The TYPO3 List module

It is very likely that you already have used the TYPO3 list module. It is located in the backend navigation on the lefthand side under 'Web > List'. An editor will use it mainly to edit content elements and records that are part of an extension (e.g. tt_news articles).

The left picture shows the list module in its standard view. In the picture on the right the checkbox 'Extended view' has been checked, which results in some additional icons appearing in the list. Those can be used for quick and easy manipulation of the records in the list.

Besides its straightforward layout and sorting functionality, the TYPO3 list module has some other possibilities to make the editor's life a bit easier.

TYPO3 list module in default view

TYPO3 list module in extended view

Every single backend user can extend each list by those columns she actually needs. This results in individual list views for each user. The selection of additional columns depends on the type of the database records in the list. The current column selection will be stored and can be used by the editor in future sessions. Furthermore, the list can be sorted by each column (also the additional ones) in ascending and descending order.

Screencast available

You can also watch our screencast about Columns in the List Module (in German).

Display the field list of the TYPO3 list module

Selecting fields in the TYPO3 list module and displaying them in the list

Sorting columns in the TYPO3 list module in ascending and descending order

The graphics show you how to extend a list by additional columns and how to sort a list.

Figure on the left: By clicking on the list heading [highlighted in red color; i.e. 'Seite (22)' for this is a list of pages; 'Page' translates as 'Seite' in German] a select box appears below the list. In this box you see all fields that can be shown as a column in the list.

Figure in the middle: By holding down the 'Ctrl' key and clicking with the mouse on some list entries, multiple fields (i.e. Pagetitle, Layout, Alias) can be marked. Once you're finished with the field selection, click on the button 'Set fields' (here in German: 'Felder setzen') and you will see the chosen fields as additional list columns, after the list has been reloaded.

Figure on the right: By clicking on a column header, the list will be sorted in ascending order by this very column. Another click on the same column header will sort the list in descending order.

As noted before, the current column selection (but not the sorting order) will be stored in the backend user's configuration for future usages of this list.

Using additional list columns offers a great way to edit multiple field values simultaneously.

In the figures above (middle and right), you can see that for some records there are empty entries in the column 'Alias'. To fill out the 'Alias' of those records, one would usually click on the 'Edit' icon (yellow pencil), fill out the 'Alias' field in the page properties, save the change and return to the list - and he would do this for every single record.

That can be done much quicker...

Screencast available

This function is also explained in our screencast Changing Multiple Data Values At Once (in German).

Sorting columns in the TYPO3 list module in ascending and descending order

Mass editing of records with the TYPO3 list module

More columns in the TYPO3 list module

In the figure on the left, you also see 'Edit' icons (yellow pencils) next to each column header ('Pagetitle', 'Layout', 'Alias'). At this position, it is used to edit the values of the respective column. It is to be seen from top to bottom - not horizontally as we do it when editing a whole record.

If we click on the yellow pencil next to the column header 'Alias', we get an edit view as shown in the middle figure: For each record, its default column (i.e. Pagetitle) is shown to indicate, which record is edited at the moment. Below the default column of each record, the form field for the value of the selected column is displayed. The form fields depend on the type of the column and can be simple text fields (as in the example), select boxes, image selectors, or other form elements.

Now, you can fill out all fields and if you're done, you click on the 'Save and close document' button and all changes will be saved at once and send you back to the list view (see figure on the right).

It should be obvious that an editor can save a lot of time by using this great feature. The fact that the multiple-edit feature works with all lists, it can be used for product data, tt_news records and the records of other TYPO3 extensions as well.