Smarty Basics

2.5.x: Smarty 3 4.0.x: Smarty 4

Smarty Version by XOOPS Release

XOOPS Version	Smarty Version	Key Differences
2.5.11	Smarty 3.x	{php} blocks allowed (but discouraged)
2.7.0+	Smarty 3.x/4.x	Preparing for Smarty 4 compatibility
4.0	Smarty 4.x	{php} blocks removed, stricter syntax

See Smarty-4-Migration for migration guidance.

Smarty is a template engine for PHP that allows developers to separate presentation (HTML/CSS) from application logic. XOOPS uses Smarty for all its templating needs, enabling clean separation between PHP code and HTML output.

Related Documentation

• Theme-Development - Creating XOOPS themes
• Template-Variables - Available variables in templates
• Smarty-4-Migration - Upgrading from Smarty 3 to 4

What is Smarty?

Smarty provides:

• Separation of Concerns: Keep HTML in templates, PHP logic in classes
• Template Inheritance: Build complex layouts from simple blocks
• Caching: Improve performance with compiled templates
• Modifiers: Transform output with built-in or custom functions
• Security: Control what PHP functions templates can access

XOOPS Smarty Configuration

XOOPS configures Smarty with custom delimiters:

Default Smarty: { and }
XOOPS Smarty:   <{ and }>

This prevents conflicts with JavaScript code in templates.

Basic Syntax

Variables

Variables are passed from PHP to templates:

// In PHP
$GLOBALS['xoopsTpl']->assign('title', 'My Page Title');
$GLOBALS['xoopsTpl']->assign('count', 42);

{* In template *}
<h1><{$title}></h1>
<p>Total items: <{$count}></p>

Array Access

// PHP
$item = [
    'id' => 1,
    'title' => 'Article Title',
    'author' => 'John Doe'
];
$GLOBALS['xoopsTpl']->assign('item', $item);

{* Template *}
<h2><{$item.title}></h2>
<p>By: <{$item.author}></p>

Object Properties

// PHP
$GLOBALS['xoopsTpl']->assign('user', $xoopsUser);

{* Template *}
<p>Welcome, <{$user->getVar('uname')}>!</p>

Comments

Comments in Smarty are not rendered to HTML:

{* This is a comment - it will not appear in the HTML output *}

{*
   Multi-line comments
   are also supported
*}

Control Structures

If/Else Statements

<{if $user_logged_in}>
    <p>Welcome back!</p>
<{elseif $is_guest}>
    <p>Hello, Guest!</p>
<{else}>
    <p>Please log in.</p>
<{/if}>

Comparison Operators

{* Equality *}
<{if $status == 'published'}>Published<{/if}>
<{if $status eq 'published'}>Published<{/if}>

{* Inequality *}
<{if $count != 0}>Has items<{/if}>
<{if $count neq 0}>Has items<{/if}>

{* Greater/Less than *}
<{if $count > 10}>Many items<{/if}>
<{if $count gt 10}>Many items<{/if}>
<{if $count < 5}>Few items<{/if}>
<{if $count lt 5}>Few items<{/if}>

{* Greater/Less than or equal *}
<{if $count >= 10}>Ten or more<{/if}>
<{if $count gte 10}>Ten or more<{/if}>
<{if $count <= 5}>Five or less<{/if}>
<{if $count lte 5}>Five or less<{/if}>

{* Logical operators *}
<{if $logged_in && $is_admin}>Admin Panel<{/if}>
<{if $logged_in and $is_admin}>Admin Panel<{/if}>
<{if $option1 || $option2}>One option selected<{/if}>
<{if $option1 or $option2}>One option selected<{/if}>
<{if !$is_banned}>Access granted<{/if}>
<{if not $is_banned}>Access granted<{/if}>

Checking for Empty/Isset

{* Check if variable exists and has value *}
<{if $title}>
    <h1><{$title}></h1>
<{/if}>

{* Check if array is not empty *}
<{if $items|@count > 0}>
    <ul>
        <{foreach $items as $item}>
            <li><{$item.name}></li>
        <{/foreach}>
    </ul>
<{/if}>

{* Using isset *}
<{if isset($description)}>
    <p><{$description}></p>
<{/if}>

Foreach Loops

{* Basic foreach *}
<ul>
<{foreach $items as $item}>
    <li><{$item.name}></li>
<{/foreach}>
</ul>

{* With key *}
<{foreach $options as $key => $value}>
    <option value="<{$key}>"><{$value}></option>
<{/foreach}>

{* With @index, @first, @last *}
<{foreach $items as $item}>
    <{if $item@first}><ul><{/if}>
    <li class="item-<{$item@index}>"><{$item.name}></li>
    <{if $item@last}></ul><{/if}>
<{/foreach}>

{* Alternate row colors *}
<{foreach $rows as $row}>
    <tr class="<{if $row@iteration is odd}>odd<{else}>even<{/if}>">
        <td><{$row.name}></td>
    </tr>
<{/foreach}>

{* Foreachelse for empty arrays *}
<{foreach $items as $item}>
    <li><{$item.name}></li>
<{foreachelse}>
    <li>No items found.</li>
<{/foreach}>

For Loops

<{for $i=1 to 10}>
    <p>Item <{$i}></p>
<{/for}>

<{for $i=10 to 1 step -1}>
    <p>Countdown: <{$i}></p>
<{/for}>

While Loops

<{while $count > 0}>
    <p><{$count}></p>
    <{$count = $count - 1}>
<{/while}>

Variable Modifiers

Modifiers transform variable output:

String Modifiers

{* HTML escape (always use for user input!) *}
<{$title|escape}>
<{$title|escape:'html'}>

{* URL encoding *}
<{$url|escape:'url'}>

{* Uppercase/Lowercase *}
<{$name|upper}>
<{$name|lower}>
<{$name|capitalize}>

{* Truncate text *}
<{$content|truncate:100:'...'}>

{* Strip HTML tags *}
<{$html|strip_tags}>

{* Replace *}
<{$text|replace:'old':'new'}>

{* Word wrap *}
<{$text|wordwrap:80:"\n"}>

{* Default value *}
<{$optional_var|default:'No value'}>

Numeric Modifiers

{* Number formatting *}
<{$price|string_format:"%.2f"}>
<{$count|number_format}>

{* Date formatting *}
<{$timestamp|date_format:"%B %e, %Y"}>
<{$timestamp|date_format:"%Y-%m-%d %H:%M"}>

Array Modifiers

{* Count items *}
<{$items|@count}> items

{* Join array *}
<{$tags|@implode:', '}>

{* JSON encode *}
<{$data|@json_encode}>

Chaining Modifiers

<{$content|strip_tags|truncate:200:'...'|escape}>

Include and Insert

Including Other Templates

{* Include a template file *}
<{include file="db:mymodule_header.tpl"}>

{* Include with variables *}
<{include file="db:mymodule_item.tpl" item=$currentItem}>

{* Include with assigned variables *}
<{include file="db:sidebar.tpl" assign="sidebar_content"}>
<div class="sidebar"><{$sidebar_content}></div>

Inserting Dynamic Content

{* Insert calls a PHP function for dynamic content *}
<{insert name="getBanner"}>

Assign Variables in Templates

{* Simple assignment *}
<{assign var="page_title" value="Welcome"}>
<{$page_title = "Welcome"}>

{* Assignment from expression *}
<{assign var="full_name" value="`$first_name` `$last_name`"}>

{* Capture block content *}
<{capture name="sidebar"}>
    <h3>Sidebar</h3>
    <ul>
        <li>Link 1</li>
        <li>Link 2</li>
    </ul>
<{/capture}>
<div class="sidebar"><{$smarty.capture.sidebar}></div>

Built-in Smarty Variables

$smarty Variable

{* Current timestamp *}
<{$smarty.now|date_format:"%Y-%m-%d"}>

{* Request variables *}
<{$smarty.get.page}>
<{$smarty.post.username}>
<{$smarty.request.id}>
<{$smarty.cookies.session_id}>
<{$smarty.server.HTTP_HOST}>

{* Constants *}
<{$smarty.const.XOOPS_URL}>

{* Configuration variables *}
<{$smarty.config.var_name}>

{* Template info *}
<{$smarty.template}>
<{$smarty.current_dir}>

{* Smarty version *}
<{$smarty.version}>

{* Section/Foreach properties *}
<{$smarty.foreach.items.index}>
<{$smarty.foreach.items.iteration}>
<{$smarty.foreach.items.first}>
<{$smarty.foreach.items.last}>

Literal Blocks

For JavaScript with curly braces:

<{literal}>
<script>
    var config = {
        url: 'https://example.com',
        count: 10
    };
    if (config.count > 5) {
        console.log('Many items');
    }
</script>
<{/literal}>

Or use Smarty variables within JavaScript:

<script>
var moduleUrl = '<{$xoops_url}>/modules/mymodule';
var items = <{$items_json}>;
</script>

Custom Functions

XOOPS provides custom Smarty functions:

{* XOOPS Image URL *}
<img src="<{xoImgUrl}>images/logo.png" alt="Logo">

{* XOOPS Module URL *}
<a href="<{xoModuleUrl}>">Module Home</a>

{* App URL *}
<a href="<{xoAppUrl 'item.php'}>?id=<{$item.id}>">View Item</a>

Best Practices

Always Escape Output

{* For user-generated content, always escape *}
<p><{$user_comment|escape}></p>

{* For HTML content, use appropriate method *}
<div><{$content}></div> {* Only if content is pre-sanitized *}

Use Meaningful Variable Names

// Good
$GLOBALS['xoopsTpl']->assign('article_title', $title);
$GLOBALS['xoopsTpl']->assign('article_items', $items);

// Avoid
$GLOBALS['xoopsTpl']->assign('t', $title);
$GLOBALS['xoopsTpl']->assign('arr', $items);

Keep Logic Minimal

Templates should focus on presentation. Move complex logic to PHP:

{* Avoid complex logic in templates *}
{* Bad *}
<{if $user && $user->getVar('level') > 5 && $user->getVar('status') == 'active' && $permissions|in_array:'edit'}>

{* Good - calculate in PHP and pass a simple flag *}
<{if $can_edit}>

Use Template Inheritance

For consistent layouts, use template inheritance (see Theme-Development).

Debugging Templates

Debug Console

{* Show all assigned variables *}
<{debug}>

Temporary Output

{* Debug specific variable *}
<pre><{$variable|@print_r}></pre>
<pre><{$variable|@var_export}></pre>

Common XOOPS Template Patterns

Module Template Structure

{* Module header *}
<div class="mymodule">
    <h2><{$module_name}></h2>

    {* Breadcrumb *}
    <{if $breadcrumb}>
    <nav class="breadcrumb">
        <{foreach $breadcrumb as $crumb}>
            <{if $crumb@last}>
                <span><{$crumb.title}></span>
            <{else}>
                <a href="<{$crumb.link}>"><{$crumb.title}></a> &raquo;
            <{/if}>
        <{/foreach}>
    </nav>
    <{/if}>

    {* Content *}
    <div class="content">
        <{$content}>
    </div>
</div>

Pagination

<{if $page_nav}>
<div class="pagination">
    <{$page_nav}>
</div>
<{/if}>

Form Display

<{if $form}>
<div class="form-container">
    <{$form}>
</div>
<{/if}>

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#smarty #templates #xoops #frontend #template-engine