How to publish content based on a Date field in custom content type in Drupal 7?

Question

I have a Date field in a custom content type in Drupal 7. I would want to control the publishing of the content instance based on that particular Date. I want the job of the Scheduler module but have it as a field in my content type and access it accordingly. Is there a way to do it using triggers or Rules? Any thoughts on this would be really useful.

Answer 1

There is a patch to make the Scheduler "Publish On" date render itself as a field: http://drupal.org/node/1203958

This presents a new Checkbox called "Show Scheduling options in vertical tabs", which you can uncheck to display as a field. Then you give it some weight so it shows up where you want it to.

It's been working for me in production for a month or so.

EDIT: Here's a better way to make this happen with both Scheduler and Rules.

1. Create a Rule, "After saving new content"
2. Add a condition of "Content is of type"

3. Add an "Execute PHP" action with this:

   $node->publish_on = strtotime("[node:field-datefield-here]"); scheduler_node_insert($node)

4. Create a Rule, "After updating existing content"

5. Add a condition of "Content is of type"

6. Add an "Execute PHP" action with this:

   $node->publish_on = strtotime("[node:field-datefield-here]"); scheduler_node_update($node);