View modes for builders #

Part 2, chapter 12. The same article is drawn differently on its own page, in a list of news, and when an editor embeds it in another article. Each of these is a view mode, and each has its own template node/view/<mode>.tpl, which overrides can replace per class. This chapter shows the modes and how to add your own.

The modes the kernel ships #

The standard design has one template per mode in design/standard/templates/node/view/:

Your design and your extensions can add more.

How a page chooses its mode #

The address carries it: /content/view/<mode>/<node>. A URL alias is the full view. In templates, lists choose the mode of each item:

{def $children = fetch( 'content', 'list', hash( 'parent_node_id', $node.node_id, 'limit', 10 ) )}
{foreach $children as $child}
    {node_view_gui content_node=$child view='line'}
{/foreach}

node_view_gui draws a node in a mode, through the override system, so a line override for articles applies here automatically. content_view_gui content_object=$object view='embed' does the same for an object without a location.

Adding your own view mode #

Say a front page should show teasers with a picture: a mode called teaser.

1. Create the template for the mode, in your design: extension/mysite_design/design/mysite/templates/node/view/teaser.tpl

   <div class="teaser">
       <h3><a href={$node.url_alias|ezurl}>{$node.name|wash}</a></h3>
   </div>

2. Give classes their own teaser where needed, with overrides on Source=node/view/teaser.tpl (see Override conditions).

3. Use it: {node_view_gui content_node=$child view='teaser'}.

4. Clear the template override cache (new files): php bin/php/ezcache.php --clear-id=template-override,template.

No setting is needed for a mode used only from templates. Two lists mention modes for other purposes:

Caching and view modes #

Full pages are kept in the view cache. Which modes are cached is set in site.ini [ContentSettings]:

CachedViewModes=full;sitemap;pdf

A mode you add for pages that people open by address (for example /content/view/print/<node>) can be added there. Lists drawn inside a cached page are part of that page's cache. The rules for clearing the view cache are in Caching and templates.

Variables in a view mode template #

Related pages #

• Previous: Override conditions: class, node, section, view mode and more
• Next: Fetching content in templates
• Version preview in other view modes
• Free documentation: this page is free to copy, translate and improve under the GNU FDL 1.3.