I fetch data from podio CRM using PHP - php

Question

I fetch data from podio CRM using PHP language and I fetch data for each element via its id as it is found in this function:
public function getContacts($item_id) {
$this->contactAuth();
$item = \PodioItem::get_by_app_item_id($podio_contact_app_id,$item_id);
return $item;
}
For example we have the 'Status' we show it like this:
$status = $item->fields[6]->values;
Not all elements get it right though it is the same function.
Sometimes :
$status = $item->fields[6]->values;
and sometimes :
$status = $item->fields[8]->values;
Can we know what caused the problem?

Answer 1

If some fields are empty they will not be presented in the PodioItem object, that is why the position of a particular field in the array may vary (like a Status field in your example).
So instead of using a field index (which may vary), you should get the value from a field by field's External ID (a human readable name like 'title', 'status' etc) or Field ID (a numeric code):
$item->fields['title']->values // 'title' is an External ID
$item->fields->get(123456789)->values // 123456789 is a Field ID
To know what External ID and Field ID are for a particular field you can list all fields like this:
// Iterate over the field collection
foreach ($item->fields as $field) {
// You can now work on each individual field object:
print "This field has the id: ".$field->field_id;
print "This field has the external_id: ".$field->external_id;
}
Or you can see developer's info on all fields right in Podio in App menu → Developer
And anyways, check the Podio PHP wrapper documentation at https://podio-community.github.io/podio-php/items/ it is pretty useful:)