Difference: TWikiTemplates (1 vs. 25)

Revision 2527 Mar 2005 - Main.TWikiContributor

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TWiki Templates

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Variable: Description:
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%DATE% Signature format date. See TWikiVariables#VarDATE
%GMTIME% Date/time. See TWikiVariables#VarGMTIME
%GMTIME{...}% Formatted date/time. See TWikiVariables#VarGMTIME2
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%DATE% Signature format date. See VarDATE
%GMTIME% Date/time. See VarGMTIME
%GMTIME{...}% Formatted date/time. See VarGMTIME2
 
%NOP% A no-operation variable that gets removed. Useful to prevent a SEARCH from hitting an edit template topic; also useful to escape a variable like %URLPARAM%NOP%{...}%
%STARTSECTION{type="templateonly"}%
...
%ENDSECTION{type="templateonly"}%
Text that gets removed when a new topic based on the template is created. See notes below.
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%SERVERTIME% Date/time. See TWikiVariables#VarSERVERTIME
%SERVERTIME{...}% Formatted date/time. See TWikiVariables#VarSERVERTIME2
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%SERVERTIME% Date/time. See VarSERVERTIME
%SERVERTIME{...}% Formatted date/time. See VarSERVERTIME2
 
%USERNAME% Login name of user who is instantiating the new topic, e.g. guest
%URLPARAM{"name"}% Value of a named URL parameter
%WIKINAME% WikiName of user who is instantiating the new topic, e.g. TWikiGuest

Revision 2427 Mar 2005 - Main.TWikiContributor

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META TOPICPARENT name="WebHome"
 

TWiki Templates

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Overview

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The new modular template system offers flexible, easy control over the layout of all TWiki pages. The master template approach groups parts that are shared by several templates - like headers and footers - in a common file. Special variables allow individual layouts to include parts from a master template - variables are mixed with regular HTML markup for template-specific content. Templates are used to define page layout, and also to supply default content for new pages.
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There are three types of template:
  • Master Templates: Define blocks of text for use in other templates
  • HTML Page Templates: Define the layout of Proyecto META pages
  • Template Topics: Define default text when you create a new topic
 
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Major changes from the previous template system

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All three types of template use the TWiki template system.
 
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Where the old templates were each complete HTML documents, the new templates are defined using variables to include template parts from a master file. You can now change one instance of a common element to update all occurrences; previously, every affected template had to be updated. This simplifies the conversion of templates into XHTML format, and provides a more versatile solution for templates and for TWikiSkins. The new system:
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The TWiki Template System

 
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  • separates a set of common template parts into a base template that is included by all of the related templates;
  • defines common variables, like a standard separator (ex: "|"), in the base template;
  • defines variable text in the individual templates and passes it back to the base template.
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Templates are plain text with embedded template directives that tell TWiki how to compose blocks of text together to create something new.
 
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How Template Variables Work

  • Special template directives (or preprocessor commands) are embedded in normal templates.
  • All template preprocessing is done in &TWiki::Store::readTemplate() so that the caller simply gets an expanded template file (the same as before).
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How Template Directives Work

  • Template directives are embedded in templates.
 
  • Directives are of the form %TMPL:<key>% and %TMPL:<key>{"attr"}%.
  • Directives:
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    • %TMPL:INCLUDE{"file"}%: Includes a template file. The template directory of the current web is searched first, then the templates root (twiki/templates).
    • %TMPL:DEF{"var"}%: Define a variable. Text between this and the END directive is not returned, but put into a hash for later use.
    • %TMPL:END%: Ends variable definition.
    • %TMPL:P{"var"}%: Prints a previously defined variable.
  • Variables live in a global name space: there is no parameter passing.
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    • %TMPL:INCLUDE{"file"}%: Includes a template file. The file is found as described below.
    • %TMPL:DEF{"block"}%: Define a block. Text between this and the %TMPL:END% directive is not used in-place, but is saved for later use with %TMPL:P. Leading and trailing whitespace is ignored.
    • %TMPL:END%: Ends a block definition.
    • %TMPL:P{"var"}%: Includes a previously defined block.
    • %{...}%: is a comment.
 
  • Two-pass processing lets you use a variable before or after declaring it.
  • Templates and TWikiSkins work transparently and interchangeably. For example, you can create a skin that overloads only the twiki.tmpl master template, like twiki.print.tmpl, that redefines the header and footer.
  • HELP Use of template directives is optional: templates work without them.
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  • ALERT! NOTE: Template directives work only for templates: they do not get processed in topic text.
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  • ALERT! NOTE: Template directives work only for templates: they do not get processed in normal topic text.
 
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Types of Template

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TMPL:P also supports simple parameters. For example, given the definition %TMPL:DEF{"x"}% x%P%z%TMPL:END% then %TMPL:P{"x" P="y"}% will expand to xyz.
 
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There are three types of template:
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Note that parameters can simply be ignored; for example=%TMPL:P{"x"}%= will expand to x%P%z.

Any alphanumeric characters can be used in parameter names. You are highly recommended to use parameter names that cannot be confused with TWikiVariables.

 
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  • Master Template: Stores common parts; included by other templates
  • HTML Page Templates: Defines the layout of Proyecto META pages
  • Template Topics: Defines default text when you create a new topic
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Note that three parameter names, context, then and else are reserved. They are used to support a limited form of "if" condition that you can use to select which of two templates to use, based on a context identifier:
%TMPL:DEF{"link_inactive"}%<input type="button" disabled value="Link>%TMPL:END%
%TMPL:DEF{"link_active"}%<input type="button" onclick="link()" value="Link" />%TMPL:END%
%TMPL:P{context="inactive" then="inactive_link" else="active_link"}% for %CONTEXT%
When the "inactive" context is set, then this will expand the "link_inactive" template; otherwise it will expand the "link_active" template. See IfStatements for details of supported context identifiers.
 
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Master Templates

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Finding Templates

Templates are stored either in the twiki/templates directory, or can also be read from user topics. As an example, twiki/templates/view.tmpl is the default template file for the twiki/bin/view script.

Templates that are included using %TMPL:INCLUDE% are also found using the same search algorithm, unless you explicitly put '.tmpl' at the end of the template name. In this case, the string is assumed to be the full name of a template in the templates directory, and the algorithm isn't used.

TWiki uses the following search order to determine which template file or topic to use for a particular script. The skin path is set as described in TWikiSkins.

 
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Common parts, appearing in two or more templates, can be defined in a master template and then shared by others: twiki.tmpl is the default master template.
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  1. templates/web/script.skin.tmpl for each skin on the skin path
    • ALERT! this usage is supported for compatibility only and is deprecated. Store web-specific templates in TWiki topics instead.
  2. templates/script.skin.tmpl for each skin on the skin path
  3. templates/web/script.tmpl
    • ALERT! this usage is supported for compatibility only and is deprecated. Store web-specific templates in TWiki topics instead.
  4. templates/script.tmpl
  5. The TWiki topic web.topic if the template name can be parsed into web.topic
  6. The TWiki topic web.SkinSkinScriptTemplate for each skin on the skin path
  7. The TWiki topic web.ScriptTemplate
  8. The TWiki topic TWiki.SkinSkinScriptTemplate for each skin on the skin path
  9. The TWiki topic TWiki.ScriptTemplate
Legend:
  • script refers to the script name, e.g view, edit
  • Script refers to the same, but with the first character capitalized, e.g View
  • skin refers to a skin name, e.g dragon, pattern. All skins are checked at each stage, in the order they appear in the skin path.
  • Skin refers to the same, but with the first character capitalized, e.g Dragon
  • web refers to the current web
For example, the example template file will be searched for in the following places, when the current web is Thisweb and the skin path is print,pattern:
  1. templates/Thisweb/example.print.tmpl deprecated; don't rely on it
  2. templates/Thisweb/example.pattern.tmpl deprecated; don't rely on it
  3. templates/example.print.tmpl
  4. templates/example.pattern.tmpl
  5. templates/Thisweb/example.tmpl deprecated; don't rely on it
  6. templates/example.tmpl
  7. Thisweb.PrintSkinExampleTemplate
  8. Thisweb.PatternSkinExampleTemplate
  9. Thisweb.ExampleTemplate
  10. TWiki.PrintSkinExampleTemplate
  11. TWiki.PatternSkinExampleTemplate
  12. TWiki.ExampleTemplate

Template names are usually derived from the name of the currently executing script; however it is also possible to override these settings in the view and edit scripts, for example when a topic-specific template is required. Two preference variables can be user to override the templates used:

  • VIEW_TEMPLATE sets the template to be used for viewing a topic
  • EDIT_TEMPLATE sets the template for editing a topic.
If these preferences are set locally (using Local instead of Set) for a topic, in WebPreferences, in Main.TWikiPreferences, or TWiki.TWikiPreferences (using Set), the indicated templates will be chosen for view and edit respectively. The template search order is as specified above.

Master Templates

Master templates use the block definition directives (%TMPL:DEF and %TMPL:END%) to define common sections that appear in two or more other templates. twiki.tmpl is the default master template.
 
Template variable: Defines:
%TMPL:DEF{"sep"}% "|" separator
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HTML Page Templates

TWiki uses HTML template files for all actions, like topic view, edit, and preview. This allows you to change the look and feel of all pages by editing just a few template files.

Templates are stored either in the twiki/templates directory or in user topics. As an example, twiki/templates/view.tmpl is the template file for the twiki/bin/view script.

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HTML Page Templates

 
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HELP Templates can be overloaded by individual webs.
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HTML page templates are files of HTML mixed with template directives that tell TWiki how to build up an HTML page. As described above, the template system supports the use of 'include' directives that let you re-use the same sections of HTML - such as headers and footers - in several different places.
 
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HELP TWikiSkins can overload the standard templates.
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TWiki uses HTML page templates when composing the output from all actions, like topic view, edit, and preview. This allows you to change the look and feel of all pages by editing just a few template files.
 
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TWiki uses the following search order to determine which template to use:

If a skin is specified If no skin is specified
templates/%WEB%/script.skin.tmpl templates/%WEB%/script.tmpl
templates/script.skin.tmpl templates/script.tmpl
data/%WEB%/SkinSkinScriptTemplate.txt data/%WEB%/ScriptTemplate.txt
data/TWiki/SkinSkinScriptTemplate.txt data/TWiki/ScriptTemplate.txt
Legend:
script refers to the script name, e.g view, edit
Script refers to the same, but with the first character capitalized, e.g View
skin refers to the skin name, e.g dragon, pattern
Skin refers to the same, but with the first character capitalized, e.g Dragon
%WEB% refers to the current web

Additionally (and primarily for use in %TMPL:INCLUDE{}%) the template name may be a wiki topic name, specified as Web.Topic, in which case the search is:

If a skin is specified If no skin is specified
templates/web/Web.Topic.skin.tmpl templates/web/Web.Topic.tmpl
templates/Web.Topic.skin.tmpl templates/Web.Topic.tmpl
data/Web/Topic.txt
If Web is not specified in the INCLUDE, it defaults to TWiki, and the search to the first type.

Special variables are used in templates, especially in view, to display meta data.

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HTML page templates are also used in the definition of TWikiSkins.
 
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Template Topics

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Template Topics

 Template topics define the default text for new topics. There are three types of template topic:
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WebTopicNonWikiTemplate Alert page shown when you try to view a nonexistent topic with a non-WikiName
WebTopicEditTemplate Default text shown when you create a new topic.
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All template topics are located in the TWiki web. The WebTopicEditTemplate can be overloaded. When you create a new topic, TWiki locates a topic to use as a content template according to the following search order:
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When you create a new topic, TWiki locates a topic to use as a content template according to the following search order:
 
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  1. A topic name specified by the templatetopic CGI parameter.
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  1. A topic name specified by the templatetopic CGI parameter
    • if no web is specified, the current web is searched first and then the TWiki web
 
  1. WebTopicEditTemplate in the current web
  2. WebTopicEditTemplate in the TWiki web
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Edit Template Topics and Variable Expansion

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Edit Template Topics and Variable Expansion

 The following variables get expanded when a user creates a new topic based on a template topic:

Variable: Description:
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%DATE% Current date, e.g. 28 Mar 2024
%USERNAME% Login name, e.g. jsmith
%WIKINAME% WikiName of user, e.g. JohnSmith
%WIKIUSERNAME% User name, e.g. Main.JohnSmith
%URLPARAM{"name"}% Value of a named URL parameter
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%DATE% Signature format date. See TWikiVariables#VarDATE
%GMTIME% Date/time. See TWikiVariables#VarGMTIME
%GMTIME{...}% Formatted date/time. See TWikiVariables#VarGMTIME2
 
%NOP% A no-operation variable that gets removed. Useful to prevent a SEARCH from hitting an edit template topic; also useful to escape a variable like %URLPARAM%NOP%{...}%
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%NOP{ ... }% A no-operation text that gets removed. Useful to write-protect an edit template topic, but not the topics based this template topic. See notes below. Example:
%NOP{
   * Set ALLOWTOPICCHANGE = Main.TWikiAdminGroup
}%
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%STARTSECTION{type="templateonly"}%
...
%ENDSECTION{type="templateonly"}%
Text that gets removed when a new topic based on the template is created. See notes below.
%SERVERTIME% Date/time. See TWikiVariables#VarSERVERTIME
%SERVERTIME{...}% Formatted date/time. See TWikiVariables#VarSERVERTIME2
%USERNAME% Login name of user who is instantiating the new topic, e.g. guest
%URLPARAM{"name"}% Value of a named URL parameter
%WIKINAME% WikiName of user who is instantiating the new topic, e.g. TWikiGuest
%WIKIUSERNAME% User name of user who is instantiating the new tpoic, e.g. Main.TWikiGuest
 
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Notes:
  • Unlike other variables, %NOP{ ... }% can span multiple lines.
  • The scan for the closing }% pattern is "non-greedy", that is, it stops at the first occurance. That means, you need to escape variables with parameters located inside %NOP{ ... }%: Insert a %NOP% between } and %. Silly example: %NOP{ %GMTIME{"$year"}%NOP%% }%.
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%STARTSECTION{type="templateonly"}%
...
%ENDSECTION{type="templateonly"}%
markers are used to embed text that you do not want expanded when a new topic based on the template topic is created. For example, you might want to write in the template topic:
%STARTSECTION{type="templateonly"}%
This template can only be changed by:
   * Set ALLOWTOPICCHANGE = %MAINWEB%.TWikiAdminGroup
%ENDSECTION{type="templateonly"}%
This will restrict who can edit the template topic, but will get removed when a new topic based on that template topic is created.

%NOP% can be used to prevent expansion of TWiki variables that would otherwise be expanded during topic creation e.g.i escape %nop>SERVERTIME% with %SER%NOP%VERTIME%.

 All other variables are unchanged, e.g. are carried over "as is" into the new topic.
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Template Topics in Action

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Template Topics in Action

 Here is an example for creating new topics based on a specific template topic:
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  • New example topic:
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  (date format is YYYYxMMxDD)

The above form asks for a topic name. A hidden input tag named templatetopic specifies ExampleTopicTemplate as the template topic to use. Here is the HTML source of the form:


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<form name="new" action="%SCRIPTURLPATH%/edit%SCRIPTSUFFIX%/%INTURLENCODE{"%WEB%"}%/">
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<form name="new" action="%SCRIPTURLPATH{edit}%/%WEB%/">
 
  • New example topic:
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<input type="text" name="topic" value="ExampleTopic%SERVERTIME{$yearx$mox$day}%" size="23" />
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<input type="text" name="topic" value="ExampleTopic%SERVERTIME{$yearx$mox$day}%" size="26" />
  <input type="hidden" name="templatetopic" value="ExampleTopicTemplate" /> <input type="hidden" name="topicparent" value="%TOPIC%" /> <input type="hidden" name="onlywikiname" value="on" /> <input type="hidden" name="onlynewtopic" value="on" />
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<input type="submit" value="Create" />
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<input type="submit" class="twikiSubmit" value="Create" />
  (date format is <nop>YYYYxMMxDD) </form>
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The edit scipt understands the following parameters, typically supplied by HTML input fields:

Parameter: Description:
topic Name of topic to create. Can be set in a text field, or is set programmatically (e.g. with a sequential number)
onlywikiname If set, TWiki will complain if the topic name is not a WikiWord
onlynewtopic If set, TWiki will complain if a topic of the same name already exists
templatetopic The name of the template topic, e.g. topic used to copy the initial content
topicparent Sets the parent topic
TopicClassification Assuming the template topic has a form with a field called "TopicClassification", it will set the value of the field
contenttype Optional parameter that defines the application type to write into the CGI header. Defaults to text/html. May be used to invoke alternative client applications
anyname Any parameter can passed to the new topic; if the template topic contains %URLPARAM{"anyname"}%, it will be replaced by its value
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See TWikiScripts for details of the parameters that the edit script understands.
 TIP TIP: You can use the %WIKIUSERNAME% and %DATE% variables in your topic templates to include the signature of the person creating a new topic. The variables are expanded into fixed text when a new topic is created. The standard signature is:
-- %WIKIUSERNAME% - %DATE%
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Templates by Example

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Automatically Generated Topicname

If you want to make a TWiki application where you need automatically generated unique topicnames, you can use 10 X's in the edit / save URL, and they will be replaced on topic save with a count value. For example, BugIDXXXXXXXXXX will result in topics named BugID0, BugID1, BugID2 etc.

 
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Attached is an example of an oops based template oopsbase.tmpl and an example oops dialog oopstest.tmpl based on the base template. %A% NOTE: This isn't the release version, just a quick, simple demo.
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Example link to create a new topic:
[[%SCRIPTURLPATH{"edit"}%/%WEB%/BugIDXXXXXXXXXX?templatetopic=BugTemplate&amp;topicparent=%TOPIC%&amp;t=%SERVERTIME{"$day$hour$min$sec"}%][Create new item]]=

Master Templates by Example

Attached is an example of an oops based template oopsbase.tmpl and an example oops dialog oopstest.tmpl based on the base template. TIP NOTE: This isn't the release version, just a quick, simple demo.

 

Base template oopsbase.tmpl

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 <html> <head> <title> %WIKITOOLNAME% . %WEB% . %TOPIC% %.TMPL:P{"titleaction"}%</title>
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<base href="%SCRIPTURL%/view%SCRIPTSUFFIX%/%WEB%/%TOPIC%">
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<base href="%SCRIPTURLPATH{"view"}%/%WEB%/%TOPIC%">
  <meta name="robots" content="noindex"> </head> <body bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
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testscreen.gif
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Known Issues

  • A drawback of referring to a master template is that you can only test a template from within TWiki, where the include variables are resolved. In the previous system, each template was a structurally complete HTML document with a .tmpl filename extension - it contained unresolved %VARIABLES%, but could still be previewed directly in a browser.
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Related Topics: TWikiSkins, DeveloperDocumentationCategory, AdminDocumentationCategory
 
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-- TWiki:Main.CrawfordCurrie - 30 Jun 2004
-- TWiki:Main.PeterThoeny - 15 Aug 2004
-- TWiki:Main.MikeMannix - 14 Sep 2001
-- TWiki:Main.DavidLeBlanc - 11 Mar 2002
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META FILEATTACHMENT attr="h" comment="Example of oopstest.tmpl rendered" date="1026977240" name="testscreen.gif" path="C:\Data\Temp\testscreen.gif" size="9566" user="TWikiContributor" version="1.2"
 
Deleted:
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META FILEATTACHMENT attr="h" comment="Example of oopstest.tmpl rendered" date="1026977240" name="testscreen.gif" path="C:\Data\Temp\testscreen.gif" size="9566" user="PeterThoeny" version="1.2"
META TOPICMOVED by="MikeMannix" date="1000277381" from="TWiki.TWikiTemplateSystem" to="TWiki.TWikiTemplates"

Revision 2315 Aug 2004 - Main.PeterThoeny

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META TOPICPARENT name="WebHome"
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HTML Page Templates

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Proyecto META uses HTML template files for all actions, like topic view, edit, and preview. This allows you to change the look and feel of all pages by editing just a few template files.
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TWiki uses HTML template files for all actions, like topic view, edit, and preview. This allows you to change the look and feel of all pages by editing just a few template files.
 
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Templates are in the twiki/templates directory. As an example, twiki/templates/view.tmpl is the template file for the twiki/bin/view script. Templates can be overloaded by individual webs. The following search order applies:
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Templates are stored either in the twiki/templates directory or in user topics. As an example, twiki/templates/view.tmpl is the template file for the twiki/bin/view script.
 
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  1. twiki/templates/$webName/$scriptName.tmpl
  2. twiki/templates/$scriptName.tmpl
    • $webName is the name of the web (ex: Main)
    • $scriptName is the script (ex: view).
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HELP Templates can be overloaded by individual webs.
 
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HELP NOTE: TWikiSkins can be defined to overload the standard templates.
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HELP TWikiSkins can overload the standard templates.

TWiki uses the following search order to determine which template to use:

If a skin is specified If no skin is specified
templates/%WEB%/script.skin.tmpl templates/%WEB%/script.tmpl
templates/script.skin.tmpl templates/script.tmpl
data/%WEB%/SkinSkinScriptTemplate.txt data/%WEB%/ScriptTemplate.txt
data/TWiki/SkinSkinScriptTemplate.txt data/TWiki/ScriptTemplate.txt
Legend:
script refers to the script name, e.g view, edit
Script refers to the same, but with the first character capitalized, e.g View
skin refers to the skin name, e.g dragon, pattern
Skin refers to the same, but with the first character capitalized, e.g Dragon
%WEB% refers to the current web

Additionally (and primarily for use in %TMPL:INCLUDE{}%) the template name may be a wiki topic name, specified as Web.Topic, in which case the search is:

If a skin is specified If no skin is specified
templates/web/Web.Topic.skin.tmpl templates/web/Web.Topic.tmpl
templates/Web.Topic.skin.tmpl templates/Web.Topic.tmpl
data/Web/Topic.txt
If Web is not specified in the INCLUDE, it defaults to TWiki, and the search to the first type.
 Special variables are used in templates, especially in view, to display meta data.
Line: 149 to 166
 
templatetopic The name of the template topic, e.g. topic used to copy the initial content
topicparent Sets the parent topic
TopicClassification Assuming the template topic has a form with a field called "TopicClassification", it will set the value of the field
Added:
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contenttype Optional parameter that defines the application type to write into the CGI header. Defaults to text/html. May be used to invoke alternative client applications
 
anyname Any parameter can passed to the new topic; if the template topic contains %URLPARAM{"anyname"}%, it will be replaced by its value
Line: 252 to 270
 
  • A drawback of referring to a master template is that you can only test a template from within TWiki, where the include variables are resolved. In the previous system, each template was a structurally complete HTML document with a .tmpl filename extension - it contained unresolved %VARIABLES%, but could still be previewed directly in a browser.
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-- TWiki:Main.PeterThoeny - 25 Apr 2004
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-- TWiki:Main.CrawfordCurrie - 30 Jun 2004
-- TWiki:Main.PeterThoeny - 15 Aug 2004
 -- TWiki:Main.MikeMannix - 14 Sep 2001
-- TWiki:Main.DavidLeBlanc - 11 Mar 2002

Revision 2225 Apr 2004 - Main.PeterThoeny

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META TOPICPARENT name="WebHome"
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Variable: Description:
%DATE% Current date, e.g. 28 Mar 2024
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%WIKIUSERNAME% User name, e.g. Main.TWikiGuest
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%USERNAME% Login name, e.g. jsmith
%WIKINAME% WikiName of user, e.g. JohnSmith
%WIKIUSERNAME% User name, e.g. Main.JohnSmith
 
%URLPARAM{"name"}% Value of a named URL parameter
%NOP% A no-operation variable that gets removed. Useful to prevent a SEARCH from hitting an edit template topic; also useful to escape a variable like %URLPARAM%NOP%{...}%
%NOP{ ... }% A no-operation text that gets removed. Useful to write-protect an edit template topic, but not the topics based this template topic. See notes below. Example:
%NOP{
   * Set ALLOWTOPICCHANGE = Main.TWikiAdminGroup
}%
Line: 250 to 252
 
  • A drawback of referring to a master template is that you can only test a template from within TWiki, where the include variables are resolved. In the previous system, each template was a structurally complete HTML document with a .tmpl filename extension - it contained unresolved %VARIABLES%, but could still be previewed directly in a browser.
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-- TWiki:Main.PeterThoeny - 30 Dec 2004
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-- TWiki:Main.PeterThoeny - 25 Apr 2004
 -- TWiki:Main.MikeMannix - 14 Sep 2001
-- TWiki:Main.DavidLeBlanc - 11 Mar 2002
Added:
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>
 
META FILEATTACHMENT attr="h" comment="Example of oopstest.tmpl rendered" date="1026977240" name="testscreen.gif" path="C:\Data\Temp\testscreen.gif" size="9566" user="PeterThoeny" version="1.2"
META TOPICMOVED by="MikeMannix" date="1000277381" from="TWiki.TWikiTemplateSystem" to="TWiki.TWikiTemplates"

Revision 2131 Dec 2003 - Main.PeterThoeny

Line: 1 to 1
 
META TOPICPARENT name="WebHome"
Line: 117 to 117
 
Added:
>
>
  (date format is YYYYxMMxDD)
Line: 130 to 131
  <input type="hidden" name="templatetopic" value="ExampleTopicTemplate" /> <input type="hidden" name="topicparent" value="%TOPIC%" /> <input type="hidden" name="onlywikiname" value="on" />
Added:
>
>
<input type="hidden" name="onlynewtopic" value="on" />
  <input type="submit" value="Create" /> (date format is <nop>YYYYxMMxDD) </form>
Line: 141 to 143
 
Parameter: Description:
topic Name of topic to create. Can be set in a text field, or is set programmatically (e.g. with a sequential number)
onlywikiname If set, TWiki will complain if the topic name is not a WikiWord
Added:
>
>
onlynewtopic If set, TWiki will complain if a topic of the same name already exists
 
templatetopic The name of the template topic, e.g. topic used to copy the initial content
topicparent Sets the parent topic
TopicClassification Assuming the template topic has a form with a field called "TopicClassification", it will set the value of the field
Line: 247 to 250
 
  • A drawback of referring to a master template is that you can only test a template from within TWiki, where the include variables are resolved. In the previous system, each template was a structurally complete HTML document with a .tmpl filename extension - it contained unresolved %VARIABLES%, but could still be previewed directly in a browser.
Changed:
<
<
-- TWiki:Main.PeterThoeny - 16 Dec 2003
>
>
-- TWiki:Main.PeterThoeny - 30 Dec 2004
 -- TWiki:Main.MikeMannix - 14 Sep 2001
-- TWiki:Main.DavidLeBlanc - 11 Mar 2002
META FILEATTACHMENT attr="h" comment="Example of oopstest.tmpl rendered" date="1026977240" name="testscreen.gif" path="C:\Data\Temp\testscreen.gif" size="9566" user="PeterThoeny" version="1.2"

Revision 2016 Dec 2003 - Main.PeterThoeny

Line: 1 to 1
 
META TOPICPARENT name="WebHome"
Line: 135 to 135
 </form>
Changed:
<
<
The onlywikiname parameter enforces WikiWords for topic names. The topicparent parameter sets the topic parent to the topic where the form is located.
>
>
The edit scipt understands the following parameters, typically supplied by HTML input fields:

Parameter: Description:
topic Name of topic to create. Can be set in a text field, or is set programmatically (e.g. with a sequential number)
onlywikiname If set, TWiki will complain if the topic name is not a WikiWord
templatetopic The name of the template topic, e.g. topic used to copy the initial content
topicparent Sets the parent topic
TopicClassification Assuming the template topic has a form with a field called "TopicClassification", it will set the value of the field
anyname Any parameter can passed to the new topic; if the template topic contains %URLPARAM{"anyname"}%, it will be replaced by its value
 TIP TIP: You can use the %WIKIUSERNAME% and %DATE% variables in your topic templates to include the signature of the person creating a new topic. The variables are expanded into fixed text when a new topic is created. The standard signature is:
-- %WIKIUSERNAME% - %DATE%
Line: 237 to 247
 
  • A drawback of referring to a master template is that you can only test a template from within TWiki, where the include variables are resolved. In the previous system, each template was a structurally complete HTML document with a .tmpl filename extension - it contained unresolved %VARIABLES%, but could still be previewed directly in a browser.
Changed:
<
<
-- PeterThoeny - 01 Feb 2003
-- MikeMannix? - 14 Sep 2001
-- TWiki:Main/DavidLeBlanc - 11 Mar 2002
>
>
-- TWiki:Main.PeterThoeny - 16 Dec 2003
-- TWiki:Main.MikeMannix - 14 Sep 2001
-- TWiki:Main.DavidLeBlanc - 11 Mar 2002
 
META FILEATTACHMENT attr="h" comment="Example of oopstest.tmpl rendered" date="1026977240" name="testscreen.gif" path="C:\Data\Temp\testscreen.gif" size="9566" user="PeterThoeny" version="1.2"
META TOPICMOVED by="MikeMannix" date="1000277381" from="TWiki.TWikiTemplateSystem" to="TWiki.TWikiTemplates"

Revision 1902 Apr 2003 - Main.PeterThoeny

Line: 1 to 1
 
META TOPICPARENT name="WebHome"
Line: 115 to 115
 
  • New example topic:
Added:
>
>
  (date format is YYYYxMMxDD)
Line: 126 to 128
 
  • New example topic: <input type="text" name="topic" value="ExampleTopic%SERVERTIME{$yearx$mox$day}%" size="23" /> <input type="hidden" name="templatetopic" value="ExampleTopicTemplate" />
Added:
>
>
<input type="hidden" name="topicparent" value="%TOPIC%" />
  <input type="hidden" name="onlywikiname" value="on" /> <input type="submit" value="Create" /> (date format is <nop>YYYYxMMxDD) </form>
Changed:
<
<
The onlywikiname parameter enforces WikiWords for topic names.
>
>
The onlywikiname parameter enforces WikiWords for topic names. The topicparent parameter sets the topic parent to the topic where the form is located.
 TIP TIP: You can use the %WIKIUSERNAME% and %DATE% variables in your topic templates to include the signature of the person creating a new topic. The variables are expanded into fixed text when a new topic is created. The standard signature is:
-- %WIKIUSERNAME% - %DATE%

Revision 1801 Feb 2003 - Main.PeterThoeny

Line: 1 to 1
 
META TOPICPARENT name="WebHome"
Line: 88 to 88
 
  1. WebTopicEditTemplate in the current web
  2. WebTopicEditTemplate in the TWiki web
Added:
>
>

Edit Template Topics and Variable Expansion

The following variables get expanded when a user creates a new topic based on a template topic:

Variable: Description:
%DATE% Current date, e.g. 28 Mar 2024
%WIKIUSERNAME% User name, e.g. Main.TWikiGuest
%URLPARAM{"name"}% Value of a named URL parameter
%NOP% A no-operation variable that gets removed. Useful to prevent a SEARCH from hitting an edit template topic; also useful to escape a variable like %URLPARAM%NOP%{...}%
%NOP{ ... }% A no-operation text that gets removed. Useful to write-protect an edit template topic, but not the topics based this template topic. See notes below. Example:
%NOP{
   * Set ALLOWTOPICCHANGE = Main.TWikiAdminGroup
}%

Notes:

  • Unlike other variables, %NOP{ ... }% can span multiple lines.
  • The scan for the closing }% pattern is "non-greedy", that is, it stops at the first occurance. That means, you need to escape variables with parameters located inside %NOP{ ... }%: Insert a %NOP% between } and %. Silly example: %NOP{ %GMTIME{"$year"}%NOP%% }%.

All other variables are unchanged, e.g. are carried over "as is" into the new topic.

 

Template Topics in Action

Here is an example for creating new topics based on a specific template topic:

Line: 215 to 234
 
  • A drawback of referring to a master template is that you can only test a template from within TWiki, where the include variables are resolved. In the previous system, each template was a structurally complete HTML document with a .tmpl filename extension - it contained unresolved %VARIABLES%, but could still be previewed directly in a browser.
Changed:
<
<
-- PeterThoeny - 23 Jul 2001
>
>
-- PeterThoeny - 01 Feb 2003
 -- MikeMannix? - 14 Sep 2001
-- TWiki:Main/DavidLeBlanc - 11 Mar 2002
META FILEATTACHMENT attr="h" comment="Example of oopstest.tmpl rendered" date="1026977240" name="testscreen.gif" path="C:\Data\Temp\testscreen.gif" size="9566" user="PeterThoeny" version="1.2"

Revision 1708 Jan 2003 - Main.PeterThoeny

Line: 1 to 1
 
META TOPICPARENT name="WebHome"
Line: 92 to 92
 Here is an example for creating new topics based on a specific template topic:
Changed:
<
<
>
>
 
  • New example topic:
Line: 103 to 103
 The above form asks for a topic name. A hidden input tag named templatetopic specifies ExampleTopicTemplate as the template topic to use. Here is the HTML source of the form:


Changed:
<
<
<form name="new" action="%SCRIPTURLPATH%/edit%SCRIPTSUFFIX%/%URLENCODE{"%WEB%"}%/">
>
>
<form name="new" action="%SCRIPTURLPATH%/edit%SCRIPTSUFFIX%/%INTURLENCODE{"%WEB%"}%/">
 
  • New example topic: <input type="text" name="topic" value="ExampleTopic%SERVERTIME{$yearx$mox$day}%" size="23" /> <input type="hidden" name="templatetopic" value="ExampleTopicTemplate" />

Revision 1605 Jan 2003 - Main.PeterThoeny

Line: 1 to 1
 
META TOPICPARENT name="WebHome"
Line: 92 to 92
 Here is an example for creating new topics based on a specific template topic:
Changed:
<
<
>
>
 
  • New example topic:
Line: 103 to 103
 The above form asks for a topic name. A hidden input tag named templatetopic specifies ExampleTopicTemplate as the template topic to use. Here is the HTML source of the form:


Changed:
<
<
<form name="new" action="%SCRIPTURLPATH%/edit%SCRIPTSUFFIX%/%WEBURLENCODED%/">
>
>
<form name="new" action="%SCRIPTURLPATH%/edit%SCRIPTSUFFIX%/%URLENCODE{"%WEB%"}%/">
 
  • New example topic: <input type="text" name="topic" value="ExampleTopic%SERVERTIME{$yearx$mox$day}%" size="23" /> <input type="hidden" name="templatetopic" value="ExampleTopicTemplate" />

Revision 1505 Jan 2003 - Main.PeterThoeny

Line: 1 to 1
 
META TOPICPARENT name="WebHome"
Line: 92 to 92
 Here is an example for creating new topics based on a specific template topic:
Changed:
<
<
>
>
 
  • New example topic:
Line: 103 to 103
 The above form asks for a topic name. A hidden input tag named templatetopic specifies ExampleTopicTemplate as the template topic to use. Here is the HTML source of the form:


Changed:
<
<
<form name="new" action="%SCRIPTURLPATH%/edit%SCRIPTSUFFIX%/%WEB%/">
>
>
<form name="new" action="%SCRIPTURLPATH%/edit%SCRIPTSUFFIX%/%WEBURLENCODED%/">
 
  • New example topic: <input type="text" name="topic" value="ExampleTopic%SERVERTIME{$yearx$mox$day}%" size="23" /> <input type="hidden" name="templatetopic" value="ExampleTopicTemplate" />

Revision 1404 Jan 2003 - Main.PeterThoeny

Line: 1 to 1
 
META TOPICPARENT name="WebHome"
Line: 18 to 18
 
  • defines common variables, like a standard separator (ex: "|"), in the base template;
  • defines variable text in the individual templates and passes it back to the base template.
Added:
>
>
 

How Template Variables Work

  • Special template directives (or preprocessor commands) are embedded in normal templates.

Revision 1320 Dec 2002 - Main.PeterThoeny

Line: 1 to 1
 
META TOPICPARENT name="WebHome"
Line: 8 to 8
 

Overview

Changed:
<
<
The new modular template system offers flexible, easy control over the layout of all TWiki pages. The master template approach groups parts that are shared by several templates - like headers and footers - in a common file. Special variables allow individual layouts to include parts from a master template - variables are mixed with regular HTML mark-up for template-specific content. Templates are used to define page layout, and also to supplydefault content for new pages.
>
>
The new modular template system offers flexible, easy control over the layout of all TWiki pages. The master template approach groups parts that are shared by several templates - like headers and footers - in a common file. Special variables allow individual layouts to include parts from a master template - variables are mixed with regular HTML markup for template-specific content. Templates are used to define page layout, and also to supply default content for new pages.
 

Major changes from the previous template system

Line: 18 to 18
 
  • defines common variables, like a standard separator (ex: "|"), in the base template;
  • defines variable text in the individual templates and passes it back to the base template.
Changed:
<
<

Functional Specifications

>
>

How Template Variables Work

 
  • Special template directives (or preprocessor commands) are embedded in normal templates.
Deleted:
<
<
  • Use of template directives is optional, templates work without them.
 
  • All template preprocessing is done in &TWiki::Store::readTemplate() so that the caller simply gets an expanded template file (the same as before).
Changed:
<
<
  • Directives are of the form %TMPL:<key>% and %TMPL:<key>{"attr"}%.
>
>
  • Directives are of the form %TMPL:<key>% and %TMPL:<key>{"attr"}%.
 
  • Directives:
Changed:
<
<
    • %TMPL:INCLUDE{"file"}%: Includes a template file. The template directory of the current web is searched first, then the templates root (twiki/templates).
    • %TMPL:DEF{"var"}%: Define a variable. Text between this and the END directive is not returned, but put into a hash for later use.
    • %TMPL:END%: Ends variable definition.
    • %TMPL:P{"var"}%: Prints a previously defined variable.
  • Variables are live in a global name space, there is no parameter passing.
  • Two-pass processing, so that you can use a variable before declaring it or after.
  • Templates and TWikiSkins work transparently and interchangeably. For example, you can create a skin that overloads just the twiki.tmpl, like twiki.print.tmpl, that redefines the header and footer.
  • NOTE: The template directives work only for templates, they do not get processed in topic text.
>
>
    • %TMPL:INCLUDE{"file"}%: Includes a template file. The template directory of the current web is searched first, then the templates root (twiki/templates).
    • %TMPL:DEF{"var"}%: Define a variable. Text between this and the END directive is not returned, but put into a hash for later use.
    • %TMPL:END%: Ends variable definition.
    • %TMPL:P{"var"}%: Prints a previously defined variable.
  • Variables live in a global name space: there is no parameter passing.
  • Two-pass processing lets you use a variable before or after declaring it.
  • Templates and TWikiSkins work transparently and interchangeably. For example, you can create a skin that overloads only the twiki.tmpl master template, like twiki.print.tmpl, that redefines the header and footer.
  • HELP Use of template directives is optional: templates work without them.
  • ALERT! NOTE: Template directives work only for templates: they do not get processed in topic text.
 
Changed:
<
<

TWiki Master Template

>
>

Types of Template

There are three types of template:

  • Master Template: Stores common parts; included by other templates
  • HTML Page Templates: Defines the layout of Proyecto META pages
  • Template Topics: Defines default text when you create a new topic

Master Templates

 
Changed:
<
<
All common parts are defined in a master template, twiki.tmpl, that all other templates use.
>
>
Common parts, appearing in two or more templates, can be defined in a master template and then shared by others: twiki.tmpl is the default master template.
 
Template variable: Defines:
%TMPL:DEF{"sep"}% "|" separator
%TMPL:DEF{"htmldoctype"}% Start of all HTML pages
Changed:
<
<
%TMPL:DEF{"standardheader"}% Standard header (ex: view, index, seach)
>
>
%TMPL:DEF{"standardheader"}% Standard header (ex: view, index, search)
 
%TMPL:DEF{"simpleheader"}% Simple header with reduced links (ex: edit, attach, oops)
%TMPL:DEF{"standardfooter"}% Footer, excluding revision and copyright parts
%TMPL:DEF{"oops"}% Skeleton of oops dialog
Deleted:
<
<

Types of Template

There are two types of templates:

  • HTML Page Templates: Defines layout of Proyecto META pages
  • Template Topics: Defines default text when you create a new topic
 

HTML Page Templates

Changed:
<
<
Proyecto META uses HTML template files for all actions like topic view, edit, preview and so on. This allows you to change the look and feel of all pages by editing just some template files.
>
>
Proyecto META uses HTML template files for all actions, like topic view, edit, and preview. This allows you to change the look and feel of all pages by editing just a few template files.
 
Changed:
<
<
The template files are in the twiki/templates directory. As an example, twiki/templates/view.tmpl is the template file for the twiki/bin/view script. Templates can be overloaded per web. The following search order applies:
>
>
Templates are in the twiki/templates directory. As an example, twiki/templates/view.tmpl is the template file for the twiki/bin/view script. Templates can be overloaded by individual webs. The following search order applies:
 
  1. twiki/templates/$webName/$scriptName.tmpl
  2. twiki/templates/$scriptName.tmpl
Added:
>
>
    • $webName is the name of the web (ex: Main)
    • $scriptName is the script (ex: view).
 
Changed:
<
<
Note: $webName is the name of the web (ex: Main), and $scriptName is the script (ex: view).

Note: TWikiSkins can be defined to overload the standard templates.

>
>
HELP NOTE: TWikiSkins can be defined to overload the standard templates.
 Special variables are used in templates, especially in view, to display meta data.

Template Topics

Changed:
<
<
Template topics define the default text for new topics. There are three types of template topics:
>
>
Template topics define the default text for new topics. There are three types of template topic:
 
Topic Name: What it is:
Changed:
<
<
WebTopicViewTemplate Help text shown when you view a non existing topic.
WebTopicNonWikiTemplate Help text shown when you view a non existing topic that has not a WikiName.
>
>
WebTopicViewTemplate Error page shown when you try to view a nonexistent topic
WebTopicNonWikiTemplate Alert page shown when you try to view a nonexistent topic with a non-WikiName
 
WebTopicEditTemplate Default text shown when you create a new topic.
Changed:
<
<
All template topics are located in the TWiki web. The WebTopicEditTemplate can be overloaded. The following search order applies when you create a new topic:
>
>
All template topics are located in the TWiki web. The WebTopicEditTemplate can be overloaded. When you create a new topic, TWiki locates a topic to use as a content template according to the following search order:
 
Changed:
<
<
  1. The topic name specified by the templatetopic CGI parameter.
  2. WebTopicEditTemplate in the current web.
  3. WebTopicEditTemplate in the TWiki web.
>
>
  1. A topic name specified by the templatetopic CGI parameter.
  2. WebTopicEditTemplate in the current web
  3. WebTopicEditTemplate in the TWiki web
 

Template Topics in Action

Line: 98 to 99
  (date format is YYYYxMMxDD)
Changed:
<
<
Above form asks for a topic name. A hidden input tag of name "templatetopic" specifies the ExampleTopicTemplate as the template topic. Here is the HTML source of the form:
>
>
The above form asks for a topic name. A hidden input tag named templatetopic specifies ExampleTopicTemplate as the template topic to use. Here is the HTML source of the form:
 
<form name="new" action="%SCRIPTURLPATH%/edit%SCRIPTSUFFIX%/%WEB%/">

Line: 111 to 112
 </form>
Changed:
<
<
The "onlywikiname" parameter enforces WikiWords for topic names.
>
>
The onlywikiname parameter enforces WikiWords for topic names.
 
Changed:
<
<
Note: Use can use the %WIKIUSERNAME% and %DATE% variables in your topic templates as the signature; those variables are expanded when a new topic is created. The standard topic signature is:
-- %WIKIUSERNAME% - %DATE%
>
>
TIP TIP: You can use the %WIKIUSERNAME% and %DATE% variables in your topic templates to include the signature of the person creating a new topic. The variables are expanded into fixed text when a new topic is created. The standard signature is:
-- %WIKIUSERNAME% - %DATE%
 

Templates by Example

Changed:
<
<
Attached is an example of an oops base template oopsbase.tmpl and a example oops dialog oopstest.tmpl which is based on the base template. NOTE: This isn't the release version, just a quick, simple demo.
>
>
Attached is an example of an oops based template oopsbase.tmpl and an example oops dialog oopstest.tmpl based on the base template. %A% NOTE: This isn't the release version, just a quick, simple demo.
 

Base template oopsbase.tmpl

Changed:
<
<
The first line declares the delimiter variable called "sep", used to separate multiple link items. The variable can be called anywhere by writing %TMPL:P{"sep"}%
>
>
The first line declares a delimiter variable called "sep", used to separate multiple link items. The variable can be called anywhere by writing %TMPL:P{"sep"}%
 
Line: 205 to 207
 With URL: .../bin/oops/Sandbox/TestTopic2?template=oopstest&param1=WebHome&param2=WebNotify

Changed:
<
<
testscreen.gif
>
>
testscreen.gif
 

Known Issues

Changed:
<
<
  • A drawback of referring to a master template is that you can only test a template from within TWiki, where the include variables are resolved. In the previous system, each template is a structurally complete HTML document with a .tmpl filename extension - it contains unresolved %VARIABLES%, but can still be previewed directly in a browser.
>
>
  • A drawback of referring to a master template is that you can only test a template from within TWiki, where the include variables are resolved. In the previous system, each template was a structurally complete HTML document with a .tmpl filename extension - it contained unresolved %VARIABLES%, but could still be previewed directly in a browser.
 -- PeterThoeny - 23 Jul 2001
-- MikeMannix? - 14 Sep 2001
Added:
>
>
-- TWiki:Main/DavidLeBlanc - 11 Mar 2002
 
META FILEATTACHMENT attr="h" comment="Example of oopstest.tmpl rendered" date="1026977240" name="testscreen.gif" path="C:\Data\Temp\testscreen.gif" size="9566" user="PeterThoeny" version="1.2"
META TOPICMOVED by="MikeMannix" date="1000277381" from="TWiki.TWikiTemplateSystem" to="TWiki.TWikiTemplates"

Revision 1218 Jul 2002 - Main.PeterThoeny

Line: 1 to 1
 
META TOPICPARENT name="WebHome"
Line: 202 to 202
 

Sample screen shot of oopstest.tmpl

Changed:
<
<
With URL: .../bin/oops/Test/TestTopic2?template=oopstest&param1=WebHome&param2=WebNotify
>
>
With URL: .../bin/oops/Sandbox/TestTopic2?template=oopstest&param1=WebHome&param2=WebNotify
 
Changed:
<
<
testscreen.gif
>
>
testscreen.gif
 

Known Issues

Line: 214 to 214
 -- PeterThoeny - 23 Jul 2001
-- MikeMannix? - 14 Sep 2001
Changed:
<
<
META FILEATTACHMENT attr="h" comment="Example of oopstest.tmpl rendered" date="999598142" name="testscreen.gif" path="C:\02_TWikiDocs\testscreen.gif" size="9460" user="MikeMannix" version="1.1"
>
>
META FILEATTACHMENT attr="h" comment="Example of oopstest.tmpl rendered" date="1026977240" name="testscreen.gif" path="C:\Data\Temp\testscreen.gif" size="9566" user="PeterThoeny" version="1.2"
 
META TOPICMOVED by="MikeMannix" date="1000277381" from="TWiki.TWikiTemplateSystem" to="TWiki.TWikiTemplates"

Revision 1104 Dec 2001 - Main.PeterThoeny

Line: 1 to 1
 
META TOPICPARENT name="WebHome"
Line: 205 to 205
 With URL: .../bin/oops/Test/TestTopic2?template=oopstest&param1=WebHome&param2=WebNotify

Changed:
<
<
testscreen.gif
>
>
testscreen.gif
 

Known Issues

Revision 1018 Sep 2001 - Main.MikeMannix

Line: 1 to 1
 
META TOPICPARENT name="WebHome"
Line: 8 to 8
 

Overview

Changed:
<
<
The new modular template system offers flexible, easy control over the layout of all TWiki pages. The master template approach groups parts that are shared by several templates - like headers and footers - in a common file. Special variables allow individual layouts to include parts from a master template - variables are mixed with regular HTML mark-up for template-specific content.
>
>
The new modular template system offers flexible, easy control over the layout of all TWiki pages. The master template approach groups parts that are shared by several templates - like headers and footers - in a common file. Special variables allow individual layouts to include parts from a master template - variables are mixed with regular HTML mark-up for template-specific content. Templates are used to define page layout, and also to supplydefault content for new pages.
 

Major changes from the previous template system

Line: 54 to 54
 
  • HTML Page Templates: Defines layout of Proyecto META pages
  • Template Topics: Defines default text when you create a new topic
Added:
>
>
 

HTML Page Templates

Proyecto META uses HTML template files for all actions like topic view, edit, preview and so on. This allows you to change the look and feel of all pages by editing just some template files.

Line: 69 to 70
 Special variables are used in templates, especially in view, to display meta data.
Added:
>
>
 

Template Topics

Template topics define the default text for new topics. There are three types of template topics:

Revision 916 Sep 2001 - Main.MikeMannix

Line: 1 to 1
 
META TOPICPARENT name="WebHome"
Changed:
<
<

TWiki Template System

>
>

TWiki Templates

 Definition of the templates used to render all HTML pages displayed in TWiki

Overview

Changed:
<
<
The new modular template system is more flexible, efficient, and easily updated than the old set-up, where each template is a complete HTML file. The new master template approach places common templates parts, like headers and footers, in one shared file. This simplifies the conversion of templates into XHTML format, and provides a more versatile solution for templates and for TWikiSkins.
>
>
The new modular template system offers flexible, easy control over the layout of all TWiki pages. The master template approach groups parts that are shared by several templates - like headers and footers - in a common file. Special variables allow individual layouts to include parts from a master template - variables are mixed with regular HTML mark-up for template-specific content.
 

Major changes from the previous template system

Changed:
<
<
The main difference is that templates are now defined using variables to include template parts. You change one stored instance of a common element to update all occurrences. The new system:
>
>
Where the old templates were each complete HTML documents, the new templates are defined using variables to include template parts from a master file. You can now change one instance of a common element to update all occurrences; previously, every affected template had to be updated. This simplifies the conversion of templates into XHTML format, and provides a more versatile solution for templates and for TWikiSkins. The new system:
 
  • separates a set of common template parts into a base template that is included by all of the related templates;
Deleted:
<
<
 
  • defines common variables, like a standard separator (ex: "|"), in the base template;
Deleted:
<
<
 
  • defines variable text in the individual templates and passes it back to the base template.

Functional Specifications

Line: 34 to 32
 
  • Variables are live in a global name space, there is no parameter passing.
  • Two-pass processing, so that you can use a variable before declaring it or after.
  • Templates and TWikiSkins work transparently and interchangeably. For example, you can create a skin that overloads just the twiki.tmpl, like twiki.print.tmpl, that redefines the header and footer.
Changed:
<
<
  • Note: The template directives work only for templates, they do not get processed in topic text.
>
>
  • NOTE: The template directives work only for templates, they do not get processed in topic text.
 

TWiki Master Template

Revision 815 Sep 2001 - Main.PeterThoeny

Line: 1 to 1
 
META TOPICPARENT name="WebHome"
Line: 48 to 48
 
%TMPL:DEF{"standardfooter"}% Footer, excluding revision and copyright parts
%TMPL:DEF{"oops"}% Skeleton of oops dialog
Added:
>
>
 

Types of Template

Added:
>
>
 There are two types of templates:

  • HTML Page Templates: Defines layout of Proyecto META pages
Line: 80 to 82
  All template topics are located in the TWiki web. The WebTopicEditTemplate can be overloaded. The following search order applies when you create a new topic:
Changed:
<
<
  1. The topic name specified by the templatetopic parameter.
>
>
  1. The topic name specified by the templatetopic CGI parameter.
 
  1. WebTopicEditTemplate in the current web.
  2. WebTopicEditTemplate in the TWiki web.
Line: 90 to 92
 
  • New example topic:
Changed:
<
<
(date format is YYYYMMDD)
>
>
(date format is YYYYxMMxDD)
 

Above form asks for a topic name. A hidden input tag of name "templatetopic" specifies the ExampleTopicTemplate as the template topic. Here is the HTML source of the form:

Line: 100 to 103
 
<form name="new" action="%SCRIPTURLPATH%/edit%SCRIPTSUFFIX%/%WEB%/">
	* New example topic: 

Changed:
<
<
<input type="text" name="topic" value="ExampleTopic%SERVERTIME{$year$mo$day}%" size="22"> <input type="hidden" name="templatetopic" value="ExampleTopicTemplate"> <input type="hidden" name="onlywikiname" value="on"> <input type="submit" value="Create"> (date format is YYYYMMDD)
>
>
<input type="text" name="topic" value="ExampleTopic%SERVERTIME{$yearx$mox$day}%" size="23" /> <input type="hidden" name="templatetopic" value="ExampleTopicTemplate" /> <input type="hidden" name="onlywikiname" value="on" /> <input type="submit" value="Create" /> (date format is <nop>YYYYxMMxDD)
 </form>

Revision 715 Sep 2001 - Main.MikeMannix

Line: 1 to 1
 
META TOPICPARENT name="WebHome"
Line: 63 to 63
 
  1. twiki/templates/$webName/$scriptName.tmpl
  2. twiki/templates/$scriptName.tmpl
Changed:
<
<
Note: $webName is the name of the web ( i.e. Main ), and $scriptName is the script ( i.e. view ).
>
>
Note: $webName is the name of the web (ex: Main), and $scriptName is the script (ex: view).
 Note: TWikiSkins can be defined to overload the standard templates.
Changed:
<
<
Some special variables are used in templates ( especially view ) to show meta data - see Meta Data Rendering
>
>
Special variables are used in templates, especially in view, to display meta data.
 

Template Topics

Revision 615 Sep 2001 - Main.MikeMannix

Line: 1 to 1
 
META TOPICPARENT name="WebHome"
Line: 36 to 36
 
  • Templates and TWikiSkins work transparently and interchangeably. For example, you can create a skin that overloads just the twiki.tmpl, like twiki.print.tmpl, that redefines the header and footer.
  • Note: The template directives work only for templates, they do not get processed in topic text.
Changed:
<
<

New Template System by Example

>
>

TWiki Master Template

All common parts are defined in a master template, twiki.tmpl, that all other templates use.

Template variable: Defines:
%TMPL:DEF{"sep"}% "|" separator
%TMPL:DEF{"htmldoctype"}% Start of all HTML pages
%TMPL:DEF{"standardheader"}% Standard header (ex: view, index, seach)
%TMPL:DEF{"simpleheader"}% Simple header with reduced links (ex: edit, attach, oops)
%TMPL:DEF{"standardfooter"}% Footer, excluding revision and copyright parts
%TMPL:DEF{"oops"}% Skeleton of oops dialog

Types of Template

There are two types of templates:

  • HTML Page Templates: Defines layout of Proyecto META pages
  • Template Topics: Defines default text when you create a new topic

HTML Page Templates

Proyecto META uses HTML template files for all actions like topic view, edit, preview and so on. This allows you to change the look and feel of all pages by editing just some template files.

The template files are in the twiki/templates directory. As an example, twiki/templates/view.tmpl is the template file for the twiki/bin/view script. Templates can be overloaded per web. The following search order applies:

  1. twiki/templates/$webName/$scriptName.tmpl
  2. twiki/templates/$scriptName.tmpl

Note: $webName is the name of the web ( i.e. Main ), and $scriptName is the script ( i.e. view ).

Note: TWikiSkins can be defined to overload the standard templates.

Some special variables are used in templates ( especially view ) to show meta data - see Meta Data Rendering

Template Topics

Template topics define the default text for new topics. There are three types of template topics:

Topic Name: What it is:
WebTopicViewTemplate Help text shown when you view a non existing topic.
WebTopicNonWikiTemplate Help text shown when you view a non existing topic that has not a WikiName.
WebTopicEditTemplate Default text shown when you create a new topic.
All template topics are located in the TWiki web. The WebTopicEditTemplate can be overloaded. The following search order applies when you create a new topic:

  1. The topic name specified by the templatetopic parameter.
  2. WebTopicEditTemplate in the current web.
  3. WebTopicEditTemplate in the TWiki web.

Template Topics in Action

Here is an example for creating new topics based on a specific template topic:

  • New example topic: (date format is YYYYMMDD)

Above form asks for a topic name. A hidden input tag of name "templatetopic" specifies the ExampleTopicTemplate as the template topic. Here is the HTML source of the form:

<form name="new" action="%SCRIPTURLPATH%/edit%SCRIPTSUFFIX%/%WEB%/">
	* New example topic: 
	  <input type="text" name="topic" value="ExampleTopic%SERVERTIME{$year$mo$day}%" size="22">
	  <input type="hidden" name="templatetopic" value="ExampleTopicTemplate">
	  <input type="hidden" name="onlywikiname" value="on">
	  <input type="submit" value="Create"> (date format is YYYYMMDD)
</form>

The "onlywikiname" parameter enforces WikiWords for topic names.

Note: Use can use the %WIKIUSERNAME% and %DATE% variables in your topic templates as the signature; those variables are expanded when a new topic is created. The standard topic signature is:
-- %WIKIUSERNAME% - %DATE%

Templates by Example

 Attached is an example of an oops base template oopsbase.tmpl and a example oops dialog oopstest.tmpl which is based on the base template. NOTE: This isn't the release version, just a quick, simple demo.
Line: 44 to 119
 The first line declares the delimiter variable called "sep", used to separate multiple link items. The variable can be called anywhere by writing %TMPL:P{"sep"}%
Changed:
<
<
>
>
 
%TMPL:DEF{"sep"}% | %TMPL:END%

Line: 90 to 165
 
Deleted:
<
<
 

Test template oopstest.tmpl

Each oops template basically just defines some variables and includes the base template that does the layout work.

Changed:
<
<
>
>
 
%TMPL:DEF{"titleaction"}% (test =titleaction=) %TMPL:END%

Line: 126 to 200
 With URL: .../bin/oops/Test/TestTopic2?template=oopstest&param1=WebHome&param2=WebNotify
Changed:
<
<
>
>
 
testscreen.gif
Deleted:
<
<

TWiki master template

All common template parts are defined in one master template, twiki.tmpl, that all other templates include.

Template variable: Defines:
%TMPL:DEF{"sep"}% "|" separator
%TMPL:DEF{"htmldoctype"}% Start of all HTML pages
%TMPL:DEF{"standardheader"}% Standard header (ex: view, index, seach)
%TMPL:DEF{"simpleheader"}% Simple header with reduced links (ex: edit, attach, oops)
%TMPL:DEF{"standardfooter"}% Footer, excluding revision and copyright parts
%TMPL:DEF{"oops"}% Skeleton of oops dialog

Example: oopspreview.tmpl template
%TMPL:INCLUDE{"twiki"}%
%TMPL:DEF{"titleaction"}% (oops) %TMPL:END%
%TMPL:DEF{"webaction"}% *Attention* %TMPL:END%
%TMPL:DEF{"heading"}% Topic is not saved yet %TMPL:END%
%TMPL:DEF{"message"}% Please go back in your browser and save the topic. %TMPL:END%
%TMPL:DEF{"topicaction"}%
%TMPL:END%
%TMPL:P{"oops"}%
 

Known Issues

  • A drawback of referring to a master template is that you can only test a template from within TWiki, where the include variables are resolved. In the previous system, each template is a structurally complete HTML document with a .tmpl filename extension - it contains unresolved %VARIABLES%, but can still be previewed directly in a browser.
Changed:
<
<
-- PeterThoeny - 23 Jul 2001
-- MikeMannix? - 30 Aug 2001
>
>
-- PeterThoeny - 23 Jul 2001
-- MikeMannix? - 14 Sep 2001
 
META FILEATTACHMENT attr="h" comment="Example of oopstest.tmpl rendered" date="999598142" name="testscreen.gif" path="C:\02_TWikiDocs\testscreen.gif" size="9460" user="MikeMannix" version="1.1"
META TOPICMOVED by="MikeMannix" date="1000277381" from="TWiki.TWikiTemplateSystem" to="TWiki.TWikiTemplates"

Revision 514 Sep 2001 - Main.PeterThoeny

Line: 1 to 1
 
META TOPICPARENT name="WebHome"
Line: 8 to 8
 

Overview

Changed:
<
<
The new modular template system is more flexible, efficient, and easily updated than the old set-up, where each template is a complete HTML file. The new master template approach places common templates parts, like headers and footers, in one shared file. This simplifies the conversion of templates into XHTML format, and provides a more versatile solution for templates and for skins.
>
>
The new modular template system is more flexible, efficient, and easily updated than the old set-up, where each template is a complete HTML file. The new master template approach places common templates parts, like headers and footers, in one shared file. This simplifies the conversion of templates into XHTML format, and provides a more versatile solution for templates and for TWikiSkins.
 

Major changes from the previous template system

Line: 26 to 26
 
  • Use of template directives is optional, templates work without them.
  • All template preprocessing is done in &TWiki::Store::readTemplate() so that the caller simply gets an expanded template file (the same as before).
  • Directives are of the form %TMPL:<key>% and %TMPL:<key>{"attr"}%.
Changed:
<
<
  • Initial set of directives:
    • %TMPL:INCLUDE{"file"}%: Includes a template file. The usual search path is applied.
>
>
  • Directives:
    • %TMPL:INCLUDE{"file"}%: Includes a template file. The template directory of the current web is searched first, then the templates root (twiki/templates).
 
    • %TMPL:DEF{"var"}%: Define a variable. Text between this and the END directive is not returned, but put into a hash for later use.
    • %TMPL:END%: Ends variable definition.
    • %TMPL:P{"var"}%: Prints a previously defined variable.
Deleted:
<
<
  • New directives can be added over time when needed, ex: IF-THEN-ELSE.
 
  • Variables are live in a global name space, there is no parameter passing.
  • Two-pass processing, so that you can use a variable before declaring it or after.
Changed:
<
<
  • Templates and skins work transparently and interchangeably. For example, you can create a skin that overloads just the twiki.tmpl, like twiki.print.tmpl, that redefines the header and footer.
>
>
  • Templates and TWikiSkins work transparently and interchangeably. For example, you can create a skin that overloads just the twiki.tmpl, like twiki.print.tmpl, that redefines the header and footer.
 
  • Note: The template directives work only for templates, they do not get processed in topic text.

New Template System by Example

Line: 45 to 44
 The first line declares the delimiter variable called "sep", used to separate multiple link items. The variable can be called anywhere by writing %TMPL:P{"sep"}%
Deleted:
<
<
NOTE: Added a dot to escape rendering of variables, i.e. read %.WEB% as %WEB%.
 
Added:
>
>
 

Changed:
<
<
<table border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="1"> <tr><td> <verbatim> %.TMPL:DEF{"sep"}% | %.TMPL:END%
>
>
%TMPL:DEF{"sep"}% | %TMPL:END%
 <html> <head>
Changed:
<
<
<title> %.WIKITOOLNAME% . %.WEB% . %.TOPIC% %.TMPL:P{"titleaction"}%</title> <base href="%.SCRIPTURL%/view%.SCRIPTSUFFIX%/%.WEB%/%.TOPIC%">
>
>
<title> %WIKITOOLNAME% . %WEB% . %TOPIC% %.TMPL:P{"titleaction"}%</title> <base href="%SCRIPTURL%/view%SCRIPTSUFFIX%/%WEB%/%TOPIC%">
  <meta name="robots" content="noindex"> </head> <body bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0"> <tr>
Changed:
<
<
<td bgcolor="%.WEBBGCOLOR%" rowspan="2" valign="top" width="1%"> <a href="%.WIKIHOMEURL%"> <img src="%.PUBURLPATH%/wikiHome.gif" border="0"></a>
>
>
<td bgcolor="%WEBBGCOLOR%" rowspan="2" valign="top" width="1%"> <a href="%WIKIHOMEURL%"> <img src="%PUBURLPATH%/wikiHome.gif" border="0"></a>
  </td> <td>
Changed:
<
<
<b>%.WIKITOOLNAME% . %.WEB% . </b><font size="+2"> <B>%.TOPIC%</b> %.TMPL:P{"titleaction"}%</font>
>
>
<b>%WIKITOOLNAME% . %WEB% . </b><font size="+2"> <B>%TOPIC%</b> %TMPL:P{"titleaction"}%</font>
  </td> </tr>
Changed:
<
<
<tr bgcolor="%.WEBBGCOLOR%">
>
>
<tr bgcolor="%WEBBGCOLOR%">
  <td colspan="2">
Changed:
<
<
%.TMPL:P{"webaction"}%
>
>
%TMPL:P{"webaction"}%
  </td> </tr> </table>
Changed:
<
<

++ %.TMPL:P{"heading"}% %.TMPL:P{"message"}%
>
>

++ %TMPL:P{"heading"}% %TMPL:P{"message"}%
 <table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0">
Changed:
<
<
<tr bgcolor="%.WEBBGCOLOR%">
>
>
<tr bgcolor="%WEBBGCOLOR%">
  <td valign="top">
Changed:
<
<
Topic <b>TWikiTemplates</b> . { %.TMPL:P{"topicaction"}%
>
>
Topic <b>%TOPIC%</b> . { %TMPL:P{"topicaction"}%
  } </td> </tr> </table> </body>
Deleted:
<
<
</verbatim> </td></tr> </table >
 
Added:
>
>
 
Line: 103 to 98
 
Changed:
<
<
%.TMPL:DEF{"titleaction"}% (test =titleaction=) %.TMPL:END%
%.TMPL:DEF{"webaction"}% test =webaction= %.TMPL:END%
%.TMPL:DEF{"heading"}%
Test heading %.TMPL:END%
%.TMPL:DEF{"message"}%
>
>
%TMPL:DEF{"titleaction"}% (test =titleaction=) %TMPL:END%
%TMPL:DEF{"webaction"}% test =webaction= %TMPL:END%
%TMPL:DEF{"heading"}%
Test heading %TMPL:END%
%TMPL:DEF{"message"}%

 Test message. Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah...

  • Some more blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah...
Changed:
<
<
  • Param1: %PARAM1%
  • Param2: %PARAM2%
  • Param3: %PARAM3%
  • Param4: %PARAM4%
%.TMPL:END% %.TMPL:DEF{"topicaction"}%
>
>
  • Param1: %PARAM1%
  • Param2: %PARAM2%
  • Param3: %PARAM3%
  • Param4: %PARAM4%
%TMPL:END% %TMPL:DEF{"topicaction"}%
 Test topicaction:
Changed:
<
<
OK? %.TMPL:P{"sep"}% Register? %.TMPL:END% %.TMPL:INCLUDE{"oopsbase"}%
>
>
[[%WEB%.%TOPIC%][OK]] %TMPL:P{"sep"}% [[%TWIKIWEB%.TWikiRegistration][Register]] %TMPL:END% %TMPL:INCLUDE{"oopsbase"}%
  </table >
Line: 135 to 130
 
testscreen.gif
Added:
>
>

TWiki master template

 All common template parts are defined in one master template, twiki.tmpl, that all other templates include.

Template variable:down Defines:
Line: 146 to 143
 
%TMPL:DEF{"oops"}% Skeleton of oops dialog

Changed:
<
<
Example: preview.tmpl template
>
>
Example: oopspreview.tmpl template
 
%TMPL:INCLUDE{"twiki"}%
%TMPL:DEF{"titleaction"}% (oops) %TMPL:END%

Line: 163 to 160
 
  • A drawback of referring to a master template is that you can only test a template from within TWiki, where the include variables are resolved. In the previous system, each template is a structurally complete HTML document with a .tmpl filename extension - it contains unresolved %VARIABLES%, but can still be previewed directly in a browser.
Changed:
<
<
-- PeterThoeny? - 23 Jul 2001
>
>
-- PeterThoeny - 23 Jul 2001
 -- MikeMannix? - 30 Aug 2001
META FILEATTACHMENT attr="h" comment="Example of oopstest.tmpl rendered" date="999598142" name="testscreen.gif" path="C:\02_TWikiDocs\testscreen.gif" size="9460" user="MikeMannix" version="1.1"
META TOPICMOVED by="MikeMannix" date="1000277381" from="TWiki.TWikiTemplateSystem" to="TWiki.TWikiTemplates"

Revision 412 Sep 2001 - Main.MikeMannix

Line: 1 to 1
 
META TOPICPARENT name="WebHome"
Line: 166 to 166
 -- PeterThoeny? - 23 Jul 2001
-- MikeMannix? - 30 Aug 2001
META FILEATTACHMENT attr="h" comment="Example of oopstest.tmpl rendered" date="999598142" name="testscreen.gif" path="C:\02_TWikiDocs\testscreen.gif" size="9460" user="MikeMannix" version="1.1"
Added:
>
>
META TOPICMOVED by="MikeMannix" date="1000277381" from="TWiki.TWikiTemplateSystem" to="TWiki.TWikiTemplates"

Revision 308 Sep 2001 - Main.MikeMannix

Line: 1 to 1
 
META TOPICPARENT name="WebHome"
Deleted:
<
<

new topic for the final doc

Slightly edited down, but waiting for new docs, hopefully.

see also for ref: orig TWikiTemplatingSystem?

 
Deleted:
<
<
 

TWiki Template System

Changed:
<
<
Define the templates used to render all HTML pages displayed in TWiki
>
>
Definition of the templates used to render all HTML pages displayed in TWiki
 
Changed:
<
<

Overview

>
>

Overview

 
Changed:
<
<
We have a need for more advanced template handling. As JohnTalintyre? pointed out in CommonHeaderFooterTemplate? it makes sense to separate the header and footer into one file so that it can be easily altered (or even overloaded by a skin). Also the oops dialog messages are all identical except for a few variables like heading, and so on.
>
>
The new modular template system is more flexible, efficient, and easily updated than the old set-up, where each template is a complete HTML file. The new master template approach places common templates parts, like headers and footers, in one shared file. This simplifies the conversion of templates into XHTML format, and provides a more versatile solution for templates and for skins.
 
Changed:
<
<
Using external modules like the TemplateToolkit? would be one way to go, but this will add a lot of baggage to TWiki.
>
>

Major changes from the previous template system

 
Changed:
<
<

Needs of the TWiki templating system

>
>
The main difference is that templates are now defined using variables to include template parts. You change one stored instance of a common element to update all occurrences. The new system:
 
Changed:
<
<
  • Separate common parts into one (or more) base template file(s) and include that from other template files like view.tmpl.
  • Define common variables like a "|" separator in the base template and use them in other template files
  • Define variable text in templates (i.e. view.tmpl) and pass them to the base template
>
>
  • separates a set of common template parts into a base template that is included by all of the related templates;
 
Changed:
<
<

Functional Spec

>
>
  • defines common variables, like a standard separator (ex: "|"), in the base template;
 
Changed:
<
<
I tried to define a simple but powerful solution that can be extended over time. Here we go:
>
>
  • defines variable text in the individual templates and passes it back to the base template.

Functional Specifications

 
  • Special template directives (or preprocessor commands) are embedded in normal templates.
  • Use of template directives is optional, templates work without them.
Changed:
<
<
  • All template preprocessing is done in &TWiki::Store::readTemplate() so that the caller simply gets an expanded template file (the same as before)
  • Directives are of form %TMPL:<key>% and %TMPL:<key>{"attr"}%.
>
>
  • All template preprocessing is done in &TWiki::Store::readTemplate() so that the caller simply gets an expanded template file (the same as before).
  • Directives are of the form %TMPL:<key>% and %TMPL:<key>{"attr"}%.
 
  • Initial set of directives:
    • %TMPL:INCLUDE{"file"}%: Includes a template file. The usual search path is applied.
    • %TMPL:DEF{"var"}%: Define a variable. Text between this and the END directive is not returned, but put into a hash for later use.
    • %TMPL:END%: Ends variable definition.
    • %TMPL:P{"var"}%: Prints a previously defined variable.
Changed:
<
<
  • New directives can be added over time when needed, i.e. IF-THEN-ELSE.
  • Variables live in a global name space, there is no parameter passing.
  • Two pass processing, so that you can use a variable before declaring it or after.
  • Templates and skins work transparently and interchangeably. You could for example define a new skin just for the header & footer and keep the other template files unchanged.
  • Note: The template directive work only for templates, they do not get processed in topic text.
>
>
  • New directives can be added over time when needed, ex: IF-THEN-ELSE.
  • Variables are live in a global name space, there is no parameter passing.
  • Two-pass processing, so that you can use a variable before declaring it or after.
  • Templates and skins work transparently and interchangeably. For example, you can create a skin that overloads just the twiki.tmpl, like twiki.print.tmpl, that redefines the header and footer.
  • Note: The template directives work only for templates, they do not get processed in topic text.
 
Changed:
<
<

Examples

>
>

New Template System by Example

 
Changed:
<
<
Attached is an example of an oops base template oopsbase.tmpl and a example oops dialog oopstest.tmpl which is based on the base template. This is not the version that will go into the release, it is just a quick hack.
>
>
Attached is an example of an oops base template oopsbase.tmpl and a example oops dialog oopstest.tmpl which is based on the base template. NOTE: This isn't the release version, just a quick, simple demo.
 
Changed:
<
<

Base template oopsbase.tmpl

>
>

Base template oopsbase.tmpl

 The first line declares the delimiter variable called "sep", used to separate multiple link items. The variable can be called anywhere by writing %TMPL:P{"sep"}%
Changed:
<
<
Note: Added a dot to escape rendering of variables, i.e. read %.WEB% as %WEB%.
>
>
NOTE: Added a dot to escape rendering of variables, i.e. read %.WEB% as %WEB%.
 
Added:
>
>
 
<table border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="1">
<tr><td>

Line: 99 to 93
 </td></tr> </table >
Added:
>
>
 
Changed:
<
<

Test template oopstest.tmpl

>
>

Test template oopstest.tmpl

 Each oops template basically just defines some variables and includes the base template that does the layout work.
Added:
>
>
 
Line: 129 to 125
  </table >
Added:
>
>
 
Changed:
<
<

Sample screen shot of oopstest.tmpl

>
>

Sample screen shot of oopstest.tmpl

 With URL: .../bin/oops/Test/TestTopic2?template=oopstest&param1=WebHome&param2=WebNotify
Added:
>
>
 
testscreen.gif
Added:
>
>
 
Changed:
<
<

Comments and feedback

  • The itching factor to put this into the upcoming release is to easy the pending converstion of the templates into XHTML format and to have a more flexible solution for templates and skins.
  • Is the terminology OK?
  • Is the spec OK?
  • Are there any other directives that are needed urgently?
  • One drawback by using the directives is that you can only test a template from within TWiki. This is because you don't have a text that has a linear flow when you use TMPL:DEF, TMPL:P and TMPL:INCLUDE.

-- PeterThoeny? - 21 Jul 2001

  • It's probably more readable to enforce variables being defined before use, which would avoid need for slower two-pass processing.
    • [ PeterThoeny? ] You need two-pass processing because you need to define the "|" separator in the included template onone side, and on the other side define variables for the included template. The processing happens as regex in memory, so there is no mesurable speed penalty.
  • It would be nice to simplify the syntax a bit, e.g. not using "" around variable names (they don't really need it, unlike filenames), and not using braces - however, this is not a big deal and there is some merit in keeping consistent with the current TWiki syntax.
    • [ PeterThoeny? ] The templating system uses the standard internal TWiki function to parse variable attributes. The "" can be skipped (is possible but is not documented).

Please have a look at the latest templates in the TWikiAlphaRelease?. There is now one master template called twiki.tmpl that all other templates include (well, will include when all done). The idea is to define all common parts of the templates in twiki.tmpl and simply use that from all other templates.

>
>
All common template parts are defined in one master template, twiki.tmpl, that all other templates include.
 
Template variable: Defines:
Changed:
<
<
%TMPL:DEF{"sep"}% %TMPL:END% "|" separator
>
>
%TMPL:DEF{"sep"}% "|" separator
 
%TMPL:DEF{"htmldoctype"}% Start of all HTML pages
Changed:
<
<
%TMPL:DEF{"standardheader"}% Standard header (for view, rdiff, ...
%TMPL:DEF{"simpleheader"}% Simple header with reduced links (for edit, attach, oops,...)
%TMPL:DEF{"standardfooter"}% Footer, excluding revision part and copyright part
>
>
%TMPL:DEF{"standardheader"}% Standard header (ex: view, index, seach)
%TMPL:DEF{"simpleheader"}% Simple header with reduced links (ex: edit, attach, oops)
%TMPL:DEF{"standardfooter"}% Footer, excluding revision and copyright parts
 
%TMPL:DEF{"oops"}% Skeleton of oops dialog
Changed:
<
<
I.e. the preview.tmpl template is now simply:
>
>
Example: preview.tmpl template
 
%TMPL:INCLUDE{"twiki"}%
%TMPL:DEF{"titleaction"}% (oops) %TMPL:END%
%TMPL:DEF{"webaction"}% *Attention* %TMPL:END%
%TMPL:DEF{"heading"}% Topic is not saved yet %TMPL:END%

Changed:
<
<
%TMPL:DEF{"message"}% Please go back in your browser and save the topic. %TMPL:END% %TMPL:DEF{"topicaction"}% %TMPL:END%
>
>
%TMPL:DEF{"message"}% Please go back in your browser and save the topic. %TMPL:END% %TMPL:DEF{"topicaction"}% %TMPL:END%
 %TMPL:P{"oops"}%
Added:
>
>

Known Issues

 
Changed:
<
<
With this it should be possible to create a skin that overloads just the twiki.tmpl, i.e. a twiki.print.tmpl that redefines the header and footer.
>
>
  • A drawback of referring to a master template is that you can only test a template from within TWiki, where the include variables are resolved. In the previous system, each template is a structurally complete HTML document with a .tmpl filename extension - it contains unresolved %VARIABLES%, but can still be previewed directly in a browser.
 -- PeterThoeny? - 23 Jul 2001
-- MikeMannix? - 30 Aug 2001
Deleted:
<
<
 
META FILEATTACHMENT attr="h" comment="Example of oopstest.tmpl rendered" date="999598142" name="testscreen.gif" path="C:\02_TWikiDocs\testscreen.gif" size="9460" user="MikeMannix" version="1.1"

Revision 207 Sep 2001 - Main.MikeMannix

Line: 1 to 1
 
META TOPICPARENT name="WebHome"

new topic for the final doc

Line: 8 to 8
 
Changed:
<
<

TWiki Template System

>
>

TWiki Template System

 Define the templates used to render all HTML pages displayed in TWiki
Changed:
<
<

Overview

>
>

Overview

 We have a need for more advanced template handling. As JohnTalintyre? pointed out in CommonHeaderFooterTemplate? it makes sense to separate the header and footer into one file so that it can be easily altered (or even overloaded by a skin). Also the oops dialog messages are all identical except for a few variables like heading, and so on.

Using external modules like the TemplateToolkit? would be one way to go, but this will add a lot of baggage to TWiki.

Changed:
<
<

Needs of the TWiki templating system

>
>

Needs of the TWiki templating system

 
  • Separate common parts into one (or more) base template file(s) and include that from other template files like view.tmpl.
  • Define common variables like a "|" separator in the base template and use them in other template files
  • Define variable text in templates (i.e. view.tmpl) and pass them to the base template
Changed:
<
<

Functional Spec

>
>

Functional Spec

 I tried to define a simple but powerful solution that can be extended over time. Here we go:
Line: 44 to 44
 
  • Note: The template directive work only for templates, they do not get processed in topic text.
Changed:
<
<

Examples

>
>

Examples

 Attached is an example of an oops base template oopsbase.tmpl and a example oops dialog oopstest.tmpl which is based on the base template. This is not the version that will go into the release, it is just a quick hack.
Changed:
<
<
Base template oopsbase.tmpl
>
>

Base template oopsbase.tmpl

 The first line declares the delimiter variable called "sep", used to separate multiple link items. The variable can be called anywhere by writing %TMPL:P{"sep"}%
Line: 101 to 101
 
Changed:
<
<
Test template oopstest.tmpl
>
>

Test template oopstest.tmpl

 Each oops template basically just defines some variables and includes the base template that does the layout work.
Line: 130 to 130
  </table >
Changed:
<
<
Sample screen shot of oopstest.tmpl
>
>

Sample screen shot of oopstest.tmpl

 With URL: .../bin/oops/Test/TestTopic2?template=oopstest&param1=WebHome&param2=WebNotify

testscreen.gif
Changed:
<
<

Comments and feedback

>
>

Comments and feedback

 
  • The itching factor to put this into the upcoming release is to easy the pending converstion of the templates into XHTML format and to have a more flexible solution for templates and skins.
  • Is the terminology OK?

Revision 104 Sep 2001 - Main.MikeMannix

Line: 1 to 1
Added:
>
>
META TOPICPARENT name="WebHome"

new topic for the final doc

Slightly edited down, but waiting for new docs, hopefully.

see also for ref: orig TWikiTemplatingSystem?

TWiki Template System

Define the templates used to render all HTML pages displayed in TWiki

Overview

We have a need for more advanced template handling. As JohnTalintyre? pointed out in CommonHeaderFooterTemplate? it makes sense to separate the header and footer into one file so that it can be easily altered (or even overloaded by a skin). Also the oops dialog messages are all identical except for a few variables like heading, and so on.

Using external modules like the TemplateToolkit? would be one way to go, but this will add a lot of baggage to TWiki.

Needs of the TWiki templating system

  • Separate common parts into one (or more) base template file(s) and include that from other template files like view.tmpl.
  • Define common variables like a "|" separator in the base template and use them in other template files
  • Define variable text in templates (i.e. view.tmpl) and pass them to the base template

Functional Spec

I tried to define a simple but powerful solution that can be extended over time. Here we go:

  • Special template directives (or preprocessor commands) are embedded in normal templates.
  • Use of template directives is optional, templates work without them.
  • All template preprocessing is done in &TWiki::Store::readTemplate() so that the caller simply gets an expanded template file (the same as before)
  • Directives are of form %TMPL:<key>% and %TMPL:<key>{"attr"}%.
  • Initial set of directives:
    • %TMPL:INCLUDE{"file"}%: Includes a template file. The usual search path is applied.
    • %TMPL:DEF{"var"}%: Define a variable. Text between this and the END directive is not returned, but put into a hash for later use.
    • %TMPL:END%: Ends variable definition.
    • %TMPL:P{"var"}%: Prints a previously defined variable.
  • New directives can be added over time when needed, i.e. IF-THEN-ELSE.
  • Variables live in a global name space, there is no parameter passing.
  • Two pass processing, so that you can use a variable before declaring it or after.
  • Templates and skins work transparently and interchangeably. You could for example define a new skin just for the header & footer and keep the other template files unchanged.
  • Note: The template directive work only for templates, they do not get processed in topic text.

Examples

Attached is an example of an oops base template oopsbase.tmpl and a example oops dialog oopstest.tmpl which is based on the base template. This is not the version that will go into the release, it is just a quick hack.

Base template oopsbase.tmpl

The first line declares the delimiter variable called "sep", used to separate multiple link items. The variable can be called anywhere by writing %TMPL:P{"sep"}%

Note: Added a dot to escape rendering of variables, i.e. read %.WEB% as %WEB%.

<table border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="1">
<tr><td>
<verbatim>
%.TMPL:DEF{"sep"}% | %.TMPL:END%
<html>
<head>
  <title> %.WIKITOOLNAME% . %.WEB% . %.TOPIC% %.TMPL:P{"titleaction"}%</title>
  <base href="%.SCRIPTURL%/view%.SCRIPTSUFFIX%/%.WEB%/%.TOPIC%">
  <meta name="robots" content="noindex">
</head>
<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
<table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0">
  <tr>
	 <td bgcolor="%.WEBBGCOLOR%" rowspan="2" valign="top" width="1%">
		<a href="%.WIKIHOMEURL%">
		<img src="%.PUBURLPATH%/wikiHome.gif" border="0"></a>
	 </td>
	 <td>
		<b>%.WIKITOOLNAME% . %.WEB% . </b><font size="+2">
		<B>%.TOPIC%</b> %.TMPL:P{"titleaction"}%</font>
	 </td>
  </tr>
  <tr bgcolor="%.WEBBGCOLOR%">
	 <td colspan="2">
		%.TMPL:P{"webaction"}%
	 </td>
  </tr>
</table>
--- ++ %.TMPL:P{"heading"}%
%.TMPL:P{"message"}%
<table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0">
  <tr bgcolor="%.WEBBGCOLOR%">
	 <td valign="top">
		Topic <b>TWikiTemplates</b> . {
		  %.TMPL:P{"topicaction"}%
		}
	 </td>
  </tr>
</table>
</body>
</verbatim>
</td></tr>
</table >

Test template oopstest.tmpl

Each oops template basically just defines some variables and includes the base template that does the layout work.

</table >

Sample screen shot of oopstest.tmpl

With URL: .../bin/oops/Test/TestTopic2?template=oopstest&param1=WebHome&param2=WebNotify

%.TMPL:DEF{"titleaction"}% (test =titleaction=) %.TMPL:END%
%.TMPL:DEF{"webaction"}% test =webaction= %.TMPL:END%
%.TMPL:DEF{"heading"}%
Test heading %.TMPL:END%
%.TMPL:DEF{"message"}%
Test =message=. Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah...

   * Some more blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah...
   * Param1: %PARAM1%
   * Param2: %PARAM2%
   * Param3: %PARAM3%
   * Param4: %PARAM4%
%.TMPL:END%
%.TMPL:DEF{"topicaction"}%
Test =topicaction=:
[[%.WEB%.%TOPIC%][OK]] %.TMPL:P{"sep"}%
[[%.TWIKIWEB%.TWikiRegistration][Register]] %.TMPL:END%
%.TMPL:INCLUDE{"oopsbase"}%
testscreen.gif

Comments and feedback

  • The itching factor to put this into the upcoming release is to easy the pending converstion of the templates into XHTML format and to have a more flexible solution for templates and skins.
  • Is the terminology OK?
  • Is the spec OK?
  • Are there any other directives that are needed urgently?
  • One drawback by using the directives is that you can only test a template from within TWiki. This is because you don't have a text that has a linear flow when you use TMPL:DEF, TMPL:P and TMPL:INCLUDE.

-- PeterThoeny? - 21 Jul 2001

  • It's probably more readable to enforce variables being defined before use, which would avoid need for slower two-pass processing.
    • [ PeterThoeny? ] You need two-pass processing because you need to define the "|" separator in the included template onone side, and on the other side define variables for the included template. The processing happens as regex in memory, so there is no mesurable speed penalty.
  • It would be nice to simplify the syntax a bit, e.g. not using "" around variable names (they don't really need it, unlike filenames), and not using braces - however, this is not a big deal and there is some merit in keeping consistent with the current TWiki syntax.
    • [ PeterThoeny? ] The templating system uses the standard internal TWiki function to parse variable attributes. The "" can be skipped (is possible but is not documented).

Please have a look at the latest templates in the TWikiAlphaRelease?. There is now one master template called twiki.tmpl that all other templates include (well, will include when all done). The idea is to define all common parts of the templates in twiki.tmpl and simply use that from all other templates.

Template variable: Defines:
%TMPL:DEF{"sep"}% %TMPL:END% "|" separator
%TMPL:DEF{"htmldoctype"}% Start of all HTML pages
%TMPL:DEF{"standardheader"}% Standard header (for view, rdiff, ...
%TMPL:DEF{"simpleheader"}% Simple header with reduced links (for edit, attach, oops,...)
%TMPL:DEF{"standardfooter"}% Footer, excluding revision part and copyright part
%TMPL:DEF{"oops"}% Skeleton of oops dialog

I.e. the preview.tmpl template is now simply:

%TMPL:INCLUDE{"twiki"}%
%TMPL:DEF{"titleaction"}% (oops) %TMPL:END%
%TMPL:DEF{"webaction"}% *Attention* %TMPL:END%
%TMPL:DEF{"heading"}% Topic is not saved yet %TMPL:END%
%TMPL:DEF{"message"}%
  Please go back in your browser and save the topic. %TMPL:END%
%TMPL:DEF{"topicaction"}% %TMPL:END%
%TMPL:P{"oops"}%

With this it should be possible to create a skin that overloads just the twiki.tmpl, i.e. a twiki.print.tmpl that redefines the header and footer.

-- PeterThoeny? - 23 Jul 2001
-- MikeMannix? - 30 Aug 2001

META FILEATTACHMENT attr="h" comment="Example of oopstest.tmpl rendered" date="999598142" name="testscreen.gif" path="C:\02_TWikiDocs\testscreen.gif" size="9460" user="MikeMannix" version="1.1"
 
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