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Views Integration

When to Use

You need to query, filter, sort, or display custom field data in Views.

Pattern

Field plugin (CustomField) -- displays custom field columns in Views:

# In view display
fields:
  field_address:
    id: field_address
    table: node__field_address
    field: field_address
    plugin_id: custom_field
    settings:
      # Select which sub-fields to display
      columns:
        street: street
        city: city
        state: state

Filter plugins:

  • CustomFieldDate -- filter by datetime/daterange columns
  • CustomFieldEntityReference -- filter by entity reference columns

Sort plugin (CustomFieldDate) -- sort by datetime columns

Date argument plugins (7 total):

  • CustomFieldFullDate -- full date (CCYYMMDD)
  • CustomFieldYearDate -- year (CCYY)
  • CustomFieldYearMonthDate -- year + month (CCYYMM)
  • CustomFieldMonthDate -- month (MM)
  • CustomFieldWeekDate -- week (WW)
  • CustomFieldDayDate -- day (DD)

Decision

If you need... Use... Notes
Display custom field columns CustomField field plugin Choose which columns to show
Filter by date range CustomFieldDate filter Supports all datetime column types
Filter by referenced entity CustomFieldEntityReference filter Autocomplete or select widget
Sort by date column CustomFieldDate sort Ascending/descending
Date-based contextual filter Date argument plugins For date-based archives

Common Mistakes

  • Querying with entity query instead of Views -- Views integration built-in; use it for performance
  • Not selecting columns in field settings -- By default all columns display; select only needed ones
  • Forgetting to expose filters -- Custom field filters work like core fields; expose for user filtering
  • Complex joins on sub-fields -- All columns in same table; no joins needed unlike Paragraphs

See Also