Best way to update DCR from TPL??

System

I need to update a DCR field from the presentation template (.tpl). I will be combining several fields from the original DCR and would like to write these back to the DCR in a seperate field. Is this possible and how do I go about this?

Using TS 6.7.1 on Windows.

Adam Stoller

I need to update a DCR field from the presentation template (.tpl). I will be combining several fields from the original DCR and would like to write these back to the DCR in a seperate field. Is this possible and how do I go about this? Using TS 6.7.1 on Windows.

It is possible - but highly un-recommended.
If you're using a Perl-based PT (as opposed to XSLT) you can, within an <iw_perl>...</iw_perl> block, utilize Perl modules to parse and modify the DCR's XML.
Not sure how one does this (if at all) in XSLT.

But if you think about it - the PT is called to process a saved DCR - if the PT then modifies the DCR, the content which was previously being viewed / edited / reviewed, would change (even if it's a hidden field - the DCR itself becomes modified) - and thus the output of the PT is no longer based on the content that exists in the DCR, but on the content that used to exist in the DCR when the PT first started processing it. Not a very good design (IMO)

If you're trying to combine the contents of multiple fields within the DCR into a single field within the DCR - you should do so using FormAPI, just prior to actually saving the file - and not when you're processing the DCR with the PT.

About the only thing I'd consider doing to the DCR from the PT would be to add metadata to it, and even then I'd have to think about the possible ramifications.