GIT/MU d-@?>—x s+: a++ C++$ UL- P– L++$ !E W+++ N+ o !K- w$ O M– !V PS++ PE-() Y+ PGP t++ 5++ X++ !R tv++ b+++ DI+ D++ G e+++ h—(—) r+++ z?

Problem:

A collection of nodes (let’s call them “stories”) has an associated vocabulary (taxonomy) distinguishing the stories’ topics. A View displays those stories by filtering for their content type, with the added feature of an exposed filter allowing an user to select stories by topic.  A Content Pane Display has been enabled for this View, so that it can be selected as source for a Panels-based page build.

Now, you would think that in order for the exposed filter (which is being rendered as a dropdown selector) to operate in an AJAXy way – for the list being displayed in the Pane to update upon select without refreshing the entire page – you would want to set the Use AJAX feature to YES when setting up the View.

Au contraire. In fact, you need to set Use AJAX to NO, and in the Pane settings for the Content Pane Display set Use Panel Path to YES. This causes queries and responses to move between the backend and the pane itself… using AJAX, evidently.

Completely non-intuitive.  Partly at odds with discussions found all over Drupal.org, such as http://drupal.org/node/115949, http://drupal.org/node/215927, http://drupal.org/node/770540. But it works for me for now.

Now I just need to see if I can get the “submit on select” thing to work, too.

Sigh. Drupal. My bread and my bane.

So the inevitable conversation has finally arrived in my household, initiated by an innocent question by email:

I think we should get android phones.
Our phones are useless for anything other than calls, and everyone who has smartphones LOVES them. It really makes me wonder what we’re missing.

Ever the late adopter, I have to wonder whether I’m really missing anything at all… and it occurred to me that my own workplace, heavily populated as it is by smartphone devotees (and not a few outright Apple fangeeks), might be just the place to put such a question. And so I did: Read more