Sub templates

The template system in SMF consists of several components. One of them is the sub-template system.

What are Sub templates?

A sub-template is what the HTML shown to users is in. For example, the board index is a sub template, found in BoardIndex.template.php. Sub templates consist of a function which gets called after the header, and before the footer. Therefore they make up the main content of the page.

Sub templates contain HTML code and small bits of logic. You should not place full blocks of PHP code in the templates.

Example of a sub template

The following code is called as a sub template.

// Show an error message...
function template_fatal_error()
{
	global $context, $settings, $options, $txt;

	echo '
	<table border="0" width="80%" cellspacing="0" align="center" cellpadding="4" class="tborder">
		<tr class="titlebg">
			<td>', $context['error_title'], '</td>
		</tr>
		<tr class="windowbg">
			<td style="padding-top: 3ex; padding-bottom: 3ex;">
				', $context['error_message'], '
			</td>
		</tr>
	</table>';

	// Show a back button (using javascript.)
	echo '
	<div align="center" style="margin-top: 2ex;">
		<a href="javascript:history.go(-1)">', $txt[250], '</a>
	</div>';
}

Creating and implementing a sub template

Step 0: Make sure your template is loaded

Please use loadTemplate() to load your template in the source files.

Step 1: Choose a name

Name your sub template appropriately. For example, a media player showing a video could have its template called media_play_video.

Step 2: Tell with source files what template you want

In your source file, add the following code in the function that shows the video. Note that we are using the example name as set above.

$context['sub_template'] = 'media_play_video';

Step 3: Name your template function

Assuming you are still using the example name above, you have to name the function.

Sub templates are always prefixed with the template_ prefix. So, for the example name,

function template_media_play_video()
{
// Your code here...
}

Common issues

Unable to load the 'main' template

This error can have two reasons:

• You have not told the sources what template to load. Please refer to step 2 in the guide.
• You have not loaded your template. Please refer to step 0 in the guide.