Steps to reproduce ¶
- Define a Model, whose field(s) specify
help_text, e.g.:
class MyModel(Model):
my_regular_field = CharField(max_length=255, help_text="this is my regular field")
my_readonly_field = CharField(max_length=255, help_text="this is my readonly field")
- Define a ModelAdmin for your Model, including one of its fields in
readonly_fields, e.g.:
class MyModelAdmin(ModelAdmin):
fields = 'my_regular_field', 'my_readonly_field'
readonly_fields = 'my_readonly_field',
admin.site.register(MyModel, MyModelAdmin)
In the object view/edit screen, "My regular field" will have help text, "My readonly field" will not.
Expectation ¶
The expected behavior is that readonly fields will work just like "regular" fields, except their widget will be their plain value rather than a form element -- i.e., any string specified as "help_text" should be displayed after the field.
Uneducated guesswork ¶
I don't dig very deep into the workings of the admin very often, and so, obviously, what I'm about to say may be entirely unhelpful. However, it appears that helpers.AdminReadonlyField constructs a limited, faux field object, a dict, at self.field, rather than assign the appropriate BoundField instance. This is perhaps because readonly fields are not available to it in self.form.fields. In the template, field.field.field.help_text fails, as the dict does not contain "help_text", (and I'm not sure where AdminReadonlyField would get it, anyway).
Added help_text to readonly admin fields