Random Feeds in Pages

[Morrigan]

So I was reading through the other IP.Pages thread and I feel like a new thread needs to be started so it can be clearer on what users are looking to still have in their Pages blocks that would make us love IPS even more. (mostly because I think that the old thread is beating a dead horse so we need a live one to run the track)

I know I still really really really really really (I'm not sure that's enough reallys) really want the ability to sort a feed by random. I want to have it choose X number of random items from the database and show them. I'd be fine if they were cached for the guest time frame and then refreshed just something that would update a random feed periodically.

I think this is still the only thing really missing (at least for me) in the IPS content blocks that really sold it to me when I first bought it. I also feel, from re-reading the old thread, that this is something that is still pressing to a lot of members that wasn't added in the filter update (which was baller btw).

[GoAncestry]

I asked about this last summer, specifically towards a Gallery block capability, but it makes sense to use random in many ways.  I thought they said it would be in 4.2 or sometime this summer.  The old thread also included some of the older filtering capabilities of 3.4.  I hope this means that after 4.2 is stable, we can get these other features back as they would REALLY improve my abilities to use Pages, Gallery, Forums, Commerce, and even Blogs in many interesting ways.

[Ramsesx]

Need this option for a random view too.

[IPCommerceFan]

Just want to echo the importance of having a random feed block.   Imagine having random testimonials fed from Commerce and displayed on the front page of a website.  This is how we are using it on our 3.4.9 site, and it is generating sales for us, so we have been holding off on upgrading to 4.2.5 until this and other features catch up.

[Joel R]

You may want to check Testimonials by @onlyME and see if he has a block that might be appropriate.  

[KentT]

 

1 hour ago, Joel R said:

You may want to check Testimonials by @onlyME and see if he has a block that might be appropriate.  

Also note that his Featured Content slider works well with Pages content.  I am using it to pull images from an extensive database and display it on my index page.

 

[sobrenome]

Well, I needed today a random records feed for one database and could not believe that there is no such a simple feature like this builtin IPS 4.2.

?

[IPCommerceFan]

On 10/27/2017 at 11:27 AM, Joel R said:

You may want to check Testimonials by @onlyME and see if he has a block that might be appropriate.  

I ended up using the testimonials app!!  I have to say it does work very well.  Commerce/Nexus reviews are imported to the testimonials database via a manually-run query, and the front_view and front_widgets templates were updated to pull the pertinent content from the reviews.   Now I have random nexus reviews in a block I can put anywhere on the site.

That said, we still really need a built-in way to do this considering it was available in IPB 3.4.x!  Hoping 4.3 brings this to us, along with a slew of other Commerce related needs. (at least in my case)