Templates

Please note: This page is under construction and has not been finished yet.

Introduction

• Templates and shortcodes function together to allow a developer to place dynamic content into their code.

• Templates are portions of HTML which contain markers that are replaced by dynamic content when parsed e107's parseTemplate()function.

• These markers are called 'shortcodes'.

• A shortcode is always CAPITALIZED and is surrounded by curly brackets and it may contain letters and underscores. For example: {MY_SHORTCODE}

• Each shortcode has a corresponding function/method which is run during the parsing of the template. These functions are always lowercase and begin with the prefix sc_ . eg. sc_my_shortcode(). This means that {MY_SHORTCODE} is replaced by what is returned by sc_my_shortcode().

• Shortcodes may also contain parameters which are sent to the corresponding method. For example: {MY_SHORTCODE: x=foo&y=bar}

Creating templates

Create a folder called templates inside your plugin directory, and inside create an empty file using the name of your plugin folder, followed by _template.php. eg. myplugin_template.php Inside this file add an array by the same name, but in UPPERCASE: eg. $MYPLUGIN_TEMPLATE['xxxx'] xxxx can be anything you want, but we suggest using start, item, end etc. when applicable. This value should always be lowercase. Here's a simple example of the contents of myplugin_template.php:

<?php

$MYPLUGIN_TEMPLATE['start'] = "<ul>";
$MYPLUGIN_TEMPLATE['item'] = "<li>{MYPLUGIN_ITEM}</li>";
$MYPLUGIN_TEMPLATE['end'] = "</ul>";

?>

If your plugin will use several different types of templates, eg. a listing page and an input form. You can do something like this:

<?php

$MYPLUGIN_TEMPLATE['list']['start'] = "<ul>";
$MYPLUGIN_TEMPLATE['list']['item'] = "<li>{MYPLUGIN_ITEM}</li>";
$MYPLUGIN_TEMPLATE['list']['end'] = "</ul>";

$MYPLUGIN_TEMPLATE['form']['start'] = "<form>";
$MYPLUGIN_TEMPLATE['form']['body'] = "<div>{MYPLUGIN_FORMINPUT}</divi>";
$MYPLUGIN_TEMPLATE['form']['end'] = "</form>";

?>

Loading templates

You may load a template file in the following way:

$template   = e107::getTemplate('myplugin'); // loads e107_plugins/myplugin/templates/myplugin_template.php

You can now use the $template code array for parsing:

$text = e107::getParser()->parseTemplate($template['start'], true, $scObj);

// or

$text = e107::getParser()->parseTemplate($template['form']['start'], true, $scObj);

Overriding Core Templates

• All templates that are used in e107 can be overridden by copying them into specific folders within your current theme folder.

• Core themes (located in e107_core/templates/ ) should be copied into e107_themes/YOURTHEME/templates/

• Plugin templates should be copied into e107_themes/YOURTHEME/templates/PLUGIN-FOLDER Note: Older plugins may look for templates in the root folder of your theme. ie. e107_theme/YOURTHEME/

Examples

1) The comment template is a core template, as it is located in e107_core/templates/. To override this template, copy the file to e107_themes/your_theme_folder/templates/. 2) The news template is located in e107_plugins/news/. To override this template, copy the file over to e107_themes/your_theme_folder/templates/news/. 3) The same for, for example, the chatbox menu template. The chatbox_menu template is located in e107_plugins/chatbox_menu. Copy the template over to e107_themes/your_theme_folder/templates/chatbox_menu/

Important: For overriding plugin templates, the folder name within your_theme_folder/templates/ directory must match the exact plugin folder name.