The TemplateSelector plugin allows Authors to choose from templates, widgets, and widget sets to alter the display or function of any individual page or entry.
TemplateSelector extends entries and pages with a new TemplateSelector custom field and associated tag. First you configure the plugin to automatically display a dropdown list filtered from your blog templates. You can set a default template from that list. Your desired list of templates is made available from within Page/Entry Edit forms. In your Entry or Page templates, the TemplateSelector tag will output the name of the selected (or default) template.
The plugin has been extended with two additional custom fields and associated tags, WidgetSelector and WidgetSetSelector. So now you can also easily display a select list of widgets and/or widget sets as a custom field within your Entry and Page edit forms.
Within entry or page context of a template, use the TemplateSelector tag to include a template by name:
<mt:Include name="<mt:TemplateSelector>">
Or perhaps use the tag to set a variable:
<mt:If tag="TemplateSelector"><mt:TemplateSelector setvar="my_template_name"></mt:If>
Then (for example) later in that template set a custom stylesheet:
<link id="my_custom_layout" rel="stylesheet" href="<mt:Link template="$my_template_name">" type="text/css" media="screen" />
Similarly, you can use the WidgetSelector tag to allow your Authors to choose from a subset of widgets:
<mt:Include widget="<mt:WidgetSelector>">
And perhaps the most flexible of the custom fields, the WidgetSetSelector tag:
<mt:WidgetSet name="<mt:WidgetSetSelector>">
Simply select a template name from a pull-down menu within the "edit entry/page" form.
TemplateSelector can automatically search and present your entire list of templates. You probably don't want to present your entire list of templates in the selection menu, so the Preferences::Plugin Settings::TemplateSelector form presents three options to narrow down the list. The resulting list is the result of an intersection of the three options (e.g. List = Type AND Outfile AND Name).
The resulting template list is then used to build the Template Selector Default Form (on plugin options page) and the Template Selector form on each "edit entry/page" form.
Select from a single template type, or choose blank to return all types (blank is default).
- index - an Index Template
- archive - an Archive Template
- category - also an Archive Template
- individual - also an Archive Template
- custom - a Template Module.
- comments - a Comment Listing Template
- comment_preview - a Comment Preview Template
- comment_error - a Comment Error Template
- popup_image - an Uploaded Image Popup Template
- BLANK - returns all types (default).
When the Index type is active, this text field matches against the Index Template Outfile path/name (precisely as shown in the "Design::Themes" panel of your blog's dashboard). Allows only certain characters (see below). Supports any combination of percent '%' (multiple character wildcard) and '_' (single character wildcard). For example:
%.cssmatches index style sheets.archives/%matches any index templates with outfiles written to your blog root archives directory.
A simple text field matching the template name(s). Practically useful only when used with the wildcard characters (otherwise you can only possibly match a single template).
Entry%matches 'Entry', 'Entry Monthly', and 'Entry Listing'.Foo_Ba%matches 'FoodBar', 'FootBall', 'Foo_Bar', etc.%matches all templates.
- Word characters - alphanumeric plus underscore.
- Whitespace - allowed (optionally trim trailing/leading whitespace).
- Symbols (outfile) - Hyphen '-', period '.', and forward slash '/'.
- Symbols (name) - Hyphen '-' and period '.' .
- Wildcard - Percent '%' matches any characters, underscore "_" matches a single character.
The widget menu builder and widget set menu builder are a bit simpler. Filtering is done by name:
%matches all widgetsRecent%matches all widgets beginning with "Recent"widget_matches 'widget1', 'widget2', widgetx', 'widgety', etc.
And similarly for widget set names. So for example, if you wanted to present a choice of several sidebar widget sets, you could for example name them sidebar_moe, sidebar_larry, and sidebar_curly. Then filter the selections with "sidebar_%". Then the entry and page forms would have a choice of those three widget sets availble to the Author.
When checked, leading/trailing whitespace will be trimmed from the Outfile and Name fields. Default is checked.
The default selection is blank. Leaving all three fields blank will (theoretically) return all templates on your system. However, the template list size limit is twenty (see BUGS section below).
After saving the three menu builder options, the "Set Default Template" menu will update the list of templates available in the "Set Default Template" field in the plugin options page. So it doesn't make sense to attempt to change the "Menu Builder" and "Default Template" values at the same time (although in fact they are saved in the same form, see TO DO section).
Template Selector surfaces a dropdown list populated with the templates derived from the plugin options. New entries/pages will be provided the default selection option from the plugin options page.
You now have the option to not display any of the three custom fields, via a checkbox in the plugin settings form.
To install this plugin follow the instructions found here:
https://github.com/openmelody/melody/wiki/install-EasyPluginInstallGuide
- Version 1.4 - TemplateSelector no longer breaks the Custom Fields plugin.
- Version 1.3 - Add WidgetSetSelector tag and ability to not display any of the three custom fields.
- Version 1.2 - Add WidgetSelector tag.
Melody or Movable Type 4 with ConfigAssistant 2.1.33 or above. (ConfigAssistant 2.1.33 added the options basename to the option_hash for callbacks).
I would like to hear about your experience with TemplateSelector. Leave a comment on the Hiranyaloka TemplateSelector support page or email me at [email protected].
-
My testing has revealed that only the first 20 templates are exposed in the selection form, regardless of how many template names are fed to the Template Selector default value form. I'm open to suggestions to fix that.
-
Initial setting of the template “Type” field to “Index” at the same time as setting the Template “Outfile” option (in plugin settings) returns no templates to the list. The fix is to set the Template “Type” option by itself and subsequently add the Template “Outfile” option.
- New tag WidgetSetSelector
- Add template_build_type as option to the template_menu_builder (choose between 5 publishing options) .
- Allow for multiple values: <mt:TemplateSelector name="foo"> .
Thanks to Byrne Reese and the Melody team for ConfigAssistant and other valuable support.
This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of either: the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; or the Artistic License.
See http://dev.perl.org/licenses/ for more information.
TemplateSelector is Copyright 2011, Rick Bychowski, [email protected]. All rights reserved.