Dv.table for repeated fields

[kenNash]

What I’m trying to do

I’d like to have notes containing

`Activity`:: #VideoCall [[ABC]]
`Activity`:: #Work [[DEF]]

be included in a dv.table (see next section).

Things I have tried

```dataviewjs
let pages = dv.pages('"Journal/Activities"')
.where(p => p.Activity.includes("[[ABC]]"));

dv.table(
	["File", "Activity"],
	pages
	.sort(p => p.file.link, 'asc')
	.map(p => [
		p.file.link,
		dv.array(p.Activity)
	])
);
```

This code works fine for notes containing just

`Activity`:: #VideoCall [[ABC]]

but not for notes containing both rows.

Any help would be very much appreciated.

[Craig]

@kenNash

```dataviewjs
let pages = dv.pages('"Journal/Activities"')
.where(p => p.Activity.includes("[[ABC]]"));

I think the issue in in your where() clause.

When p.Activity contains just one value it’s a string, and so includes() checks to see if “[[ABC]]” is in the string – which it is.

But when p.Activity contains multiple values it’s an array, and so includes() checks to see if any array element matches “[[ABC]]” – which it doesn’t (because it’s “#VideoCall [[ABC]]”).

So your where() clause needs to take into account that p.Activity could be a string or an array. What I usually do in this case is force it to be an array using dv.array() and then go from there.

This where() clause worked for me:

.where(p => p.Activity && dv.array(p.Activity).some(a => a.includes("[[ABC]]")));

[kenNash]

Oh, thank you, in particular for your very clear explanation.

Great community here!

[kenNash]

Sorry to be here again…

@Craig actually solved my problem, but his code fails when one of the Activity values is, say,

Activity:: [[ABC]]

(This is different from the originally proposed use cases).

And I’m lost again…

[Craig]

Hi again @kenNash !

Your new use case adds another possible type for the Activity field, the Link type. A Link is neither a string nor an array, so we have to have additional code to handle this case. Links have properties like path, which is the name of the page.

Here’s what I came up with:

	.where(p => 
		p.Activity && dv.array(p.Activity).some(a => 
	        (a.includes && a.includes("[[ABC]]")) || 
	        (a.path && a.path == "ABC")
	        ));

So now, each time we look at a value for Activity, we’re checking to see if it:

• is wrapped in an array (we ensure this using dv.array())
• has the includes method (in which case it’s probably a String)
• has the path method (in which case it’s probably a Link)

JavaScript isn’t my first language, so likely there’s a more idiomatic way to do this, but it seemed to work in my vault. Here’s what my whole script looks like:

```dataviewjs
let pages = dv.pages('""')
	.where(p => 
		p.Activity && dv.array(p.Activity).some(a => 
	        (a.includes && a.includes("[[ABC]]")) || 
	        (a.path && a.path == "ABC")
	        ));

dv.table(
	["File", "Activity"],
	pages
	.sort(p => p.file.link, 'asc')
	.map(p => [
		p.file.link,
		p.Activity
	])
);
```

Hope this helps!

Craig

[holroy]

I’ve not tested this, but idiomatic it would be cleaner to do typeof a (maybe soelled incorrectly), to check the type and act accordingly. Or whatever equivalent we’ve got to check the property type.

[kenNash]

Thank you again @Craig.

This time, your code works for me just as far as “ABC” is a not-yet-created note.
If “ABC.md” does exist, at root level, your code works provided I change
(a.path && a.path == "ABC") into (a.path && a.path == "ABC.md").
If “ABC.md” is not at root level, I must provide its full path.

Am I doing something wrong?

Where can I find a list of all properties of any given type?

[Craig]

I’m not proud of this change, but it will detect if the path contains “ABC”, regardless of whether the page exists or not:

	.where(p => 
		p.Activity && dv.array(p.Activity).some(a => 
	        (a.includes && a.includes("[[ABC]]")) || 
	        (a.path && a.path.includes("ABC"))
	        ));

I changed a.path == "ABC" → a.path.includes("ABC").

This introduces a side effect: now it will match activity links whose path includes “ABC”, so it might match unintended shorter pages.

Hope this gets you unstuck.

[holroy]

One could also use some variant of “ends with” function to ensure that is the actual noe one is matching against.

[kenNash]

Dear @Craig,
I sincerely appreciate your contributions.

Admittedly, your last solution is not ideal… but works for now.

Thank you again.