How do I use the findBy magic find functions WITH $fields optional parameters?

Question

Was considering utilizing the magic findBy functions on a model today and encountered an issue when attempting to set optional parameters for the function. Here is what I tried.

$result = $this->findById($id['Alpha.name']);

So to explain, I'm attempting to find a record with a specific id and only return the value of the name field. According to the documentation, there is a way to do this.

The findBy magic functions also accept some optional parameters: findBy<fieldName>(string $value[, mixed $fields[, mixed $order]]);

CakePHP 1.3 Book :: findBy

When I do a simple findBy($id) I do get a result set. But with parameters, I get nothing. I know there are other ways to do this but was just curious if anyone has had any success using these magic functions with additional parameters?

Answer 1

try this:

$result = $this->findById($id, array('Alpha.name'));

where $id is an id of record you're searching for and Alpha.name is a field you need (e.g. name from model Alpha)