Remove/Hide the block if the View is empty?

Question

Is there any API to know if the block is empty? Basically what I'm trying to do is to hide/unset the block inside template_preprocess_page.

Here is my currrent code:

 if ($variables['page']['rail_full']) {
    foreach ($variables['page']['rail_full'] as $keys => $blocks) {
      if (isset($blocks['content']['#views_contextual_links_info'])) {
        $name = (isset($blocks['content']['#views_contextual_links_info']['views_ui'])) ? $blocks['content']['#views_contextual_links_info']['views_ui']['view']->name : '';
        $display_id = explode('-', $blocks['#block']->delta);
        $block = views_get_view_result($name, $display_id[1]);
        if (empty($block)) {
          unset($variables['page']['rail_full'][$keys]);
        } 
      }
    }
  }

But the above code always return a count of 1 when I print $block.

The below works fine but not a good solution. I want it to be dynamic in all block as possible.

if (!isset($variables['node']->field_author_favorite_links['en'])) {
    unset($variables['page']['rail_full']['views_franchise_page-block_2']);
}

if (!isset($variables['node']->field_article_column['en'])) {
    unset($variables['page']['rail_full']['views_franchise_page-block_3']);
}

Answer 1

I had the same behavior with "empty" fields. Unless you don't hide the fields themselves, the design/ markup still renders. Solution for me was to filter for fields being "NOT NULL". (Maybe it depends on the "fences"-module i have installed, too. Not sure, because not tested ...)

Answer 2

By default, if a view with a Block display returns no results, it won't be rendered. That is unless you've set some "No Results Behavior" which the view will display when empty. So check to make sure it has nothing set.

So coding shouldn't be necessary unless you're trying to do something more custom. If so, you may want to clarify what it is you're trying to accomplish.