Columns Overview

Each column in a DataTable is a PHP object that configures how a field is displayed, sorted, searched, and exported. All column classes extend AbstractColumn, which provides a common set of fluent methods.

Creating a Column

Use the static ::new() factory on the concrete column class:

use Pentiminax\UX\DataTables\Column\TextColumn;
use Pentiminax\UX\DataTables\Column\NumberColumn;
use Pentiminax\UX\DataTables\Column\DateColumn;

TextColumn::new('firstName', 'First Name');
NumberColumn::new('age', 'Age');
DateColumn::new('createdAt', 'Created');

The first argument is the data key (must match your mapRow() output), the second is the display header.

Choosing a Column Type

Inherited Methods (AbstractColumn)

All column types inherit these methods.

Display

$column
    ->setTitle('Full Name')           // Header label
    ->setClassName('text-primary')    // CSS class on each cell
    ->setWidth('200px')               // Column width
    ->setResponsivePriority(1)        // Stay visible longer with Responsive
    ->setVisible(false)               // Hide the column
    ->setDefaultContent('N/A');       // Fallback for null values

Data

$column
    ->setData('user.name')            // Nested data path for inline rows
    ->setField('product.ref');        // Nested property path for entity rows

Sorting & Searching

$column
    ->setOrderable(false)             // Disable sorting
    ->setSearchable(false)            // Disable column search
    ->disableGlobalSearch()           // Exclude from global search
    ->setSearchNormalization(false);  // Bare LIKE on the raw column, no LOWER()

Search normalization

Server-side text search lowercases both the column and the search term, so it behaves the same on PostgreSQL, on MySQL, and on binary collations. setSearchNormalization(false) opts a single column out of that and compares the raw column with a bare LIKE instead, which is what keeps a starts search usable on a MySQL prefix index. The bare LIKE follows the column’s collation, so it is case-sensitive only where the collation is. It applies to global search, per-column search, and the ColumnControl contains, starts, ends, and notContains logics.

TextColumn::new('reference', 'Reference')
    ->setSearchNormalization(false);

AbstractColumn carries the flag. A class implementing ColumnInterface directly is normalized unless it also implements NormalizedSearchColumnInterface and returns false from isSearchNormalized().

Sorting on a custom expression

By default, server-side ordering targets <alias>.<field>. For a computed column — one backed by a SELECT alias instead of a mapped entity field — that resolution fails (has no field or association named …). Use setOrderExpression() to provide the raw DQL expression or SELECT alias used verbatim in the ORDER BY, bypassing the default resolution:

NumberColumn::new('invoiceCount', 'Invoices')
    ->setOrderExpression('invoiceCount') // a SELECT alias added in customizeQueryBuilder()
    ->setSearchable(false)
    ->disableGlobalSearch();

See Sorting computed columns for the matching customizeQueryBuilder() setup.

Searching on a different field

Server-side search targets the column’s own field, which fails the same way for a virtual column — one whose value is assembled in mapRow() rather than mapped on the entity. Such a column is skipped by the search rather than breaking the query, so its search box silently returns nothing until you point it at real data.

setSearchField() does that. It affects search only: the rendered value, the row mapping, the form mapping, the ordering and the client payload all keep using setField().

TextColumn::new('donorProviderName', 'Donor')
    ->setSearchField('donorProvider.name'); // LEFT JOINs e.donorProvider automatically

The path uses the same dot-notation as setField(), so a relation path is resolved through a LEFT JOIN. Use addSearchJoin() when you need the alias yourself, a WITH condition, or the relation is already joined under a custom alias in customizeQueryBuilder():

TextColumn::new('donorProviderName', 'Donor')
    ->addSearchJoin('e.donorProvider', 'dp')
    ->setSearchField('dp.name');

Joins are applied once: declaring one whose alias is already on the query builder is a no-op, so the same column configuration is safe across global search, column search, and ColumnControl search in a single request.

Searching with a custom predicate

For what a field path cannot express — several fields at once, an EXISTS subquery, a database function — build the condition yourself with setSearchPredicate():

use Doctrine\ORM\QueryBuilder;

TextColumn::new('donorProviderName', 'Donor')
    ->addSearchJoin('e.donorProvider', 'dp')
    ->setSearchPredicate(function (QueryBuilder $qb, string $alias, string $value, string $paramName): string {
        $qb->setParameter($paramName, '%'.mb_strtolower($value).'%');

        return "LOWER(dp.name) LIKE :{$paramName} OR LOWER(dp.legalName) LIKE :{$paramName}";
    });

The closure receives the query builder, the root alias, the raw search term, and a parameter name unique to that column and search. Bind your parameters on the query builder — under $paramName or names derived from it — and return a DQL condition instead of calling andWhere(): global search combines the returned conditions with OR, a column search with AND. Return null to skip the column for that term.

Overriding buildSearchPredicate() in a column subclass is the class-level equivalent. All three settings come from Contracts\SearchableColumnInterface, which AbstractColumn implements — so every bundled column type has them, and a custom class implementing ColumnInterface directly opts in by implementing that interface too.

:::caution The predicate string is used verbatim in the DQL. Build it from your own code, never by concatenating the search value — bind the value as a parameter, as above. :::

Custom predicates apply to global search, per-column search, and the ColumnControl contains logic. The ColumnControl list, comparison, and empty/not-empty logics keep their own predicate shapes; they honor setSearchField() and addSearchJoin() but not setSearchPredicate(), and they skip a column whose search field the root entity does not map.

Cell Type

$column->setCellType('th');           // Use <th> instead of <td>

Custom JS Rendering

Define arbitrary DataTables render callbacks client-side with the datatables:pre-connect event:

this.element.addEventListener('datatables:pre-connect', (event) => {
  event.detail.config.columns[0].render = (data) => `<strong>${data}</strong>`
})

Export

$column->setExportable(false);        // Exclude from CSV/Excel exports

Exportable columns automatically receive the dt-exportable CSS class, which the default export selector (.dt-exportable:visible) relies on. DataTables’ column selector only accepts a plain CSS selector before :visible, so the marker is positive rather than a :not() exclusion.

Edit Form Control

$column->hideWhenUpdating();          // Exclude from inline edit modal

Custom Options

Pass arbitrary options to the frontend renderer:

$column->setCustomOption('myKey', 'myValue');

ColumnType Enum

The ColumnType enum controls DataTables.net’s internal sort and search algorithm for a column:

Translating Column Titles

Pass a Symfony translator key as the title and it will be resolved automatically when using AbstractDataTable:

yield TextColumn::new('name', 'datatable.columns.name');
yield TextColumn::new('email', 'datatable.columns.email');

Serialization

jsonSerialize() returns the DataTables.net configuration array for a column:

$config = $column->jsonSerialize();
// ['data' => 'name', 'title' => 'Full Name', 'orderable' => true, ...]