Configuration

DokuWiki allows to write highly flexible plugins and templates by making them highly configurable.

Default Settings

To make a plugin or template configurable you have to provide a lib/plugins/<plugin>/conf/default.php which will hold the default settings and a lib/plugins/<plugin>/conf/metadata.php which holds the describing Configuration Metadata which is used by the Configuration Manager to handle/display the options¹⁾.

$conf[<setting>] = <value>;

Configuration Metadata

For every setting in lib/plugins/<your plugin>/conf/default.php there should be a $meta[<setting>] value defined in lib/plugins/<your plugin>/conf/metadata.php²⁾:

$meta[<setting>] = array(<setting class>, <param name> => <param value>);

If no parameter is required for a setting class (see below), it's simply:

$meta[<setting>] = array(<setting class>);

Examples:

$meta['_basic']     = array('fieldset');
$meta['title']      = array('string');
$meta['lang']       = array('dirchoice','_dir' => DOKU_INC.'inc/lang/');
$meta['dmode']      = array('numeric','_pattern' => '/0[0-7]{3,4}/'); // only accept octal representation
$meta['allowdebug'] = array('onoff');
$meta['passcrypt']  = array('multichoice','_choices' => array('smd5','md5','sha1','ssha','crypt','mysql','my411'));

Classes

`''`	Default class ('setting'), textarea, minimal input validation, setting output in quotes.
`'string'`	Single line text input, minimal input validation, setting output in quotes.
`'numeric'`	Text input, accepts numbers and arithmetic operators, setting output without quotes. If given the `_min` and `_max` parameters are used for validation.
`'numericopt'`	Like above, but accepts empty values.
`'onoff'`	Checkbox input, setting output `0` or `1` (note that default values should be one of these integers, and not boolean).
`'multichoice'`	Select input (single choice), setting output with quotes, required `_choices` parameter.
`'email'`	Text input, input must conform to email address format, setting output in quotes.
`'password'`	Password input, minimal input validation, setting output plain text in quotes. Once set the password is not shown in the config manager any more. Can be obfuscated in config through the `_code` parameter.
`'dirchoice'`	As `multichoice`, selection choices based on folders found at location specified in `_dir` parameter (required).
`'multicheckbox'`	A checkbox for each choice plus an “other” string input, config file setting is a comma separated list of checked choices.
`'fieldset'`	Used to group configuration settings, but is not itself a setting. To make this clear in the language files the keys for this type should start with `_`.
`'authtype'`	Creates a selection of available authentication methods, based on the class names in `inc/auth` that match the `authtype.class.php` pattern.
`'array'`	a simple (one dimensional) array of string values, shown as comma separated list in the config manager but saved as PHP array(). Values may not contain commas themselves. `_pattern` matching on the array values supported.
`'regex'`	Regular expression string, normally without delimiters; as for `string`, in addition tested to see if will compile and run as a regex. In addition to `_pattern`, also accepts `_delimiter` (default `/`) and `_pregflags` (default `ui`).

Parameters

`'_pattern'`	String, a regular expression. Input is tested against this pattern before being accepted. Optional all classes, except `onoff`, `multichoice` and `dirchoice` which ignore it.
`'_choices'`	Array of choices. Used to populate a selection box. Choice will be replaced by a localised language string, indexed by `<setting name>_o_<choice>`, if one exists. Required by `multichoice` & `multicheckbox` classes, ignored by others.
`'_dir'`	Location of directory to be used to populate choice list. Required by `dirchoice` class, ignored by other classes.
`'_code'`	Sets the obfuscation option for password fields. May be `plain`, `base64` or `uuencode`. When using the latter two, you need to use conf_decodeString() to access the plain value.
`'_combine'`	Complimentary output setting values which can be combined into a single display `checkbox`. Optional for `multicheckbox`, ignored by other classes.
`'_code'`	Encoding method to use, accepted values: `base64`, `uuencode`, `plain`. Defaults to plain.
`'_min'`	Minimum numeric value. Optional for `numeric` and `numericopt`, ignored by others.
`'_max'`	Maximum numeric value. Optional for `numeric` and `numericopt`, ignored by others.
`'_delimiter'`	String, default `/`, a single character used as a delimiter for testing regex input values.
`'_pregflags'`	String, default `ui`, valid preg pattern modifiers used when testing regex input values, for more information see http://uk1.php.net/manual/en/reference.pcre.pattern.modifiers.php.
`'_multiple'`	Bool, allow multiple comma separated email values. Optional for `email`, ignored by others.
`'_other'`	How to handle other values (not listed in `_choices`). Accepted values: `always`, `exists`, `never`. Default value `always`. `exists` only shows 'other' input field when the setting contains value(s) not listed in choices (e.g. due to manual editing or update changing `_choices`). This is safer than `never` as it will not discard unknown/other values. Optional for `multicheckbox`, ignored by others.

Examples

''multicheckbox'' with ''_other''

Let's say initially a plugin uses the syntax:

$meta['multi'] = array('multicheckbox', '_choices' => array('a','b','c','d'));

this means the multicheckbox will show four choices plus a string input.

Let's suppose also that the user inserts one or more extra values not in _choices.

In the next release of the plugin the author's plugin decides to use the multicheckbox without the extra string, but, in order to be backwardly compatible, adopts:

$meta['multi'] = array('multicheckbox', '_other' => 'exists', '_choices' => array('a','b','c','d'));

which means:

if the user has inserted comma separated values, they will be printed in the extra string;
otherwise the extra string won't show.

Note also that if the user inserts comma separated values which already exist (or some of them) in _choices but:

they are already ticked, then the extra string will be removed and nothing else;
they are not already ticked, then the extra string will be removed and the relative value will be ticked.

Accessing Settings

Core Settings

Inside inc/init.php the configurations settings are read into a global array $conf[]. When no settings were set, these are read from the default settings file. You can access the core settings anywhere by using the $conf[] array.

$startpage = $conf['start'];

Plugin settings

You can access settings in plugins by using the $this->getConf('<setting>') method. In your plugin class you use:

$keyvalue = $this->getConf('key');

Template settings

In templates you can use tpl_getConf('<setting>').

$nicetoknow = tpl_getConf('special');

Labels in Configuration Manager

For every setting in lib/plugins/<your plugin>/conf/default.php there can be a $lang[<setting>] value defined in lib/plugins/<your plugin>/lang/en/settings.php. This value will be displayed as the label of the setting in the configuration manager. If the label file is left out or doesn't contain a value for the setting, the configuration manager will display “plugin <plugin name> <setting>” as the label instead.

You can also create a settings.php file for other languages.

Again, this also applies to templates (see localization for further details).

¹⁾

templates are analogous lib/tpl/<template>/conf/default.php etc.

²⁾

For templates it's totally analogous: lib/tpl/<your template>/conf/default.php and lib/tpl/<your template>/conf/metadata.php.

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