====== DokuWiki Template Development ======

You can customize the design of [[:DokuWiki]] by creating a new template. A template is determined by some PHP and CSS files stored in a directory beyond the ''<dokuwiki>/lib/tpl/'' directory. (actually, the template is made of HTML, the PHP in it is used to insert the content.)

===== Getting Started =====
The easiest way to create a new template is by taking an already existing one as starting point. It's a good idea to use the [[template:starter]] template because it is clean and follows the DokuWiki template standards. Template names (directories) have to be lowercase, and "." or "_" are not allowed.

  - Copy the ''lib/tpl/default'' directory to ''lib/tpl/yourname''
  - Select the new template in the configuration manager
  - Then have a look at the template files (see [[#Directory Layout]])
  - Have a look on how [[:DokuWiki]] handles [[CSS]] using its [[devel:css|CSS dispatcher]].
  - Handling of configuration settings is analogous to [[common_plugin_functions|plugins]]. Use ''%%tpl_getConf(<setting>)%%'' to retrieve custom template settings.

===== Directory Layout =====
The templates should follow the following directory structure (all paths are relative to the template directory). The CSS files are specified in the ''[[CSS#style.ini]]'' file but you should try to at least provide one CSS file for the screen presentation and one for printing.

  * ''<dokuwiki>/lib/tpl/<template>/''
    * ''<filename>.css''
    * ''[[devel:templates:main.php]]'' -- general layout of DokuWiki
    * ''[[devel:templates:detail.php]]'' -- the image detail page
    * ''[[devel:templates:mediamanager.php]]'' -- the media-selection popup
    * ''images/'' -- all images used in the template
    * ''conf/''
      * ''default.php'' -- [[configuration#default settings]] (see ''[[#tpl_getConf]]'')
      * ''metadata.php'' -- [[configuration#configuration metadata]] (see ''[[#tpl_getConf()]]'')
    * ''lang/'' -- language files
      * ''<lang code>/lang.php'' -- localization strings used in the template
      * ''<lang code>/settings.php'' -- localization strings used in the configuration manager
    * ''style.ini'' -- see [[CSS#Style.ini]]
    * ''favicon.ico'' -- will be used if none exists in the media-directory (see [[xref>tpl_getFavicon()|tpl_getFavicon()]])

===== Functions =====

A list of available functions can be found in [[xref>inc/template.php|API documentation]]. Some specialties are listed here.

==== tpl_content() ====
This function outputs the page body, or in other words the content of your wiki page, including the [[:TOC]]. You can prevent it from outputting the TOC by passing ''false'' while calling it:

<code php>
tpl_content(false);
</code>

This can be used to separate the TOC from the content and place it somewhere else on the screen. See ''[[#tpl_toc()]]'' for further details.

==== tpl_toc() ====

By default, the ''[[#tpl_content()]]'' function will take care of displaying a [[:TOC|Table of Contents]] itself, prepending it to the actual page content. If your template uses a sidebar or other more complex layout you may want to place the TOC independently from the page content. This can be done with the ''tpl_toc()'' function. When using it, it is important to disable automatic TOC placement by passing the argument ''false'' to the ''tpl_content()'' function.

**Example:**

<code php>
<div id="content">
    <?php tpl_content(false)?>
</div>

<div id="sidebar">
    <?php tpl_toc()?>
</div>
</code>

The ''tpl_toc()'' function renders the TOC from three different sources: a global [[environment#$TOC]] variable, the page [[metadata]] or the ''getTOC()'' method of [[admin plugins]]. Because there is no metadata available for old revisions or preview ''tpl_toc()'' can only use the global [[environment#$TOC]] variable for these cases. Because the [[environment#$TOC]] variable is filled by the page renderer this will only work when ''tpl_toc()'' is called **after** ''tpl_content()''. If this is not possible in your template layout you may use output buffering to circumvent the problem.

**Example:**

<code php>
<?php
    // render the content into buffer for later use
    ob_start();
    tpl_content(false);
    $buffer = ob_get_clean();
?>

<div id="sidebar">
    <?php tpl_toc()?>
</div>

<div id="content">
    <?php echo $buffer?>
</div>
</code>

==== tpl_getConf() ====
This function is used to access [[configuration|configuration settings]] from within the template.

===== Global Variables And Constants =====
For a complete list of useful global variables and constants please refer to the [[environment]] page.

===== Automated Housekeeping =====

Almost at the bottom of the default template's [[devel:templates:main.php]] file you'll see a function call to ''tpl_indexerWebBug()''. The function generates a HTML ''%%<img>%%'' tag which results in a request to ''[[:indexer|lib/exe/indexer.php]]''. This **vital** part of DokuWiki provides important housekeeping work to keep the wiki running smoothly. All templates should include this function, without it the wiki may not function correctly (for example the [[:search|search index]] wont be built).

===== 'dokuwiki' class =====

A class named ''dokuwiki'' should be added to some content surrounding element (either around everything or at least around ''tpl_content()'') in each template's main.php, detail.php and mediamanager.php. This is to make sure that DokuWiki's styles don't interfere with other styles if it gets integrated into an existing site with potentially conflicting CSS.

===== Include Hooks =====

Include Hooks are a simple way to add some static content to your [[:DokuWiki]] installation without writing your own [[:Template]]. You can use them for adding a standard header or company logo to each page or add a disclaimer at the bottom of each page.

DokuWiki's default template looks for files with special names in the ''lib/tpl/default/'' directory and simply includes them at the correct places when displaying the page. You can add whatever HTML you like into these files. Of course this only works if you are using the //default// template.

__Hint for PHP developers:__ You may be happy to hear that you can even include PHP in these files.

==== Available Hooks ====

All these files are searched for in the ''lib/tpl/default/'' directory.

^ Filename        ^ Position of included HTML                                                ^
| ''meta.html''       | Inside the HTML <head>, use this to add additional styles or metaheaders |
| ''topheader.html''  | At the very top of the page right after the <body> tag |
| ''header.html''     | Above the upper blue bar, below the pagename and wiki title |
| ''pageheader.html'' | Below the breadcrumbs, above the actual content |
| ''pagefooter.html'' | Above the lower blue bar, below the last changed Date |
| ''footer.html''     | At the very end of the page just before the </body> tag |

DokuWiki comes with an example ''footer.html'' containing some buttons and a CC license RDF description.


====== DISCUSSION & FEATURE REQUEST ======

> Andre, there should be a "fallback" to the ''/lib/tpl/default'' folder when a css, an image, or some other template file is not available, this would avoid copying all the css files related to editing/media, etc. and save much time in editing template files when upgrading.