic](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/forum.getkirby.com/hvsrmusic/32/2722_2.png) [@hvsrmusic](https://forum.getkirby.com/u/hvsrmusic)\
**Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 10:20pm UTC](https://forum.getkirby.com/t/structure-with-dynamic-select-field/1139/17 "2018-02-28T22:20:35Z")

</div>

I had the same problem. I solved it by using a hook.

I let the user store the {{uid}} and then I add the {{title}} with a hook.

Code is something like this:

```
foreach ($coll as $c)
        {
            $c_title = page('collezioni')->children()->findBy('autoid',trim($c->collection_id()))->title();
            
            array_push($coll_upd, ["collection_id" => $c->collection_id(), 
                               "collection_title" => $c_title]);
        }

        $page->update(array('collections' => yaml::encode($coll_upd)));
```

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![texnixe](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/forum.getkirby.com/texnixe/32/5754_2.png) [@texnixe](https://forum.getkirby.com/u/texnixe)\
**Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 11:28pm UTC](https://forum.getkirby.com/t/structure-with-dynamic-select-field/1139/18 "2018-02-28T23:28:36Z")

</div>

If it is just a matter of displaying the title instead of the UID in the Panel, I’d use the [snippet field](https://github.com/jenstornell/kirby-snippetfield) instead of the structure field. The snippet field gives you full control about what is displayed in the Panel, including images.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![hvsrmusic](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/forum.getkirby.com/hvsrmusic/32/2722_2.png) [@hvsrmusic](https://forum.getkirby.com/u/hvsrmusic)\
**Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 11:37pm UTC](https://forum.getkirby.com/t/structure-with-dynamic-select-field/1139/19 "2018-02-28T23:37:22Z")

</div>

Thanks. It looks promising!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![distantnative](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/forum.getkirby.com/distantnative/32/11319_2.png) [@distantnative](https://forum.getkirby.com/u/distantnative)\
**Post date:** [February 6, 2025, 5:29pm UTC](https://forum.getkirby.com/t/structure-with-dynamic-select-field/1139/20 "2025-02-06T17:29:54Z")

</div>