Templates and Blocks

Overview

Publisher provides customizable templates for displaying articles and blocks for sidebar/widget integration. This guide covers template customization and block configuration.

Template Files

Core Templates

Template	Purpose
publisher_index.tpl	Module homepage
publisher_item.tpl	Single article view
publisher_category.tpl	Category listing
publisher_archive.tpl	Archive page
publisher_search.tpl	Search results
publisher_submit.tpl	Article submission form
publisher_print.tpl	Print-friendly view

Block Templates

Template	Purpose
publisher_block_latest.tpl	Latest articles block
publisher_block_spotlight.tpl	Featured article block
publisher_block_category.tpl	Category list block
publisher_block_author.tpl	Author articles block

Template Variables

Article Variables

{* Available in publisher_item.tpl *}
<{$item.title}>           {* Article title *}
<{$item.body}>            {* Full content *}
<{$item.summary}>         {* Summary/excerpt *}
<{$item.author}>          {* Author name *}
<{$item.authorid}>        {* Author user ID *}
<{$item.datesub}>         {* Publication date *}
<{$item.datemodified}>    {* Last modified date *}
<{$item.counter}>         {* View count *}
<{$item.rating}>          {* Average rating *}
<{$item.votes}>           {* Number of votes *}
<{$item.categoryname}>    {* Category name *}
<{$item.categorylink}>    {* Category URL *}
<{$item.itemurl}>         {* Article URL *}
<{$item.image}>           {* Featured image *}

Category Variables

{* Available in publisher_category.tpl *}
<{$category.name}>        {* Category name *}
<{$category.description}> {* Category description *}
<{$category.image}>       {* Category image *}
<{$category.total}>       {* Article count *}
<{$category.link}>        {* Category URL *}

Customizing Templates

Override Location

Copy templates to your theme to customize:

themes/mytheme/modules/publisher/
├── publisher_index.tpl
├── publisher_item.tpl
└── blocks/
    └── publisher_block_latest.tpl

Example: Custom Article Template

{* themes/mytheme/modules/publisher/publisher_item.tpl *}
<article class="publisher-article">
    <header>
        <h1><{$item.title}></h1>
        <div class="meta">
            <span class="author">By <{$item.author}></span>
            <span class="date"><{$item.datesub}></span>
            <span class="category">
                <a href="<{$item.categorylink}>"><{$item.categoryname}></a>
            </span>
        </div>
    </header>

    <{if $item.image}>
    <figure class="featured-image">
        <img src="<{$item.image}>" alt="<{$item.title}>">
    </figure>
    <{/if}>

    <div class="content">
        <{$item.body}>
    </div>

    <footer>
        <{if $item.who_when}>
            <p class="attribution"><{$item.who_when}></p>
        <{/if}>

        <div class="actions">
            <{if $can_edit}>
                <a href="<{$xoops_url}>/modules/publisher/submit.php?itemid=<{$item.itemid}>">
                    Edit Article
                </a>
            <{/if}>
            <a href="<{$item.printlink}>" target="_blank">Print</a>
            <a href="<{$item.maillink}>">Email</a>
        </div>
    </footer>
</article>

Blocks

Available Blocks

Block	Description
Latest News	Shows recent articles
Spotlight	Featured article highlight
Category Menu	Category navigation
Archives	Archive links
Top Authors	Most active writers
Popular Items	Most viewed articles

Block Options

Latest News Block

Option	Description
Items to display	Number of articles
Category filter	Limit to specific categories
Show summary	Display article excerpt
Title length	Truncate titles
Template	Block template file

Custom Block Template

{* themes/mytheme/modules/publisher/blocks/publisher_block_latest.tpl *}
<div class="publisher-latest-block">
    <{foreach item=item from=$block.items}>
    <article class="block-item">
        <h4>
            <a href="<{$item.link}>"><{$item.title}></a>
        </h4>
        <{if $block.show_summary}>
            <p><{$item.summary}></p>
        <{/if}>
        <div class="block-meta">
            <span class="date"><{$item.date}></span>
            <span class="views"><{$item.counter}> views</span>
        </div>
    </article>
    <{/foreach}>
</div>

Template Tricks

Conditional Display

{* Show different content for different users *}
<{if $xoops_isadmin}>
    <a href="admin/item.php?op=edit&itemid=<{$item.itemid}>">Admin Edit</a>
<{elseif $item.uid == $xoops_userid}>
    <a href="submit.php?itemid=<{$item.itemid}>">Edit Your Article</a>
<{/if}>

Custom CSS Class

{* Add status-based styling *}
<article class="article <{$item.status}>">
    {* Content *}
</article>

Date Formatting

{* Format dates with Smarty *}
<time datetime="<{$item.datesub|date_format:'%Y-%m-%d'}>">
    <{$item.datesub|date_format:$xoops_config.dateformat}>
</time>

Related Documentation

• ../User-Guide/Basic-Configuration - Module settings
• ../User-Guide/Creating-Articles - Content management
• ../../04-API-Reference/Template/Template-System - XOOPS template engine
• ../../02-Core-Concepts/Themes/Theme-Development - Theme customization