How to find elements in a render array

Question

I just spent a lot of time finding an element in a render array. I usually use dpm() to print the array, and then expand the options until I find what I'm looking for.

On larger arrays that's cumbersome. When I use print_r(), I can do a text search, but then it's hard to see the structure of the array and find the path to the element.

What other methods can you suggest?

Answer 1

There is extension module for Devel: Search Krumo. It uses Javascript to find text in Krumo/dpm messages and open array in those places.
Looks like this:

Update

After 22 Apr 2012 you should use sdpm() function to see search box.

Answer 2

One of the big problems with render arrays is that there are often a bunch of read-only copies of the information that you're looking for. If you want to actually change the render output, you have to find the right one. I usually use dpm(), and then view page source and search through the output there, flipping back and forth between the two displays until I find what I need.

If you want to dump the contents of a render array for a given path to the terminal (e.g. to pass it through grep), you could do something like this:

drush ev '$router_item=menu_get_item("node/7"); require_once(DRUPAL_ROOT .
"/" . $router_item["include_file"]);
$render_array=call_user_func_array($router_item["page_callback"],
$router_item["page_arguments"]); print_r($render_array);'

You could also just 'view page source' in your browser and use the clipboard, of course, but the above might be the start of a Drush command to view render arrays.

Update: I found a really good article on this subject: The Scary Render Array -- probably the best treatment of render arrays I have seen so far. I should have also mentioned the devel_themer module upfront; it does a good job at "zooming in" on the section of the render array you are interested in.