Using MLA with Admin Columns

Thank you for all of your positive feedback on MLA and its various features.

I will have a look at the free version of Admin Columns and see what kind of integration might be possible. In the interim, I would be very interested to know which “custom columns which the plugin makes available for the regular Media Library screen” you find particularly useful. Using the hooks provided by MLA it may be possible to add the columns you want with or without Admin Columns in the mix.

Thanks for any additional information you can provide and for your support of MLA.

I have done some research at the Admin Columns web site, and have looked over this page:

Documentation/Media column types

I believe most of this information is already supported by MLA or can be added with the existing MLA IPTC/EXIF and Custom Field support. Once I know specifically what you are looking for I am confident we can find a way to make it available on the Media/Assistant submenu screen. Let me know what you need.

Hi David,

Thanks for looking into this for me! There are only three columns I’d like to be able to replicate on the MLA screen:

1) Available Sizes (list of available size names, such as full, medium…)
2) Dimensions (list of available dimensions, such as 250 x 250…)
3) File Size (in kb — I imagine this matches full size)

I took a look through the MLA documentation again, but there is just so much there — and so many terms I don’t know — that I can’t figure out where to start. If you could guide me in the right direction, I’d be very grateful!

Thanks for your update with the three fields you are interested in. I have been able to define Custom Field rules that approximate what you see in Admin Columns. If you are not happy with the format or content of the MLA equivalents you can implement a small custom plugin to replicate the Admin Columns results more closely.

This recent support topic is very similar:

Adding parent’s post MetaData

For the first part (create a mapping rule) go through these steps three times:

1. Navigate to the Settings/Media Library Assistant “Custom Fields” tab.
2. Scroll down to the “Add a new Field and Mapping Rule” area, since you will be adding three new fields.
3. In the first text box, enter your field name, “Available Sizes”, “Dimensions” or “File Size”.
4. From the Data Source dropdown list, select “size_keys”, “dimensions” or “file_size”. Match the choice here to the name you just entered.
5. In the “Existing Text” dropdown list, select “Replace”.
6. In the “Format” dropdown list, select “Native” (for Available Sizes), “Native” (for Dimensions) or “Commas” (for File Size).
7. Click the “MLA Column” check box to make the field available in the Media/Assistant submenu table. If you want to edit the field manually, check the “Quick Edit” and perhaps the “Bulk Edit” checkbox as well.
8. In the “Option:” dropdown list, select “Multi” (for Available Sizes), “Text” (for Dimensions) or “Text” (for File Size).
9. Check the “Delete NULL Values” checkbox to save database space for non-image items with no value for your fields.
10. Click the “Add Field and Map All Attachments” button to save your new rule and run it to update all of your items. You can also click “Add Field” and then click the “Map All Rules, All Attachments Now” after all three rules are entered and saved.

Do this much and look at the results in the Media/Assistant table.

• The Available Sizes column will look similar to that in Admin Columns, but the links work differently. Admin Columns links to the file for each item-size, while MLA filters the display on that size name.
• The Dimensions column is very similar; MLA does not have spaces separating the parts of the text.
• The MLA File Size column shows the exact byte count, not the “KB” equivalent.

If any of these differences are important, you can go on to the second step, implement a small custom plugin to alter the results. I can give you more specific help with that if you need it.

I will leave this topic unresolved until I hear back from you with the results of the above suggestions.

Thanks so much, David! All of this works very well, and I think I prefer the ability to filter than linking to the file.

I just have one question about the Dimensions column. It currently only lists the dimensions of the full size image. Is it possible to list the dimensions of all the available image sizes, or would that require a custom plugin?

Thanks again, and cheers!

Oops! I’ve got this to work already ?? I just switched dimensions to size_dimensions, and Text to Multi, updated the rule, and mapped everything again. Perfect! Thanks again for your help with solving this, David!

Thanks for your update and the good news.

As you discovered, you can “list the dimensions of all the available image sizes” by using size_dimensions as the data source for your rule.

A complete list of the available data sources can be found in the “Field-level data sources” section of the Settings/Media Library Assistant Documentation tab.

By the way, if you want this data automatically populated for new items you add to the Media Library, make sure the “Enable custom field mapping when adding new media” box is checked towards the top of the Settings/Media Library Assistant Custom Fields tab.

I am marking this topic resolved, but please update it if you have problems or further questions about creating and using Custom Field rules. Once you’ve mastered defining rules to make this data available through MLA there are many choices. Enjoy!

Yes, now that I’ve been through your “tutorial” and understand a little more, I’m looking forward to taking another look at the documentation to see what I can come up with. I always knew I was sadly underusing this plugin ??

And thank you for that last tip; I’ve adjusted the settings to be enabled on upload.

I’ve contributed a small token of appreciation to your cause — what a marvelous thing for you to do! And perhaps you can tell from my profile image that supporting a fair trade organization suits me very well ??

I have uploaded a new MLA Development Version dated 10251222 that contains support for the Admin Columns plugin. You can use Admin Columns to re-order, re-size and remove columns from the Media/Assistant submenu table. You can also add custom columns from Admin Columns such as Available Sizes. To get the Development Version, follow the instructions in this earlier topic:

Shortcode not working in (special) widget

It would be great if you can try the Development Version and let me know if the new features work for you. Thanks for your earlier help, your donation to our work and for your patience in awaiting these new features.

I have released MLA version 2.22, which contains support for Admin Columns. If you have any trouble or further questions regarding the new version, post an update and I will address them; thanks.

Hi David,

Apologies for the delay in getting back to you. Thanks so much for adding support for Admin Columns! I installed the update and everything seems to integrate very well. The MLA columns I created with your help are even available in Admin Columns ??

Sorry again that I wasn’t able to help with testing the development version, but it looks great so far! I’ll let you know if I do run into any issues…

Thanks again!