Content-Type: text/x-zim-wiki
Wiki-Format: zim 0.4

====== Templates ======

Zim uses templates when exporting pages. This way you can for example write your website in zim and export it to HTML using the layout and style definition of you choice.

Templates are also used to initialize new pages.

If you are looking for information for file templates for attachments, see [[Attachments]]

===== Template Editor Dialog =====

The Template Editor Dialog can be accessed with the menu item "//Edit//" -> "//Templates//". It will show a list of templates that are available, and allows you to view and edit them.

Templates can either be system defaults, or custom templates in your home folder. When you edit them, a copy is made of the default to your home folder, and this copy is than edited. The remove function again deletes this custom version, but does not touch the default template.

**Note:** if you try to edit for example a HTML template, and it opens in the web browser instead of in your default text editor, the cause is most likely that you did not explicitly configure a text editor in the preferences. Go to the [[Preferences|Preferences Dialog]] and specify your text editor.

===== Templates for export =====

For a list of templates for exporting see [[Export]] and subpages.

===== Template options =====

Templates can also set template options that influence the generated output, by setting key-value pairs like in the example below. A list of available template options for a output format can be found at [[Export]] and subpages.

===== Special templates =====

**wiki/Default.txt**
This template is used to initialize new pages. The default contains a header with the page name and a the date at which the page was created.

**wiki/Journal.txt**
This template is used to initialize new pages in the Journal namespace.

===== Customizing =====

Templates are located in ''/usr/share/zim/templates/'' and ''~/.local/share/zim/templates'' by default. You can add templates you use more often there. To modify a template copy it to the ''~/.local/...'' directory and edit it.

Template syntax:

'''
[% var %]	# interpolates a variable
[%- var %]	# + strip line break before the expression
[% var -%]	# + strip line break after the expression
[%- var -%]	# + strip line breaks on both sides

[% IF expr %] ... [% END %]	# conditionals

[% IF expr %]
	...
[% ELSIF expr %]
	...
[% ELSE %]
	...
[% END %]

[% FOREACH name = var ]		# loop
... [% name %] ...
[% END %]

[% strftime("%c") %]		# current time stamp
[% strftime("%c", var) %]	# date from variable


[% options.option_name = value %] # set the template option option_name to value

[% page.properties["Creation-Date"] %] # access dict
'''


For the ''IF'' and ''ELIF'' statements the expression can be either just a variable, in which case it is evaluated boolean, or an equality expression with "==". For example "''[% IF page.name == 'foo' %]''" is understood. More complex expressions are not supported.

Available variables:

'''
zim.version		# version of zim
notebook.name		# name of the notebook
notebook.interwiki	# interwiki key of the notebook if any

page.name		# complete page name
page.namespace		# namespace
page.basename		# last part of the page name
page.properties		# dict with page properties
page.title		# first heading in the page or the basename
page.heading		# first heading in the page
page.body		# content of the page without the leading heading
page.content	# content of the page including the leading heading
page.has_links	# True if the page has links to other pages
page.links		# list of page objects for pages linked in this page
page.has_backlinks	# True if the page is linked by other pages
page.backlinks		# list of page objects for pages linking to this page
page.has_attachments	# True if the page has attachments
page.attachments	# list of file objects for attachments

# These special pages have the same properties as the 'page' object
pages.index		# the index page generated when exporting
pages.home		# the home page
pages.next		# the next page in the index (if any)
pages.previous		# the previous page in the index (if any)

options			# dict where format specific options can be set
'''


File objects returned by page.attachments have the following attributes:

'''
file.path		# (relative) path as a string
file.basename	# file basename
file.mtime		# file mtime, to be used with strftime()
file.size		# file size as human readable string
'''


Functions available:

	''url(link)''
		Turns a zim link or file object into an URL

	''resource(filename)''
		Returns an URL for a template resource (see below)

	''strftime(template, date)''
		Format a date, see standard library for codes
		
	strfcal(template, date)
		Format a week number, accepts:
		
			%w for day of week according to locale
			%W for weeknumber according to locale
			%Y for the year to which the week belongs

	pageindex''(namespace, collapse, ignore_empty)''
		Creates a page index of a given namespace or the whole notebook

		''namespace'': the starting root - defaults to the top level (":")
		''collapse:'' if ''TRUE'' only branches related to the current page are visible//, // if ''FALSE'' all branches are visible - defaults to TRUE
		''ignore_empty:'' if ''TRUE'' empty pages are ignored — defaults to TRUE.

		//Example//:	''menu(page.namespace,  TRUE, FALSE)''


See also the [[Plugins:Journal|Journal Plugin]] for some properties available for journal pages

==== Template Resources ====
To add additional files to the template, create a folder of the same name as the template. Any files in the folder (like style sheets, images, javascript files, etc.) will be copied along when this template is used to export data in zim. There is a function "''resource(filename)''" to refer to these files in the template.

Zim always includes some images when exporting for the checkboxes used in checkbox lists. To customize these there should be template resources named "''checked-box.png''", "''unchecked-box.png''" and "''xchecked-box.png''" in this folder.

For the web interface the resources can also contain a "''favicon.ico''" to serve as the favicon of the website.

