Node templates

A node template shows one content node. Exponential uses one whenever it displays a node: when a visitor opens the node's address (its URL alias, such as /company/about-us), when the system address /​content/​view/​full/​<node id> is requested, and when a template shows a node with node_view_gui.

View modes

A node is shown in a view mode. The address of a node always uses full; the system address names the mode (/​content/​view/​line/​42), and a template names it in node_view_gui. The template of a view mode is node/​view/​<mode>.​tpl. The standard design of 6.0.15 has these:

full, line, listitem, embed, embed-inline, text, text_linked, thumb, plain, print, pdf, execute_pdf, search, sitemap, toolline, objectrelationlist.

A design can add view modes of its own by adding templates. A list of a folder's children typically shows each child in the line view:

{foreach $node.children as $child}
    {node_view_gui content_node=$child view='line'}
{/foreach}

node_view_gui renders node/view/line.tpl for each child, and the override rules for that template apply, so each class can have its own line view. See node_view_gui.

The $node variable

Every node template, whatever the view mode and whether it is an override or not, receives the node as $node: an eZContentObjectTreeNode with the node's attributes and, through $node.object and $node.data_map, its object and the object's content. How to print them is described in Outputting node and object data. A full view template also receives $view_parameters (see Basic template tasks).

A template per class

A site rarely shows every node alike: an article needs another layout than a folder or the front page. Such templates are override templates: they are placed in override/templates/ of a design and chosen by rules in override.ini, for example "use full/article.tpl for node/view/full.tpl when the class is article":

[full_article]
Source=node/view/full.tpl
MatchFile=full/article.tpl
Subdir=templates
Match[class_identifier]=article

The rules, their conditions and their order are described in The template override system; the Template Editor in the administration interface writes such rules for you (The Template Editor).

Where the templates are

A design that only changes the look of nodes usually needs a templates/​pagelayout.​tpl and a few files in override/templates/; everything else comes from the designs after it in the design chain, ending with the standard design. For a design called example:

design/example/templates/pagelayout.tpl
design/example/override/templates/full/article.tpl
design/example/override/templates/full/folder.tpl
design/example/override/templates/line/article.tpl

Never edit design/standard/: it is replaced on every upgrade. Put your files in your own design, preferably in an extension (see Designs and design order).