Display a category as a calendar by scheduled Topic-timer dates

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In a feature discussion titled ‘Display a category as a calendar by scheduled Topic-timer dates,’ craigconstantine asks whether it’s possible to implement a calendar view for a category using a Theme Component, showing topics arranged by their scheduled publication dates across a 7-day grid, with special handling for topics without timers. Since plugins aren’t an option (hosted by Discourse), Lilly suggests the Calendar plugin isn’t suitable as it only works within topics, not category pages, and notes that reimagining a category as a calendar would require heavy theme customization. craigconstantine proposes an alternative: a Theme Component that adds a new sort method—sorting by scheduled topic timer (if set) and displaying timer info in the topic list, while visually distinguishing untimed topics. manuel confirms that adding a sort column via component is feasible (citing the ‘Add Category Column’ component as an example) and notes that topic-timer and destination-category data are already available in the database. He suggests a pragmatic alternative: use a ‘Shared Drafts’ category and customize the topic list to sort by destination category and topic timer, effectively creating an agenda-style view instead of a calendar.

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Is this possible to do as a Theme Component?

I want to display a category as calendar; 7 days across as a row, rows from today out to the farthest future scheduled publication date. Place Topics visually in the calendar grid showing the category they’re set to publish to. Show a list somewhere/somehow all topics which don’t have a topic timer set to publish them.

So I can have a category (akin to the usual Staff category) that only I/staff-users can see, so we can coordinate creating and scheduling topics for publication.

@manuel

Show Topic Timer information in the Topic list view
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Closest thing I can think of is the Calendar plugin, but it displays a calendar above posts in a topic where posts are the event entries that show in the calendar.

Reimagining a category page itself as a calendar would require some serious custom discourse theme development and template overrides.

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(Since I host with Discourse itself, plugins are a non-starter.)

The next best thing, that I can think of, would be to ask…

Can a Theme Component provide a new sort-method? Sort by date of scheduled topic timer iff it’s a timer to publish to a category. And it would have to display the topic timer information in the Topic list. And it would have to visually distinguish topics that don’t have a topic timer (since the point of a category displayed this way it to be garden for cultivating topics that all eventually get published.)

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Hey @craigconstantine :wave:t4: There will be more resourceful members than me with respect to development.. but in general

  • you can add a new sort column with a component. E.g. see the Add Category Column component.
  • the values you need (topic-timer, destination-category) should be available from the database already. So you could access them with a component.

So I guess a blueprint approach could be to:

  • use a standard Shared drafts category
  • have a component customize the topic list to be sortable by destination category and topic timer (that is, drop the calendar view and go with an agenda)
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Add Category Column