Loop Plugin

*** Update: now compatible with EE2.0

This is an Expression Engine plugin that allows you to perform loops within any template without having to enable php.

Support can be found in the comments and in this EE forum thread.

Current Version: 1.2 (released 19 February 2010)

* Works with ExpressionEngine 2.0 and ExpressionEngine 1.6

1. Concept

The only way of putting repetitive numerical values into your templates is either by hard-coding them in or by enabling and using php to do it. I always try to avoid enabling php in templates for security purposes, and hard-coding in for example a drop-down select box with 100 values is never fun.

This plugin solves the problem by allowing you to perform loops in your templates.

2. How It Works

The loop plugin works just like a simplified for loop does. It takes as parameters an initial value, an increment value, and a limit.

Here is an example of using the loop plugin to create a drop-down select box that allows the user to select the year in which they were born:

<select name="year"> 
  <option value="">Select year</option>
{exp:for_loop start="1940" end="2008" increment="1"}  
  <option value="{index}">{index}</option>
{/exp:for_loop}
</select> 
				

Produces: Select year... 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

The start parameter is optional and represents the starting value of the index. The default value is 1.

The end parameter is optional and represents the end value or limit of the index. The default value is 3.

The increment parameter is optional and represents the incremental value of the index on each iteration of the loop. The default value is 1.

The index variable is used to get the value of the index that is incremented in each iteration of the loop.

The loop_count variable can be used to get the number of times that the loop has been iterated over.

Another example that simply produces an arithmetic series:

{exp:for_loop start="0" end="99" increment="3"}  
  {if {loop_count} != 1},{/if} {index}
{/exp:for_loop}
				

Produces:
0 , 3 , 6 , 9 , 12 , 15 , 18 , 21 , 24 , 27 , 30 , 33 , 36 , 39 , 42 , 45 , 48 , 51 , 54 , 57 , 60 , 63 , 66 , 69 , 72 , 75 , 78 , 81 , 84 , 87 , 90 , 93 , 96 , 99

This example shows how decrementing is possible:

{exp:for_loop start="2008" end="2000" increment="-1"}  
  {if {loop_count} != 1},{/if} {index}
{/exp:for_loop}
				

Produces:
2008 , 2007 , 2006 , 2005 , 2004 , 2003 , 2002 , 2001 , 2000

3. Installation

Download and unzip loop.zip, then follow the steps below.

For EE2.0:

1. Open the loop_2_0 folder
2. Upload the entire for_loop folder to the system/expressionengine/third_party/ folder

For EE1.6:

1. Open the loop_1_6 folder
2. Upload pi.for_loop.php to the system/plugins folder

4. Download

You can download and use the plugin for free here:

If this plugin has helped you and you are feeling generous then feel free to make a small donation, it is much appreciated:

5. Changelog

Version 1.2

• Converted to an EE 2.0 compatible plugin (both versions available in download)

Version 1.1

• Added functionality to decrement

6. Comments

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