Registering a Javascript to be loaded on edit view

Question

What is the recommended way to register a Javascript to be loaded on the edit view (Archetypes) of certain content types?

• Javascript would be merged and compressed if it's portal_javascripts
• Creating portal_javascript condition is a problem: how to create a condition line checking for edit views of a certain content types and so that the line doesn't look like the leftovers of fighting crows
• Archetypes widgets support old fashioned way to dump files directly to using macro slot fill

Any examples of existing implementations?

Answer 1

1. Make sure your JavaScript code works OK in those content type edit forms and doesn't break on other situations (jQuery is your friend). Then add it to portal_javascripts.

2. If you can associate the JavaScript to certain widgets, add it as helper_js for those widgets. Be careful with JavaScript as browser resources because I had trouble with '++resoure++'-like URLs as helper_js: apparently Archetypes doesn't like the plus (+) sign (doesn't escape plus sign correctly if I understand it OK).

3. You can define a page template named archetypes_custom_js with a macro called javascript_head and it will automatically be loaded in edit form of all Archetypes. You can then check special conditions in that macro. See base_edit.cpt line 47.

Answer 2

To be honest is such cases I like the approach that use old fill-slot directly in the edit form of the type. The edit form is often not-so-frequently called (and for sure not from anonymous) so a little overhead due to downloading not-fully cached code is not so bad.