015 Adding Templates and Layouts to a Site View

ADDING TEMPLATES AND LAYOUTS TO A SITE VIEW

Relationship Between Templates/Layouts In Views

Now that we added a dynamic get to a site view and looked at how to access the data sets through the examples snippets, we need to understand how layouts and templates link into site views; to know what the site view in the code, the templates, and the layout in the code itself is and how Joomla do load these things? 00:00:21

Preacher View Example

If we go to our example, (component, sermon distributor, view, preacher, and template or Tmpl) there are default.php, default_preacherbox.php, default_preacherpanel.php, and default_preachersmall.php files. 00:00:58 There is a whole list of them.They are all templates. They are called templates because of the method by which they are included into the default file.

Preacher Site View Example

The Default file is the main file. 00:01:20 We call this the site view. (See video.) Everything in this file is built in the side view. Open the site view. This code here is in default view. This is added to that default file. (See video.) It says default view. 00:01:50

Location Of Templates

The way it adds to templates, is with this snippet that says 'thisloadtemplatepreacherpanel'. These snippets are at the bottom of the site view. If you scroll down, you first will see the layout snippets and then after them the template snippets. 00:02:19 Then scroll down to the one you that have created by looking at these names. Then it shows 'preacher', 'grid', 'list', 'table', 'panel', 'box', 'small'. That is the snippets that are needed. 00:02:37 You might sometimes change the way, possibly stay in the PHP instead of going out into the HTML. That is what is happening if you look at the code. From time to time, you go out of the PHP '?>', go into the PHP, with that tag '<?php', go out of the PHP with that '>?'. Then go in again '<?', may go out again '>?', and then stay out. 00:03:04 Having here pure HTML,(See video) and then this part here is 'uikit class' and the implementation. Then going back into PHP and go out again, and HTML is found here again. That is how PHP can be used in the view. 00:03:20

Default View In Code

Look at this in the code, and open that 'default.php' file, and see exactly what is placed there. So we end with PHP'>?' and go into PHP'<?' again. 00:03:45 Here is the same text as in that editor. That text gets placed here and then through these snippets, it includes the template. A global setting is used here. Then check how this global setting is set in the components global settings. Check what type of display has been set. On that basis, either this template is shown or that one etc.(see video) 00:04:22 In the template view you have access to the same global fields or class fields and public class methods as you have in the default view.<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

In the default view we have access to 'this preacher' but the same is true of templates. These are the templates that I've just opened. And you see I'm using the same 'this params' here, and 'this preacher' website. I am using the same global class fields or values depends on how you want to call it. That is true of your templates. 00:05:07 So If we go back to our interface the way that component builder knows that it needs to add this template to this site view(see video), is simply because of this code snippet. You place code snippet in there, and you'll go look in the template list for a template with this name(loadTemplatepreacherpanel). It will simply add it to that site view. What I mean add, add it to this 00:05:35 template in the right folder. You can by doing that, add your templates to the site view. We will look at setting up templates.

Quick Layout Example Within View

We also look at setting up layouts. Layouts work a little different. Let me see do I have a layout here in this site view? It seems I'm mostly using templates, you can use templates and layouts in the site view. 00:06:06 I have just used templates mostly it seems. And that means that possibly the layouts I've used in the templates view. If I wanted to add a layout to this view, without doing it inside a template, which doesn't matter, it's just a way of bundling your scripts in a more concise manner, so that he doesn't be overwhelming when you look at the code but that you have it broken up in pieces. The layout structure is mostly used when you are dealing with a part of the display area 00:06:53 that is used across other display areas. I usually used the layout structure. At the moment I'm using a piece of code in more than one view or in more than one template. The reality is you could 00:07:12 use template inside of templates. You cannot use templates inside of layouts. You can use layouts inside of layouts. These are all conventions that are set forth because of the way Joomla implements the structure. These are not limitations because of component builder. This is just how Joomla does it, it will allow you to add templates to 00:07:44 the default site view. It will not allow you to add templates to a layout. It will just scream at you, and why?

Explanation Templates / Layouts Within Joomla

The easiest way to put this, templates 00:08:02 have access to the global values, or the class values. Where as layouts do not. You need to pass layout the value that you want to give it. Now that's important point, because if you look at these snippets, you will see that we're just passing it 'this items'. But you can even pass it just 'this' or you could pass it a specific value. 00:08:29 You have your custom classes, you can pass it that specific value from your custom class. It all depends and when you setup the layout. You have an area just like this(see video) where you select the dynamic get that you are using in the layout. Now that is not going to add that dynamic get to your side view or to the model. 00:08:53 It just helps you to see the snippets. It helps us to set up the snippet for you. If you've selected the wrong code here in your layout, we'll talk about that again when we get to layouts. It will actually just changed the way it looks here. But you can obviously override it. You can copy this snippet like that. Put it in your code where you want to use it. 00:09:18

Then you can just change that area that is passing the information to the layout, because the layout has not got access to this. You need to pass it through the values that you want to use in it. It will still look at how exactly that is done and possibly I will explain it again. But this(see video) script renders a layout. This is also how component builder knows it should add a layout to the components layout folder. 00:09:51 It looks for a layout with that name in your layouts list. You need to have these layouts set up before hand. Before you can include them into other views and templates. Do note that the layout concept and implementation together with the template is the same in the custom admin view. It works exactly the same. 00:10:19 And just by adding the snippet to the default view, component builder know it needs to add that layout to the component, and it knows it need to add that layout template to that site view. That is adding templates and layouts to a site view. And looking at the code seeing component builder builds these site views, because when we look at the default view, 00:10:50 they are actually loaded here(see video), you see preacherbox, and there is preacherbox. There preacherpanel, there is preacherpanel. There is preachersmall and there is preachersmall. There is table, grid, and list. There is table, 00:11:10 grid, and list. That is how you can add your code into smaller chunks. Next up we will look at setting up a template and making use of this implementation understanding the difference. That is adding templates and layouts to site views.