
Good, but not yet great
Contemplate allows you to easily format node output based on content type. The module gives you access to almost every token associated with a given node.
Although this module is quite good, one really should use node-[content-type].tpl.php files instead. I think that this module has potential, but at this time, I think most will agree that theming a nodes output should be handled by the theme.
Review by Ultimateboy [info] on May 7, 2008 - 11:08

A good first step to learning how to use templates
I agree with John (4 Mar) you're better sticking with normal template files. However, Contemplate lets you see what fields are available for your needs, and could even make customizing your normal templates alot easier. (Maybe the Devel module could do this too).
You could think of Contemplate as a guide or tutorial module, but plan to move on to normal template files for the long term.
Review by heather [info] on April 27, 2008 - 05:14

Extremely useful module
This module is gold dust for themers/designers. The way it displays all the variables and content fields in a very simple and intuitive interface allows non-programmers to move stuff around within a node/teaser and completely customise the HTML markup, including how your RSS feeds are displayed - no in-depth knowledge of PHP is required. You simply point and click.
If you want to do something simple such as moving the "Read More" links or something more sophisticated, such as inserting access controls to content within a teaser/node or modifying how an RSS feed for a particular content type looks, the Content Template Module is ideal.
Review by Gus [info] on March 28, 2008 - 06:01

Just what i wanted
I wanted to totally change specific content type for client and this module saved me lots of time finding right code to insert in template. It just shows one random node with all php variables that I can use in teaser/full/rss template - that is very useful and i could learn from this and use new knowledge here and there working on other sites.
Review by palik [info] on March 28, 2008 - 01:49

You're better off with template files
Contemplate will be useful to the beginner looking to see what's possible, but beyond that, you should really use normal template files.
Contemplate forces you to edit code in your browser by typing it into a text box. Of course, you could cut and paste from a real code editor, but why not just edit the template files directly?
Another drawback of Contemplate is that your changes are stored in the database, rather than as a file in the theme folder. This makes it difficult to transfer your theme from one server to another, unless you want to replicate the database as well.
It's also possible to break your site by pasting in the wrong code. When this happens, you might not be able to get back in to fix it. Your only hope of removing the bad code is to edit the database directly.
You can definitely learn some useful templating concepts from this module, but after you get the basics, it's time to move on.
Review by John [info] on March 4, 2008 - 13:41