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# Nova - Lenses/Defining-Lenses *Source: https://nova.laravel.com/docs/v5/lenses/defining-lenses* --- - [Community](https://discord.com/invite/laravel) - [Blog](https://blog.laravel.com) ##### Get Started - [Installation](/docs/v5/installation) - [Release Notes](/docs/v5/releases) - [Upgrade Guide](/docs/v5/upgrade) ##### Resources - [The Basics](/docs/v5/resources/the-basics) - [Fields](/docs/v5/resources/fields) - [Dependent Fields](/docs/v5/resources/dependent-fields) - [Date Fields](/docs/v5/resources/date-fields) - [File Fields](/docs/v5/resources/file-fields) - [Repeater Fields](/docs/v5/resources/repeater-fields) - [Field Panels](/docs/v5/resources/panels) - [Relationships](/docs/v5/resources/relationships) - [Validation](/docs/v5/resources/validation) - [Authorization](/docs/v5/resources/authorization) ##### Search - [The Basics](/docs/v5/search/the-basics) - [Global Search](/docs/v5/search/global-search) - [Scout Integration](/docs/v5/search/scout-integration) ##### Filters - [Defining Filters](/docs/v5/filters/defining-filters) - [Registering Filters](/docs/v5/filters/registering-filters) ##### Lenses - [Defining Lenses](/docs/v5/lenses/defining-lenses) - [Registering Lenses](/docs/v5/lenses/registering-lenses) ##### Actions - [Defining Actions](/docs/v5/actions/defining-actions) - [Registering Actions](/docs/v5/actions/registering-actions) ##### Metrics - [Defining Metrics](/docs/v5/metrics/defining-metrics) - [Registering Metrics](/docs/v5/metrics/registering-metrics) ##### Digging Deeper - [Dashboards](/docs/v5/customization/dashboards) - [Menus](/docs/v5/customization/menus) - [Notifications](/docs/v5/customization/notifications) - [Authentication](/docs/v5/customization/authentication) - [Impersonation](/docs/v5/customization/impersonation) - [Tools](/docs/v5/customization/tools) - [Resource Tools](/docs/v5/customization/resource-tools) - [Cards](/docs/v5/customization/cards) - [Fields](/docs/v5/customization/fields) - [Filters](/docs/v5/customization/filters) - [CSS / JavaScript](/docs/v5/customization/frontend) - [Assets](/docs/v5/customization/assets) - [Localization](/docs/v5/customization/localization) - [Stubs](/docs/v5/customization/stubs) On this page - [Overview](#overview) - [Query Helpers](#query-helpers) - [Lens Polling](#lens-polling) - [Toggling Lens Polling](#toggling-lens-polling) - [Lens Filters](#lens-filters) - [Lens Actions](#lens-actions) - [Lens Metrics](#lens-metrics) - [Lens Pagination](#lens-pagination) Lenses # Defining Lenses Learn how to define lenses in Nova. While similar to filters, Nova lenses allow you to fully customize the underlying resource Eloquent query. For example, you may want to list of all your application’s users sorted by their total lifetime revenue:  Creating such a list may require you to join to additional tables and perform aggregate functions within the query. If it sounds complicated, don’t worry - this is exactly the type of situation lenses are designed to solve. ## [​](#overview) Overview To create a lens, you may use the `nova:lens` Artisan command. By default, Nova will place newly generated lenses in the `app/Nova/Lenses` directory: Copy Ask AI ``` php artisan nova:lens MostValuableUsers ``` Each lens generated by Nova contains several methods. However, the two methods we are currently concerned with are the `query` and `fields` methods. The `query` method is responsible for building the Eloquent query that is needed to retrieve the desired data, while the `fields` method returns an array of fields that should be displayed when viewing the lens. To learn more, let’s take a look at a complete lens definition that displays users and their lifetime revenue. As you can see in the example below, the `query` method will take advantage of the `withFilters` and `withOrdering` methods offered by the `LensRequest` in order to instruct Nova to also apply any selected filters and ordering constraints to the query: app/Nova/Lenses/MostValuableUsers.php Copy Ask AI ``` namespace App\Nova\Lenses; use Illuminate\Contracts\Database\Eloquent\Builder; use Illuminate\Contracts\Pagination\Paginator; use Illuminate\Support\Facades\DB; use Laravel\Nova\Fields\ID; use Laravel\Nova\Fields\Number; use Laravel\Nova\Fields\Text; use Laravel\Nova\Http\Requests\LensRequest; use Laravel\Nova\Http\Requests\NovaRequest; use Laravel\Nova\Lenses\Lens; use Laravel\Nova\Nova; class MostValuableUsers extends Lens { /** * Get the query builder / paginator for the lens. */ public static function query(LensRequest $request, Builder $query): Builder|Paginator { return $request->withOrdering($request->withFilters( $query->select(self::columns()) ->join('licenses', 'users.id', '=', 'licenses.user_id') ->groupBy('users.id', 'users.name') ->withCasts([ 'revenue' => 'float', ]) ), fn ($query) => $query->orderBy('revenue', 'desc')); } /** * Get the columns that should be selected. */ protected static function columns(): array { return [ 'users.id', 'users.name', DB::raw('sum(licenses.price) as revenue'), ]; } /** * Get the fields available to the lens. * * @return array<int, \Laravel\Nova\Fields\Field> */ public function fields(NovaRequest $request): array { return [ ID::make('ID', 'id'), Text::make('Name', 'name'), Number::make('Revenue', 'revenue', function ($value) { return '$'.number_format($value, 2); }), ]; } /** * Get the cards available for the lens. * * @return array<int, \Laravel\Nova\Card> */ public function cards(NovaRequest $request): array { return []; } /** * Get the filters available for the lens. * * @return array<int, \Laravel\Nova\Filters\Filter> */ public function filters(NovaRequest $request): array { return []; } /** * Get the actions available for the lens. * * @return array<int, \Laravel\Nova\Actions\Action> */ public function actions(NovaRequest $request): array { return parent::actions($request); } /** * Get the URI key for the lens. * * @return string */ public function uriKey() { return 'most-profitable-users'; } } ``` As you can see in the example above, the `query` method has full control of the Eloquent query used to retrieve the lens data. The `fields` method may leverage any of Nova’s fields in order to appropriately display the data retrieved by the query. In this example, the `columns` method has been extracted from the `query` method for readability. It is not “required” and is not a “feature” of lenses.When writing your lens query, you should always try to include the resource’s ID as a selected column. If the ID is not included, Nova will not be able to display the “Select All Matching” option for the lens. In addition, the resource deletion menu will not be available. #### [​](#query-helpers) Query Helpers The `withOrdering` and `withFilters` methods are used to apply orderings and filters to lens queries and should always be applied in the `query` method. Both methods accept the `$query` as the first parameter, and the `withOrdering` method accepts a closure as its second parameter. The closure passed to the `withOrdering` method should apply the default ordering to the query that will be applied if no other ordering has been selected from the Nova dashboard: Copy Ask AI ``` use Illuminate\Contracts\Database\Eloquent\Builder; use Illuminate\Contracts\Pagination\Paginator; use Laravel\Nova\Http\Requests\LensRequest; // ... /** * Get the query builder / paginator for the lens. */ public static function query(LensRequest $request, Builder $query): Builder|Paginator { return $request->withOrdering( $request->withFilters($query), fn ($query) => $query->latest() ); } ``` ## [​](#lens-polling) Lens Polling Nova can automatically fetch the latest records for a lens at a specified interval via polling. To enable polling, overwrite the `polling` property of your lens class: app/Nova/Lenses/MostValuableUsers.php Copy Ask AI ``` /** * Indicates whether the lens should automatically poll for new records. * * @var bool */ public static $polling = true; ``` To customize the polling interval, you may override the `pollingInterval` property on your lens class. The `pollingInterval` defines the number of seconds Nova should wait before fetching new records: app/Nova/Lenses/MostValuableUsers.php Copy Ask AI ``` /** * The interval (in seconds) at which Nova should poll for new lens. * * @var int */ public static $pollingInterval = 5; ``` ### [​](#toggling-lens-polling) Toggling Lens Polling By default, when lens polling is enabled, there is no way to disable polling once the page has loaded. However, you can instruct Nova to display a start / stop polling toggle button by defining a `showPollingToggle` property on your lens class as `true`: app/Nova/Lenses/MostValuableUsers.php Copy Ask AI ``` /** * Indicates whether to show the polling toggle button inside Nova. * * @var bool */ public static $showPollingToggle = true; ``` ## [​](#lens-filters) Lens Filters Each Nova lens also contains a `filters` method. This method allows you to attach any of your existing [filters](./../filters/defining-filters) to the lens: app/Nova/Lenses/MostValuableUsers.php Copy Ask AI ``` use App\Nova\Filters\UserType; use Laravel\Nova\Http\Requests\NovaRequest; // ... /** * Get the filters available for the lens. * * @return array<int, \Laravel\Nova\Filters\Filter> */ public function filters(NovaRequest $request): array { *[Content truncated for length]*