Thread

I am struggling to find a way to limit the number of results published in a custom field {event_date} is greater than {current_time}. The simple code I tried to use was:

{exp:channel:entries
channel="events"
disable="category_fields|member_data|trackbacks|pagination"
dynamic="no"
orderby="event_date"
sort="asc"
limit="3"
}
 {if event_date >= current_time}
  <h2>{title}</h2>
<p> {/if}    <br />
{/exp:channel:entries}

The problem is that the limit parameter loops through 3 entries that do not meet the conditional requirements and then stops looking for results, so nothing gets published.

If it weren’t a date issue I could use the search= parameter, but since I need to compare it to current_time, that doesn’t work.

Any thoughts on how I can achieve this? It is probably something obvious, but I’ve been thinking about it too long and am lost in the logic forest now.

Any help is appreciated.

Hi The Nimble Agency,

As you’ve discovered, the entries tag pair is going to grab 3 entries based on the criteria in the parameters, *then* apply your comparison.

I’m having a tough time working out the logic as well, which leads me to ask: can you set the entry date to the event date and eliminate the event_date field?

If you did that, you could take advantage of the start_on= and show_future_entries= parameters:

{exp:channel:entries
 channel="events"
 disable="category_fields|member_data|pagination"
 dynamic="no"
 sort="asc"
 limit="3" start_on="{current_time format='%Y-%m-%d %H:%i'}" show_future_entries="yes"}
  <h2>{title}</h2><p>  <br />
{/exp:channel:entries}

Let me know what you think.

Cheers,

Thanks Dan. I have done that in the past, but changed to this method because clients would get confused about why entry_date meant one thing for their blog, but another thing for Events.

I actually just went and bought Low Events to solve the problem with an add-on. Reduces client confusion.

Hi The Nimble Agency,

I totally understand the “client confusion” position.

Low Events looks great, and dead-simple.

Is there anything else I can assist you with?

Cheers,