The override system is able to load different kinds of content node views instead of the standard view, based on defined rules.
In our project, we can override the standard views for the following standard and custom classes:
- Class Profile with full, line, and embed views
- Class Folder for the "Issue Year" section with a full view
- Class Folder for the "Issues" section with thumb, full, line, and embed views
- Class Folder for the "Issue Archive" section with full and embed views
- Class Article with full, line, and embed views
Usually, the full view is used to view a content node with all of its attributes. (We can think of a full content node view as a static HTML page of that element.) The line view is used to view the content node in a list, for example, if we want to see all articles published in a given year. The embed view is used if we want to attach a content node to another content node description attribute.
To create our override rules, we can use an automatic method through the graphic eZ Publish interface, or we can add rules manually to the override.ini.append.php file of each siteaccess where we want to render the custom view instead of the standard view.
Through the graphical interface of eZ Publish, you can create rules in the override.ini file. Unfortunately, this interface is very limited and not very usable, which is why we prefer to create rules and files manually. The limitations of creating rules through the interface are many. First of all, you cannot specify all of the rules allowed by the file that is being overridden, and it is also not possible to structure the override files into a well-ordered folder tree. All files are placed inside the override templates of our design extension. If we override many files, you will appreciate that it becomes very difficult to maintain the folder order.
Let's see one example of how you can create an override of the class folder for the section with ID 6, which corresponds to our Issue archive. In the next section, we'll see in detail how to manually create all of the template overrides along with their rules.
To create a new override rule, we need to log into the site backend and fill the user login form with our credentials.
Next, we need to select the Design tab on the top menu, and then click on the Template link in the leftmost menu.
Now we are on the page where we can see a list of all system templates and override templates. Below this, we can also see a list of the Most common templates.
We want to override the content node view, full, for the Folder class. So, we must click on /node/view/full.tpl in the Most common templates list.
The page that is now loaded, has all the template override rule settings for the standard template /node/view/full.tpl. To create a new template, we need to click on the New override button at the bottom of the list.
The page that is loaded has a form in which we have to specify the following information:
- Filename (the system suggests specifying an explanatory name)
- Class for which we are adding this override
- Section for which we are doing this override
- Node ID, if the override is only for a specific content node
We also need to choose if we want to create an Empty file, a copy of the original standard template, a container, or a simple view.
In our situation, we name the file full_folder_issuearchive.tpl. We select the Folder class and the Archive section, as created in the previous chapter, to manage this rule. At the end, we choose to create an Empty file, and then click on the OK button. Now our override rule and file are created.
A new override rule is always put at the end of the rule list. The system loads the first file where the rules match the context. So for this override, we have to increase the priority value from 35 to 1. To do this, we have to change the value in the form field, which is in the column before the edit button, and click on the Update priorities button.
By clicking on the Edit button, it is possible to modify the template source code. If we have a template (it could be an idea) with very complex code inside it, it could be impossible to manage the template with this feature because the textarea does not support code highlight and indentation. It would be better to use our favorite IDE to edit it.
As you can see, the automatic override mechanism is not simple to use. We recommend that you manually create the rules and provide order to the files in your override folder.
As we want to create custom views only for the frontend siteaccess, we need to change the override.ini.append.php file within the settings folder for all of our siteaccesses:
/var/www/packtmediaproject/settings/siteaccess/ezwebin_site/override.ini.append.php/var/www/packtmediaproject/settings/siteaccess/ita/override.ini.append.php/var/www/packtmediaproject/settings/siteaccess/eng/override.ini.append.php/var/www/packtmediaproject/settings/siteaccess/fre/override.ini.append.php/var/www/packtmediaproject/settings/siteaccess/dev/ override.ini.append.php/var/www/packtmediaproject/settings/siteaccess/staging/ override.ini.append.php"
Because the file will always be the same for all four siteaccess, it would be useful to change only one, for example the siteaccess ezwebin_site file, and then create a symbolic link to the master file within the other three siteaccess.
# cd /var/www/packtmediaproject/settings/siteaccess
# rm -r ita/override.ini.append.php eng/override.ini.append.php fre/ override.ini.append.php dev/override.ini.append.php staging/override.ini.append.php
# ln -s ezwebin_site/override.ini.append.php ita/
# ln -s ezwebin_site/override.ini.append.php eng/
# ln -s ezwebin_site/override.ini.append.php fre/
# ln -s ezwebin_site/override.ini.append.php dev/
#ln -s ezwebin_site/override.ini.append.php staging/"
We will write the following rule in the file to create the full view for the Profile class:
[profile_full] Source=node/view/full.tpl MatchFile=full/profile.tpl Subdir=templates Match[class_identifier]=editor_profile
We will write the following rule in the file under the [profile_full] rule to create the line view for the Profile class:
[profile_line] Source=node/view/line.tpl MatchFile=line/profile.tpl Subdir=templates Match[class_identifier]=editor_profile
We will write the following rule under the [profile_line] rule in the file to create the embed view for the Profile class:
[profile_embed] Source=node/view/embed.tpl MatchFile=embed/profile.tpl Subdir=templates Match[class_identifier]=editor_profile
The section name should be unique within the override.ini.append.php file. The Source is the position in which the source file that we want to override is placed. The MatchFile is the location where you will find our custom file, starting from Subdir, which is the subdirectory override folder from the extension of our design. For example, to view profile_full, we want to overwrite the standard file node/view/full.tpl with our file override templates/full/profile.tpl only if the identifier of the class is equal to profile.
We will write the following rule, under the [profile_embed] rule, in the file to create the full view for the folder class in the issue year archive:
[folder_issueyear] Source=node/view/full.tpl MatchFile=full/folder_issueyear.tpl Subdir=templates Match[class_identifier]=folder Match[section]=6 Match[depth]=3
We will write the following rule, under the [folder_issueyear] rule, in the file to create the full view for the folder class and render our issue page:
[folder_issue_full] Source=node/view/full.tpl MatchFile=full/folder_issue.tpl Subdir=templates Match[class_identifier]=folder Match[parent_class]=folder Match[section]=6 Match[depth]=4
We will write the following rule, under the [folder_issue_full] rule, in the file to create the line view for the folder class and render our issue page:
[folder_issue_line] Source=node/view/line.tpl MatchFile=line/folder_issue.tpl Subdir=templates Match[class_identifier]=folder Match[parent_class]=folder Match[section]=6 Match[depth]=4
We will write the following rule, under the [folder_issue_line] rule, in the file to create the embed view for the folder class and render our issue page:
[folder_issue_embed] Source=node/view/embed.tpl MatchFile=embed/folder_issue.tpl Subdir=templates Match[class_identifier]=folder Match[parent_class]=folder Match[section]=6 Match[depth]=4
We will write the following rule, under the [folder_issue_embed] rule, in the file to create the thumb view for the folder class and render our issue page:
[folder_issue_thumb] Source=node/view/thumb.tpl MatchFile=thumb/folder_issue.tpl Subdir=templates Match[class_identifier]=folder Match[parent_class]=folder Match[section]=6 Match[depth]=4
The Match[depth] rule matches the node with a depth equal to 4 in the content tree nodes.
We will write the following rule, under the [folder_issue_thumb] rule, in the file to create the full view for the folder class in the issue archive section:
[folder_issuearchive_full] Source=node/view/full.tpl MatchFile=full/folder_issuearchive.tpl Subdir=templates Match[class_identifier]=folder # the Archive id section created in the previuos chapter Match[section]=6
We will write the following rule, under the [folder_issuearchive_full] rule, in the file to create the embed view for the folder class in the issue archive section:
We will write the following rule, under the [folder_issuearchive_embed] rule, in the file to create the full view for the article class and render the article items inside our issue:
[issue_article_full] Source=node/view/full.tpl MatchFile=full/issue_article.tpl Subdir=templates Match[class_identifier]=article Match[section]=6
We will write the following rule, under the [issue_article_full] rule, in the file to create the line view for the article class:
[issue_article_line] Source=node/view/line.tpl MatchFile=line/issue_article.tpl Subdir=templates Match[class_identifier]=article Match[section]=6
We will write the following rule, under the [issue_article_line] rule, in the file to create the embed view for the article class:
[issue_article_embed] Source=node/view/embed.tpl MatchFile=embed/issue_article.tpl Subdir=templates Match[class_identifier]=article Match[section]=6
For the home page, we'll use the standard class eZ Webin called FrontPage, which gives us the opportunity to have a layout with three columns. This also satisfies the needs of our mockup. Within the three columns, we need different types of boxes to represent:
- The left column:
- The latest news
- The central column:
- The latest issue
- The right column:
- The most important article for the week
- The latest item from the forum
To create these boxes, we'll use the standard eZ Webin templates to embed objects using the existing override. This can be activated by selecting the correct class for the embed object.
To meet our needs, we must modify the following two files for the extension eZ Webin:
extension/ezwebin/desing/ezwebin/override/templates/embed/vertically_listed_sub_items.tplextension/ezwebin/desing/ezwebin/override/templates/itemizedsubitems/folder.tpl
We must copy them into our extension in the same location.
Finally, we must create our custom files for each rule of the override:
# cd /var/www/packtmediaproject/extension/packtmedia/design/magazine/override/templates
# mkdir full line embed thumb itemizedsubitems
# touch full/profile.tpl line/profile.tpl embed/profile.tpl
# touch full/folder_issuearchive.tpl embed/folder_issuearchive.tpl
# touch full/folder_issue.tpl line/folder_issue.tpl embed/folder_issue.tpl thumb/folder_issue.tpl
# touch full/issue_article.tpl line/issue_article.tpl embed/issue_article.tpl
# touch full/feedbackform.tpl
# cp ../../../../ezwebin/design/ezwebin/override/templates/embed/vertically_listed_sub_items.tpl embed/
#cp ../../../../ezwebin/desing/ezwebin/override/templates/itemizedsubitems/folder.tpl itemizedsubitems