| Attribute | Average |
|---|---|
| Features | 3.91 / 5 |
| Reliability | 3.64 / 5 |
| Ease Of Use | 3.55 / 5 |
| Documentation | 4.27 / 5 |
| Vote Count | 11 |
The Content Template (a.k.a. ConTemplate) module allows modification of Drupal's teaser and body fields using administrator defined templates. These templates use PHP code and all of the node object variables are available for use in the template. An example node object is displayed and it is as simple... [More...]
| Maintainer: | jrglasgow |
| Links: | |
| Categories: | Content, Content Construction Kit (CCK), Content display |
| Version | Date | Files | Release notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.x-1.1 | 2009-Jun-02 | Download | Recommended |
| 5.x-2.04 | 2008-Nov-14 | Download | Recommended |
| 6.x-1.x-dev | 2009-Sep-12 | Download | Development |
Options: Add a review
I use this module almost on every drupal installation.
I got this error like many others -> http://drupal.org/node/230885#comment-21...
Started playing with it, and it somehow conflicted with the UserPoints module (ie, I went to change the blogs template and it gave a random user +1 point?)
Anyway - if I'm going to edit the code, I might as well just edit the code? I expected a drag and drop simple system. Maybe I missed something? Or perhaps I've hit my limit with installing a module, then reading 500 pages scattered among the internet regarding how to get it to work.
Great module it makes my life so much easier. I create node.tpl files using CCK and Views in no time with this module.
I love this module and I use it extensively on several of my clients' sites. Instead of trying to corral a thousand unruly CCK fields per page using only CSS, I am now able to break out the big guns – PHP – when I need to, say, display a little table of CCK values on each page of a given node type. Brilliant.
This is an excellent module that can serve to easily see what variables are available. It's especially great for quick rearrangement of cck fields.
One complaint others have had is that the changes made are kept in the database, but there is the ability to easily create "disk based" templates which don't go in the database by just copying and pasting to a file in a "contemplates" folder. These are easily transferable to new sites. Details are in the readme file.
This module can help you create custom outputs for nodes and makes it easier for new users to theme drupal.
But the downside of Contemplate is that any changes are stored onto your database so moving the theme to another sites mean moving the database as well.
Conclusion: Recommended for for personal sites otherwise theme modification should be done via .tpl.php.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
"The issues raised in shl's review have been addressed in versions 1.7 and above. I can't add this comment..."
"This module will make the Upload Files Form beautiful. It doesn't work with filefield, just the upload..."
"despite a nice interface, the permissions are not copied but Duplicate Role works - http://drupal.org/project/duplicate_role "
