| ===================================== |
| Writing your first Django app, part 7 |
| ===================================== |
|
|
| This tutorial begins where :doc:`Tutorial 6 </intro/tutorial06>` left off. We're |
| continuing the web-poll application and will focus on customizing Django's |
| automatically-generated admin site that we first explored in :doc:`Tutorial 2 |
| </intro/tutorial02>`. |
|
|
| .. admonition:: Where to get help: |
|
|
| If you're having trouble going through this tutorial, please head over to |
| the :doc:`Getting Help</faq/help>` section of the FAQ. |
|
|
| Customize the admin form |
| ======================== |
|
|
| By registering the ``Question`` model with ``admin.site.register(Question)``, |
| Django was able to construct a default form representation. Often, you'll want |
| to customize how the admin form looks and works. You'll do this by telling |
| Django the options you want when you register the object. |
|
|
| Let's see how this works by reordering the fields on the edit form. Replace |
| the ``admin.site.register(Question)`` line with: |
|
|
| .. code-block:: python |
| :caption: ``polls/admin.py`` |
|
|
| from django.contrib import admin |
|
|
| from .models import Question |
|
|
|
|
| class QuestionAdmin(admin.ModelAdmin): |
| fields = ["pub_date", "question_text"] |
|
|
|
|
| admin.site.register(Question, QuestionAdmin) |
|
|
| You'll follow this pattern -- create a model admin class, then pass it as the |
| second argument to ``admin.site.register()`` -- any time you need to change the |
| admin options for a model. |
|
|
| This particular change above makes the "Publication date" come before the |
| "Question" field: |
|
|
| .. image:: _images/admin07.png |
| :alt: Fields have been reordered |
|
|
| This isn't impressive with only two fields, but for admin forms with dozens |
| of fields, choosing an intuitive order is an important usability detail. |
|
|
| And speaking of forms with dozens of fields, you might want to split the form |
| up into fieldsets: |
|
|
| .. code-block:: python |
| :caption: ``polls/admin.py`` |
|
|
| from django.contrib import admin |
|
|
| from .models import Question |
|
|
|
|
| class QuestionAdmin(admin.ModelAdmin): |
| fieldsets = [ |
| (None, {"fields": ["question_text"]}), |
| ("Date information", {"fields": ["pub_date"]}), |
| ] |
|
|
|
|
| admin.site.register(Question, QuestionAdmin) |
|
|
| The first element of each tuple in |
| :attr:`~django.contrib.admin.ModelAdmin.fieldsets` is the title of the fieldset. |
| Here's what our form looks like now: |
|
|
| .. image:: _images/admin08t.png |
| :alt: Form has fieldsets now |
|
|
| Adding related objects |
| ====================== |
|
|
| OK, we have our Question admin page, but a ``Question`` has multiple |
| ``Choice``\s, and the admin page doesn't display choices. |
|
|
| Yet. |
|
|
| There are two ways to solve this problem. The first is to register ``Choice`` |
| with the admin just as we did with ``Question``: |
|
|
| .. code-block:: python |
| :caption: ``polls/admin.py`` |
|
|
| from django.contrib import admin |
|
|
| from .models import Choice, Question |
|
|
| # ... |
| admin.site.register(Choice) |
|
|
| Now "Choices" is an available option in the Django admin. The "Add choice" form |
| looks like this: |
|
|
| .. image:: _images/admin09.png |
| :alt: Choice admin page |
|
|
| In that form, the "Question" field is a select box containing every question in the |
| database. Django knows that a :class:`~django.db.models.ForeignKey` should be |
| represented in the admin as a ``<select>`` box. In our case, only one question |
| exists at this point. |
|
|
| Also note the "Add another question" link next to "Question." Every object with |
| a ``ForeignKey`` relationship to another gets this for free. When you click |
| "Add another question", you'll get a popup window with the "Add question" form. |
| If you add a question in that window and click "Save", Django will save the |
| question to the database and dynamically add it as the selected choice on the |
| "Add choice" form you're looking at. |
|
|
| But, really, this is an inefficient way of adding ``Choice`` objects to the system. |
| It'd be better if you could add a bunch of Choices directly when you create the |
| ``Question`` object. Let's make that happen. |
|
|
| Remove the ``register()`` call for the ``Choice`` model. Then, edit the ``Question`` |
| registration code to read: |
|
|
| .. code-block:: python |
| :caption: ``polls/admin.py`` |
|
|
| from django.contrib import admin |
|
|
| from .models import Choice, Question |
|
|
|
|
| class ChoiceInline(admin.StackedInline): |
| model = Choice |
| extra = 3 |
|
|
|
|
| class QuestionAdmin(admin.ModelAdmin): |
| fieldsets = [ |
| (None, {"fields": ["question_text"]}), |
| ("Date information", {"fields": ["pub_date"], "classes": ["collapse"]}), |
| ] |
| inlines = [ChoiceInline] |
|
|
|
|
| admin.site.register(Question, QuestionAdmin) |
|
|
| This tells Django: "``Choice`` objects are edited on the ``Question`` admin page. By |
| default, provide enough fields for 3 choices." |
|
|
| Load the "Add question" page to see how that looks: |
|
|
| .. image:: _images/admin10t.png |
| :alt: Add question page now has choices on it |
|
|
| It works like this: There are three slots for related Choices -- as specified |
| by ``extra`` -- and each time you come back to the "Change" page for an |
| already-created object, you get another three extra slots. |
|
|
| At the end of the three current slots you will find an "Add another Choice" |
| link. If you click on it, a new slot will be added. If you want to remove the |
| added slot, you can click on the X to the top right of the added slot. This |
| image shows an added slot: |
|
|
| .. image:: _images/admin14t.png |
| :alt: Additional slot added dynamically |
|
|
| One small problem, though. It takes a lot of screen space to display all the |
| fields for entering related ``Choice`` objects. For that reason, Django offers a |
| tabular way of displaying inline related objects. To use it, change the |
| ``ChoiceInline`` declaration to read: |
|
|
| .. code-block:: python |
| :caption: ``polls/admin.py`` |
|
|
| class ChoiceInline(admin.TabularInline): |
| ... |
|
|
| With that ``TabularInline`` (instead of ``StackedInline``), the |
| related objects are displayed in a more compact, table-based format: |
|
|
| .. image:: _images/admin11t.png |
| :alt: Add question page now has more compact choices |
|
|
| Note that there is an extra "Delete?" column that allows removing rows added |
| using the "Add another Choice" button and rows that have already been saved. |
|
|
| Customize the admin change list |
| =============================== |
|
|
| Now that the Question admin page is looking good, let's make some tweaks to the |
| "change list" page -- the one that displays all the questions in the system. |
|
|
| Here's what it looks like at this point: |
|
|
| .. image:: _images/admin04t.png |
| :alt: Polls change list page |
|
|
| By default, Django displays the ``str()`` of each object. But sometimes it'd be |
| more helpful if we could display individual fields. To do that, use the |
| :attr:`~django.contrib.admin.ModelAdmin.list_display` admin option, which is a |
| tuple of field names to display, as columns, on the change list page for the |
| object: |
|
|
| .. code-block:: python |
| :caption: ``polls/admin.py`` |
|
|
| class QuestionAdmin(admin.ModelAdmin): |
| # ... |
| list_display = ["question_text", "pub_date"] |
|
|
| For good measure, let's also include the ``was_published_recently()`` method |
| from :doc:`Tutorial 2 </intro/tutorial02>`: |
|
|
| .. code-block:: python |
| :caption: ``polls/admin.py`` |
|
|
| class QuestionAdmin(admin.ModelAdmin): |
| # ... |
| list_display = ["question_text", "pub_date", "was_published_recently"] |
|
|
| Now the question change list page looks like this: |
|
|
| .. image:: _images/admin12t.png |
| :alt: Polls change list page, updated |
|
|
| You can click on the column headers to sort by those values -- except in the |
| case of the ``was_published_recently`` header, because sorting by the output |
| of an arbitrary method is not supported. Also note that the column header for |
| ``was_published_recently`` is, by default, the name of the method (with |
| underscores replaced with spaces), and that each line contains the string |
| representation of the output. |
|
|
| You can improve that by using the :func:`~django.contrib.admin.display` |
| decorator on that method (in :file:`polls/models.py`), as follows: |
|
|
| .. code-block:: python |
| :caption: ``polls/models.py`` |
|
|
| from django.contrib import admin |
|
|
|
|
| class Question(models.Model): |
| # ... |
| @admin.display( |
| boolean=True, |
| ordering="pub_date", |
| description="Published recently?", |
| ) |
| def was_published_recently(self): |
| now = timezone.now() |
| return now - datetime.timedelta(days=1) <= self.pub_date <= now |
|
|
| For more information on the properties configurable via the decorator, see |
| :attr:`~django.contrib.admin.ModelAdmin.list_display`. |
|
|
| Edit your :file:`polls/admin.py` file again and add an improvement to the |
| ``Question`` change list page: filters using the |
| :attr:`~django.contrib.admin.ModelAdmin.list_filter`. Add the following line to |
| ``QuestionAdmin``:: |
|
|
| list_filter = ["pub_date"] |
|
|
| That adds a "Filter" sidebar that lets people filter the change list by the |
| ``pub_date`` field: |
|
|
| .. image:: _images/admin13t.png |
| :alt: Polls change list page, updated |
|
|
| The type of filter displayed depends on the type of field you're filtering on. |
| Because ``pub_date`` is a :class:`~django.db.models.DateTimeField`, Django |
| knows to give appropriate filter options: "Any date", "Today", "Past 7 days", |
| "This month", "This year". |
|
|
| This is shaping up well. Let's add some search capability:: |
|
|
| search_fields = ["question_text"] |
|
|
| That adds a search box at the top of the change list. When somebody enters |
| search terms, Django will search the ``question_text`` field. You can use as many |
| fields as you'd like -- although because it uses a ``LIKE`` query behind the |
| scenes, limiting the number of search fields to a reasonable number will make |
| it easier for your database to do the search. |
|
|
| Now's also a good time to note that change lists give you free pagination. The |
| default is to display 100 items per page. :attr:`Change list pagination |
| <django.contrib.admin.ModelAdmin.list_per_page>`, :attr:`search boxes |
| <django.contrib.admin.ModelAdmin.search_fields>`, :attr:`filters |
| <django.contrib.admin.ModelAdmin.list_filter>`, :attr:`date-hierarchies |
| <django.contrib.admin.ModelAdmin.date_hierarchy>`, and |
| :attr:`column-header-ordering <django.contrib.admin.ModelAdmin.list_display>` |
| all work together like you think they should. |
|
|
| Customize the admin look and feel |
| ================================= |
|
|
| Clearly, having "Django administration" at the top of each admin page is |
| ridiculous. It's just placeholder text. |
|
|
| You can change it, though, using Django's template system. The Django admin is |
| powered by Django itself, and its interfaces use Django's own template system. |
|
|
| .. _ref-customizing-your-projects-templates: |
|
|
| Customizing your *project's* templates |
| -------------------------------------- |
|
|
| Create a ``templates`` directory in your project directory (the one that |
| contains ``manage.py``). Templates can live anywhere on your filesystem that |
| Django can access. (Django runs as whatever user your server runs.) However, |
| keeping your templates within the project is a good convention to follow. |
|
|
| Open your settings file (:file:`mysite/settings.py`, remember) and add a |
| :setting:`DIRS <TEMPLATES-DIRS>` option in the :setting:`TEMPLATES` setting: |
|
|
| .. code-block:: python |
| :caption: ``mysite/settings.py`` |
|
|
| TEMPLATES = [ |
| { |
| "BACKEND": "django.template.backends.django.DjangoTemplates", |
| "DIRS": [BASE_DIR / "templates"], |
| "APP_DIRS": True, |
| "OPTIONS": { |
| "context_processors": [ |
| "django.template.context_processors.debug", |
| "django.template.context_processors.request", |
| "django.contrib.auth.context_processors.auth", |
| "django.contrib.messages.context_processors.messages", |
| ], |
| }, |
| }, |
| ] |
|
|
| :setting:`DIRS <TEMPLATES-DIRS>` is a list of filesystem directories to check |
| when loading Django templates; it's a search path. |
|
|
| .. admonition:: Organizing templates |
|
|
| Just like the static files, we *could* have all our templates together, in |
| one big templates directory, and it would work perfectly well. However, |
| templates that belong to a particular application should be placed in that |
| application's template directory (e.g. ``polls/templates``) rather than the |
| project's (``templates``). We'll discuss in more detail in the |
| :doc:`reusable apps tutorial </intro/reusable-apps>` *why* we do this. |
|
|
| Now create a directory called ``admin`` inside ``templates``, and copy the |
| template ``admin/base_site.html`` from within the default Django admin |
| template directory in the source code of Django itself |
| (:source:`django/contrib/admin/templates`) into that directory. |
|
|
| .. admonition:: Where are the Django source files? |
|
|
| If you have difficulty finding where the Django source files are located |
| on your system, run the following command: |
|
|
| .. console:: |
|
|
| $ python -c "import django; print(django.__path__)" |
|
|
| Then, edit the file and replace |
| ``{{ site_header|default:_('Django administration') }}`` (including the curly |
| braces) with your own site's name as you see fit. You should end up with |
| a section of code like: |
|
|
| .. code-block:: html+django |
|
|
| {% block branding %} |
| <div id="site-name"><a href="{% url 'admin:index' %}">Polls Administration</a><div> |
| {% endblock %} |
|
|
| We use this approach to teach you how to override templates. In an actual |
| project, you would probably use |
| the :attr:`django.contrib.admin.AdminSite.site_header` attribute to more easily |
| make this particular customization. |
|
|
| This template file contains lots of text like ``{% block branding %}`` |
| and ``{{ title }}``. The ``{%`` and ``{{`` tags are part of Django's |
| template language. When Django renders ``admin/base_site.html``, this |
| template language will be evaluated to produce the final HTML page, just like |
| we saw in :doc:`Tutorial 3 </intro/tutorial03>`. |
|
|
| Note that any of Django's default admin templates can be overridden. To |
| override a template, do the same thing you did with ``base_site.html`` -- copy |
| it from the default directory into your custom directory, and make changes. |
|
|
| Customizing your *application's* templates |
| ------------------------------------------ |
|
|
| Astute readers will ask: But if :setting:`DIRS <TEMPLATES-DIRS>` was empty by |
| default, how was Django finding the default admin templates? The answer is |
| that, since :setting:`APP_DIRS <TEMPLATES-APP_DIRS>` is set to ``True``, |
| Django automatically looks for a ``templates/`` subdirectory within each |
| application package, for use as a fallback (don't forget that |
| ``django.contrib.admin`` is an application). |
|
|
| Our poll application is not very complex and doesn't need custom admin |
| templates. But if it grew more sophisticated and required modification of |
| Django's standard admin templates for some of its functionality, it would be |
| more sensible to modify the *application's* templates, rather than those in the |
| *project*. That way, you could include the polls application in any new project |
| and be assured that it would find the custom templates it needed. |
|
|
| See the :ref:`template loading documentation <template-loading>` for more |
| information about how Django finds its templates. |
|
|
| Customize the admin index page |
| ============================== |
|
|
| On a similar note, you might want to customize the look and feel of the Django |
| admin index page. |
|
|
| By default, it displays all the apps in :setting:`INSTALLED_APPS` that have been |
| registered with the admin application, in alphabetical order. You may want to |
| make significant changes to the layout. After all, the index is probably the |
| most important page of the admin, and it should be easy to use. |
|
|
| The template to customize is ``admin/index.html``. (Do the same as with |
| ``admin/base_site.html`` in the previous section -- copy it from the default |
| directory to your custom template directory). Edit the file, and you'll see it |
| uses a template variable called ``app_list``. That variable contains every |
| installed Django app. Instead of using that, you can hard-code links to |
| object-specific admin pages in whatever way you think is best. |
|
|
| When you're comfortable with the admin, read :doc:`part 8 of this |
| tutorial </intro/tutorial08>` to learn how to use third-party packages. |
|
|