Mastering CSS Media Queries: Optimizing for Retina & Touch Devices

Learn how to use advanced CSS media queries to optimize sliders for Retina iPhones, high-DPI devices, and hybrid touchscreens.

When building responsive websites, CSS media queries are your best friend. They let you fine-tune layouts for different devices, screen sizes, resolutions, and input types. But sometimes media queries can look complicated — especially when dealing with device widths, pixel ratios, and hover/pointer detection.

In this post, we’ll break down three CSS media queries that are often used to optimize sliders (.ftslider) for iPhones, high-density screens, and hybrid touch devices. By the end, you’ll understand exactly what each query targets, why it’s written that way, and how it affects your design.

Targeting iPhone X–Style Devices

@media only screen and (min-device-width: 375px) and (max-device-width: 812px) 
and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 3) {
  .ftslider { height: calc(90vh - 85px); }
}

The above @media query targets iPhone X–style devices (and similar), because:

  • min-device-width: 375px – the device width is at least 375px.
  • max-device-width: 812px – the device width is at most 812px.
    • This matches iPhones in the 375×812 portrait range (like iPhone X, XS, 11 Pro, etc.).
  • -webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 3 → ensures the device has a Retina 3x screen density.

Handling High-Resolution Displays (Cross-Browser)

@media only screen and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 3),
only screen and (-o-min-device-pixel-ratio: 3/1),
only screen and (min-resolution: 458dpi),
only screen and (min-resolution: 3dppx) {
  .ftslider { height: calc(90vh - 85px); }
}

This @media query targets high-resolution displays (3x pixel density or higher), but in a cross-browser compatible way:

  • -webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 3 – WebKit (Safari, Chrome).
  • -o-min-device-pixel-ratio: 3/1 – Opera (old syntax).
  • min-resolution: 458dpi – very high DPI screens (approx 3× standard 96dpi).
  • min-resolution: 3dppx – modern way to express “3 device pixels per CSS pixel”.

Hybrid Devices: Hover + Coarse Pointer

@media only screen and (hover: hover) and (pointer: coarse) {
  .ftslider { height: calc(85vh - 55px); }
}

It targets devices that support hover and use a coarse pointer (e.g., touch + stylus hybrids).

Why This Matters

  • Better UX: Users on high-DPI devices get clean, non-clipped layouts.
  • Cross-platform support: Android, iOS, tablets, and hybrid devices all behave predictably.
  • Future-proofing: By writing broad yet precise queries, your design adapts to new device types.

Conclusion

Media queries may look intimidating at first glance, but each one has a specific purpose. In this case, they ensure sliders adapt smoothly across iPhones, high-DPI displays, and hybrid touch devices.

When building responsive designs, don’t just think in terms of width and height – consider pixel density, hover ability, and pointer type. That’s the key to delivering a seamless user experience on any screen.

From Static to Dynamic: Creating a Powerful Form Builder with Livewire

Learn how to build a dynamic form builder in Laravel Livewire with repeaters, file uploads, and component-based fields. Step-by-step guide with code examples.

Building dynamic forms is a common requirement in modern applications. Instead of hardcoding fields, you might want users to add components (like text inputs, dropdowns, file uploads, or repeaters) that automatically render inside a master form. With Laravel Livewire, you can develop dynamic form builder in a clean and interactive way without writing tons of JavaScript.

Step 1: Create a Livewire Component

Run the artisan command to create your base form builder component with livewire:

php artisan make:livewire FormBuilder

This creates two files:

  • app/Http/Livewire/FormBuilder.php (backend logic)
  • resources/views/livewire/form-builder.blade.php (frontend view)

Step 2: Define Available Components

Inside app/Http/Livewire/FormBuilder.php, let’s define a list of available components. Each component has a name and a JSON configuration of its fields.

public $availableComponents = [
    [
        'name' => 'Text Input',
        'fields' => [
            ['type' => 'text', 'label' => 'Enter Text', 'value' => '']
        ]
    ],
    [
        'name' => 'Email',
        'fields' => [
            ['type' => 'email', 'label' => 'Enter Email', 'value' => '']
        ]
    ],
    [
        'name' => 'File Upload',
        'fields' => [
            ['type' => 'file', 'label' => 'Upload File', 'value' => '']
        ]
    ],
    [
        'name' => 'Repeater',
        'fields' => [
            ['type' => 'repeater', 'label' => 'Repeater Field', 'items' => []]
        ]
    ],
];

We’ll store user-selected components in:

public $formComponents = [];

Step 3: Add Components to the Form

When a user clicks a component, push it to the form array:

public function addComponent($index)
{
    $component = $this->availableComponents[$index];
    $this->formComponents[] = $component;
}

Step 4: Render Dynamic Fields

Render all selected components to form-builder.blade.php:

<div>
    <!-- Component Menu -->
    <h3>Available Components</h3>
    @foreach ($availableComponents as $i => $comp)
        <button wire:click="addComponent({{ $i }})">
            {{ $comp['name'] }}
        </button>
    @endforeach

    <hr>

    <!-- Dynamic Form -->
    <form wire:submit.prevent="save">
        @foreach ($formComponents as $cIndex => $component)
            <div class="component">
                <h4>{{ $component['name'] }}</h4>

                @foreach ($component['fields'] as $fIndex => $field)
                    @if ($field['type'] === 'text')
                        <input type="text"
                               wire:model="formComponents.{{ $cIndex }}.fields.{{ $fIndex }}.value"
                               placeholder="{{ $field['label'] }}">
                    @elseif ($field['type'] === 'email')
                        <input type="email"
                               wire:model="formComponents.{{ $cIndex }}.fields.{{ $fIndex }}.value"
                               placeholder="{{ $field['label'] }}">
                    @elseif ($field['type'] === 'file')
                        <input type="file"
                               wire:model="formComponents.{{ $cIndex }}.fields.{{ $fIndex }}.value">
                    @elseif ($field['type'] === 'repeater')
                        <button type="button"
                                wire:click="addRepeaterItem({{ $cIndex }}, {{ $fIndex }})">
                            ➕ Add Row
                        </button>

                        @foreach ($field['items'] as $rIndex => $item)
                            <input type="text"
                                   wire:model="formComponents.{{ $cIndex }}.fields.{{ $fIndex }}.items.{{ $rIndex }}.value"
                                   placeholder="Repeater Item {{ $rIndex + 1 }}">
                        @endforeach
                    @endif
                @endforeach
            </div>
        @endforeach

        <button type="submit">Save Form</button>
    </form>
</div>

Step 5: Handle Repeaters in Form

If clicked component is repeater, push it to the form array as follows:

public function addRepeaterItem($cIndex, $fIndex)
{
    $this->formComponents[$cIndex]['fields'][$fIndex]['items'][] = ['value' => ''];
}

Step 6: Save the Form Data

Finally, handle form saving:

public function save()
{
    // Just dump the data for now
    dd($this->formComponents);

    // In real apps, store in DB as JSON
}

Conclusion

Dynamic form builders don’t have to be complicated. With Laravel Livewire, you can build fully interactive forms that support repeaters, file uploads, and dynamic components without writing heavy JavaScript.

This approach keeps your codebase clean, your forms flexible, and your users happy. Once you have the basics working, it’s easy to extend the builder with drag-and-drop sorting, conditional fields, or rich text editors.

Whether you’re building an admin panel, a survey tool, or a custom CMS, this Livewire-powered dynamic form structure gives you a strong foundation to adapt to almost any use case.

Boost Your Filament Resources with Excel Export in Minutes

Learn how to add an Export to Excel button in Filament using Laravel Excel. Includes filter-aware exports and reusable QueryExport class.

Exporting data is a common requirement in admin panels. If you’re using Filament with Laravel, you can easily integrate Export to Excel functionality using the Maatwebsite/Laravel-Excel package.

This guide will show you step by step how to:

  • Install Laravel Excel
  • Create a reusable export class
  • Add an “Export to Excel” button in your Filament resource
  • Ensure exports respect filters and tabs
  • Match Filament table columns in Excel

Step 1: Install Laravel Excel

Run the following command in your project root folder to install Laravel Excel package:

composer require maatwebsite/excel

Step 2: Create a Generic Export Class

Instead of creating a new export class for every model, you can build one reusable export class:

<?php

namespace App\Exports;

use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Builder;
use Maatwebsite\Excel\Concerns\FromCollection;
use Maatwebsite\Excel\Concerns\WithHeadings;
use Maatwebsite\Excel\Concerns\WithMapping;

class QueryExport implements FromCollection, WithHeadings, WithMapping
{
    protected Builder $query;
    protected array $columns;

    public function __construct(Builder $query, array $columns = [])
    {
        $this->query = $query;
        $this->columns = $columns;
    }

    public function collection()
    {
        return $this->query->get();
    }

    public function headings(): array
    {
        return array_merge(
            ['ID'],
            collect($this->columns)
                ->map(fn($col) => $col->getLabel() ?? $col->getName())
                ->toArray()
        );
    }

    public function map($row): array
    {
        return array_merge(
            [$row->id],
            collect($this->columns)
                ->map(fn($col) => data_get($row, $col->getName()))
                ->toArray()
        );
    }
}

This class is reusable across all models/resources.

Step 3: Add Export Action in Filament

In your ListBrands (or any other List<Resource>) page, add a header action:

use App\Exports\QueryExport;
use Maatwebsite\Excel\Facades\Excel;
use Filament\Tables\Actions\Action;

Action::make('export')
    ->label('Export to Excel')
    ->icon('heroicon-o-arrow-down-tray')
    ->action(function ($livewire) {
        $query   = $livewire->getFilteredTableQuery(); // respects filters & tabs
        $columns = $livewire->getTable()->getColumns();

        return Excel::download(new QueryExport($query, $columns), 'brands.xlsx');
    }),

Step 4: How It Works

  • The export respects all filters, search, and tab constraints thanks to getFilteredTableQuery().
  • The export file includes the same columns as your Filament table.
  • The ID column is automatically prepended.

Conclusion

With just a few steps, you can add a powerful Excel export feature to any Filament resource. The approach we used:

  • Reusable QueryExport class
  • Filter & tab aware exports
  • Matching Filament table columns
  • ID column always included

This setup gives your admin panel professional-grade export functionality while staying flexible across different resources.

Laravel Filament MD5 Password Authentication Guide

Learn how to enable MD5 password authentication in Laravel Filament by creating a custom hasher and updating the AuthServiceProvider for legacy systems.

⚠️ Security Warning:

MD5 is not secure for password hashing and should only be used for compatibility with legacy systems. Consider migrating to bcrypt or argon2 for secure password storage.

If you are working on a Laravel application using Filament Admin and you already have users table with passwords are stored as MD5 hashes, Laravel makes it possible to register a custom hash driver so authentication still works.

In this article, we will learn how to develop custom hash driver for legacy systems, which can use Filament Admin.

Step 1 – Create the MD5 Hasher Class

Laravel’s hash drivers only need three methods: make, check, and needsRehash. We’ll create a simple MD5-based hasher class as follows:

namespace App\Hashing;

class Md5Hasher
{
    public function make($value, array $options = [])
    {
        return md5($value);
    }

    public function check($value, $hashedValue, array $options = [])
    {
        return md5($value) === $hashedValue;
    }

    public function needsRehash($hashedValue, array $options = [])
    {
        return false;
    }
}

In this hasher class, we used md5 function to encrypt the data.

Step 2 – Register the MD5 Driver in AuthServiceProvider

We need to register this hash driver class to the app/Providers/AuthServiceProvider file as follows,

namespace App\Providers;

use Illuminate\Foundation\Support\Providers\AuthServiceProvider as ServiceProvider;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Hash;
use App\Hashing\Md5Hasher;

class AuthServiceProvider extends ServiceProvider
{
    public function boot()
    {
        $this->app->make('hash')->extend('md5', function() {
            return new Md5Hasher;
        });
    }
}

Step 3 – Set Laravel to Use MD5 by Default

After register to the service provider, we need to change the authentication driver for laravel. You can do it from .env file or config/hashing.php file.

In .env:

HASH_DRIVER=md5

Or in config/hashing.php:

'default' => env('HASH_DRIVER', 'md5'),

Step 4 – Ensure Passwords Are Stored as MD5

When creating or updating users, Laravel will now use MD5 automatically:

use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Hash;
use App\Models\User;

$user = new User();
$user->name = 'Admin';
$user->email = 'admin@example.com';
$user->password = Hash::make('secret'); // stored as MD5
$user->save();

How It Works in Filament

Filament uses Laravel’s built-in authentication (Auth::attempt()), which in turn uses Hash::check(). Because we overrode the hash driver, Filament logins will automatically work with MD5 passwords.

Bonus: Supporting Both MD5 and bcrypt

If you’re migrating from MD5 to bcrypt, you can check both formats:

public function check($value, $hashedValue, array $options = [])
{
    if (md5($value) === $hashedValue) {
        return true; // MD5 match
    }

    return password_verify($value, $hashedValue); // bcrypt/argon
}

This way, old MD5 passwords still work, but you can rehash them to bcrypt on the next login.

Final Thoughts

  • Use MD5 only for compatibility with old systems.
  • If possible, rehash MD5 passwords to bcrypt or argon2 after the first successful login.
  • Filament will automatically use your custom MD5 logic since it relies on Laravel’s authentication system.

How to Insert Repeater Field Entries as Rows to Table in Laravel Filament

Learn how to convert repeater field JSON data into individual table rows in Laravel Filament using a custom button action. A practical guide for syncing structured form data.

When building admin panels using Laravel Filament, the Repeater field is a powerful way to collect dynamic sets of data — such as specifications, tags, or features. Often, these repeater entries are stored as a JSON array in the database. But what if you want to convert those JSON entries into individual rows in another table — for analytics, reporting, or normalization?

In this article, we’ll walk through how to:

  • Collect data using a Repeater field (stored as JSON)
  • Add a button to your Filament admin to insert each entry as a row in another table
  • Do this on-demand, without preloading data from the related table

The Use Case

Let’s assume you’re managing products with technical specifications.

  • You store specifications in a specifications JSON column of the products table using a Filament Repeater.
  • When a button is clicked (e.g., “Insert Repeater Entries”), each specification should be copied into a product_specifications table, with one row per entry.

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Set Up the Repeater Field

Add a specifictions repeater field with multiple fields in product form as follows:

Repeater::make('specifications')
    ->schema([
        TextInput::make('key'),
        TextInput::make('value'),
        TextInput::make('unit'),
        TextInput::make('description'),
        TextInput::make('notes'),
    ])

This will create specifications repeater field in which you can add multiple rows of specifications for any product. This data is stored in the product_pecifications column of your products table as a JSON array.

Step 2: Create the Target Table

Create a migration for new table to hold individual specification entries using this command:

php artisan make:model ProductSpecification -m

It will create 2 files as follows:

  • Model File: app/Models/ProductSpecification.php
  • Migration File: database/migrations/xxxx_xx_xx_xxxxxx_create_product_specifications_table.php

Step 3: Run the Migration File

Update the migration file as per your repeater field entry as follows:

Schema::create('product_specifications', function (Blueprint $table) {
    $table->id();
    $table->foreignId('product_id')->constrained()->onDelete('cascade');
    $table->string('key')->nullable();
    $table->string('value')->nullable();
    $table->string('unit')->nullable();
    $table->text('description')->nullable();
    $table->text('notes')->nullable();
    $table->timestamps();
});

You can now run the migration using migrate command.

php artisan migrate

It will create a product_specifictions table in the database.

Step 4: Add a Button to Trigger the Insert

In your ProductResource\Pages\ViewProduct or EditProduct, add a custom action to generate specifications entries from the repeater field in product form.

use Filament\Actions\Action;

public function getHeaderActions(): array
{
    return [
        Action::make('Insert Repeater Entries')
            ->requiresConfirmation()
            ->action(function () {
                $specs = $this->record->specifications ?? [];

                if (!is_array($specs)) {
                    $specs = json_decode($specs, true) ?? [];
                }

                foreach ($specs as $spec) {
                    \App\Models\ProductSpecification::create([
                        'product_id'  => $this->record->id,
                        'key'         => $spec['key'] ?? null,
                        'value'       => $spec['value'] ?? null,
                        'unit'        => $spec['unit'] ?? null,
                        'description' => $spec['description'] ?? null,
                        'notes'       => $spec['notes'] ?? null,
                    ]);
                }

                $this->notify('success', 'Specifications inserted successfully.');
            }),
    ];
}

You can name the button anything, such as “Sync Specifications” or “Publish to Table”. It will manually extract the JSON data and insert it as rows in the product_specifications table.

Benefits of This Approach

  • Keeps your form simple and user friendly by storing repeater data in JSON.
  • Normalizes data later when needed — perfect for one-time inserts or batch operations.
  • Doesn’t require eager loading or nested relationship editing.

Avoid Duplicate Inserts

You can prevent duplicate imports by checking if rows already exists by adding the following check before adding the specifications in above code:

if ($this->record->productSpecifications()->exists()) {
    $this->notify('warning', 'Specifications already exist.');
    return;
}

Conclusion

Using repeater field gives you flexibility in how you manage structured, dynamic data in Laravel Filament. You can let users manage repeater fields easily, while keeping your database clean and relational by syncing data to separate tables on demand.

Whether for analytics, reporting, or integration, separating repeater entries into rows gives you the best of both worlds: JSON-based forms with relational data power.