Assuming my model looks like this (this is a simplified example):
class Person(Model): first_name = CharField(...) last_name = CharField(...) def name(): return first_name + ' ' + last_name
Displaying the name as a single column in the admin change list is easy enough. However, I need a single, editable "name" field that is editable from the list page, which I can then parse to extract and set the model field values. The parsing isn't a concern. I am just wondering how to have an editable form field on the list page that doesn't correspond directly to a model field.
You should be able to do this in pure Python with a bit of work. Basically, you need to use the get_changelist_form
method on the admin class to tell it to use a custom form rather than a default ModelForm
for your instances, then initialize the custom field's value properly (most conveniently in the form's __init__
method) and specialize the save
behavior of that form to set the first_name
and last_name
values.
Something like this should be a start:
class PersonChangeListForm(forms.ModelForm): class Meta: model = Person name = forms.CharField() def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs): instance = kwargs.get('instance') if instance: initial = kwargs.get('initial', {}) initial['name'] = '%s %s' % (instance.first_name, instance.last_name) kwargs['initial'] = initial super(PersonChangeListForm, self).__init__(*args, **kwargs) def save(self, *args, **kwargs): # use whatever parsing you like here first_name, last_name = self.cleaned_data['name'].split(None, 1) self.cleaned_data['first_name'] = first_name self.cleaned_data['last_name'] = last_name super(PersonChangeListForm, self).save(*args, **kwargs) class PersonAdmin(admin.ModelAdmin): def get_changelist_form(self, request, **kwargs): return PersonChangeListForm
You will also need to declare a list_editable
value that evaluates to True
when tested as a boolean - some of the admin processing short-circuits without using the formset if list_editable
does not evaluate as True
.
If you have no other fields you want to be editable, this gets more complicated. The class validation requires that everything in the list_editable
sequence be an editable field that's declared in list_display
as well and is not a display link field. I think the options there are either to override the admin class's changelist_view
method to use the full processing even if list_editable
is not true, or to define a custom subclass of list
or tuple
that evaluates to True
even when empty so it can pass validation. The former would require repeating a great deal of standard code and significantly increase your maintenance burden if you ever upgrade, while the latter is a counterintuitive hack and would not at all surprise me if it had unexpected consequences.
Neither are good options, so I hope you have at least one other field that makes sense to include in list_editable
.
I just tried a quick mock-up of the problem in the admin. It seems that the admin validation fails for a field which is in list_editable that is not defined on the model. In short, the answer to your question seems to be no.
However, that doesn't mean it's not doable. With a bit of Javascript, you could use X-editable
(or roll your own), and make the "Name" column editable. Create a view to validate the data and save it to the model. Set X-editable field 'url' parameter to post to this URL. Obviously decorate your view with login_required / permissions_required etc, to make sure no-one else can edit the data.
Addition to @Peter DeGlopper answer: you may add other model field in list_editable
(for example last_name
), then override change_list.html
(look this answer How to override templates and add to the end of file some javascrip code: templates/admin/your_app/person/change_list.html:
{% extends "admin/base_site.html" %} {% load i18n admin_urls static admin_list %} ... {% block content %} ... {% endblock %} {% block footer %} {{ block.super }} <script> var last_names = document.querySelectorAll('.field-last_name'); last_names.forEach(function(el) { var input = el.children[0]; var text = input.value; input.hidden = true; input.style.display = 'none'; el.append(text); }); </script> {% endblock %}