Plugins, Hooks, & External Modules
Developer methods for
Plugins, Hooks, & External Modules
Hook functions
REDCap Developer Tools:
Documentation for Plugins, Hooks, & External Modules
REDCap Version 14.9.1
REDCap::getFieldType
(REDCap >= 5.5.0)
REDCap::getFieldType
— Determines the field type for a specified field in the current project
Description
string REDCap::getFieldType ( string $field_name )
Returns the field type for a specified field in the current project. The field type corresponds to the values seen in the Data Dictionary (e.g., dropdown, yesno, notes, slider).
NOTE: Please note that "dropdown" and "notes" fields actually have an element_type of "select" and "textarea", respectively, in the redcap_metadata database tables, although all other fields have an element_type value the same as their field type value. This is important to know if you ever query the redcap_metadata tables directly.
NOTE: Please note that "dropdown" and "notes" fields actually have an element_type of "select" and "textarea", respectively, in the redcap_metadata database tables, although all other fields have an element_type value the same as their field type value. This is important to know if you ever query the redcap_metadata tables directly.
Parameters
field_name
A field's variable name. If field_name is invalid for the project, returns FALSE.
A field's variable name. If field_name is invalid for the project, returns FALSE.
Return Values
Returns the specified field's type as a string.
Restrictions
This method can ONLY be used in a project context (i.e. when "pid" parameter is in the query string of the plugin URL) or else a fatal error is produced.
Examples
Example #1:
This example illustrates how one might obtain a field's type to make a decision in the code logic.
// Set the field variable name manually for this example
$field = 'first_name';
// Check if the field is a checkbox or not
if (REDCap::getFieldType($field) == 'checkbox') {
// Do something for checkbox fields
} else {
// Do something for all other field types
}
REDCap 14.9.1 - © 2024 Vanderbilt University