Code Library: Templates Markup

HTML templates can contain any dynamic variables including Smart Tags, Page vars and language constants

Smart Tags

A Smart Tag is a variable that starts with { and ends with } and outputs a string of dynamic text. For example {$FIRST_NAME} will display the visitor's first name if they are logged in and blank when they are logged out.

HTML:

<p>Hey {$FIRST_NAME}</p>

Result:

Hey Joe

You can use Smart Tags in any HTML inputs such as your HTML templates (header.html and footer.html), in product descriptions, info page descriptions and email templates. (Smart Tags will not be parsed in Javascript or CSS files.)

You can use any combination of Smart Tags including $_PAGE variables, $_SESSION variables, $_GET variables, Snippets and __language constants.

By default all Smart Tags are output even if they are empty. You can however use conditional statements to either display or not display a variable or set of variables.

Conditional Statements

`{{` ... `}}` - conditional statement opening and closing tags

Conditional statements start with an opening {{ and end with a closing }} and may also contain an if condition.

You can put any kind of standard HTML, Javascript and CSS inside a conditional statement.

{{
   My first name is {$FIRST_NAME} <br />
   My last name is {$LAST_NAME}
}}

Result:

My first name is Joe 
My last name is Bloggs

When there is no if condition, all Smart Tags within {{ and }} must return true:

<p>Here is some info about me: <br />

{{
   My first name is {$FIRST_NAME} <br />
   My last name is {$LAST_NAME} <br />
   My middle name is {$MIDDLE_NAME} <br />
}}

I don't have a middle name!</p>

Result:

Here is some info about me: 
I don't have a middle name!

`if` - determine whether to display the statement with a condition

An if condition must be after the opening {{ and end with a new line:

{{ if {$FIRST_NAME}

   My first name is {$FIRST_NAME} <br />
   My last name is {$LAST_NAME} <br />
   My middle name is {$MIDDLE_NAME} 
	
}}

Result:

   My first name is Joe 
   My last name is Bloggs 
   My middle name is

Since we have qualified the statement by requiring only the first name, which returns true, the statement is output even though one of the other Smart Tags is empty.

Using an `if` condition with a matching value:

Using the == operator in the condition means the variable must match the value exactly:

{{ if {$FIRST_NAME} == 'Joe'

   <p> Welcome {$FIRST_NAME} </p>
	
}}

Result:

   Welcome Joe

This would only be displayed to customers who are logged in and have a first name "Joe".

Using an `if` condition that doesn't match the value:

{{ if {$FIRST_NAME} != 'Fuzzy Wuzzy'

   <p> Welcome {$FIRST_NAME} </p>
	
}}

Result:

   Welcome Joe

This also works to check if the Smart Tag is not empty:

{{ if {$FIRST_NAME} != ''

   <p> Welcome {$FIRST_NAME} </p>
	
}}

Result:

   Welcome Joe

`else` - display an alternative when an if condition is false

You can use an else after an if:

{{ if {$COUNTRY_ID} == '40'

   <p> Your country id is 40 which means Tajikistan.</p>

   else
  
   <p> You do not live in is Tajikistan.</p>

}}

Result:

   You do not live in is Tajikistan.

The else condition must appear on its own line:

{{ if {$FIRST_NAME}

   <p> Hello {$FIRST_NAME}.</p>

   else <p> Hello Sir .</p> // else should not have anything after it on the same line 

}}   else  // else must be inside the conditional statement

`LIKE` - check for a partial match in the condition

Using an if condition that has a partial match of the value:

{{ if {$FIRST_NAME} LIKE 'Jo'

   <p> Welcome {$FIRST_NAME} </p>
   
}}

Result:

   Welcome Joe

A LIKE operator will return true for either a to b or b to a:

{{ if {$FIRST_NAME} LIKE 'Joseph Karen Ben Lisa Dan Joe Mike Mitch'

   <p> Welcome {$FIRST_NAME} </p>
   
}}

Result:

   Welcome Joe

`NOT LIKE` - check for a no match in the condition

For no match we use the operator NOT LIKE:

{{ if {$FIRST_NAME} NOT LIKE 'Joseph Karen Ben Lisa Dan Sean Mike Mitch'

   <p> Welcome {$FIRST_NAME} </p>
   
}}

Result:

   Welcome Joe

`CONTAINS` - condition contains a value

For more specifically when only the variable contains the value we can use the operator CONTAINS:

{{ if {$FIRST_NAME} CONTAINS 'Jo'

   <p> Welcome {$FIRST_NAME} </p>
   
}}

Result:

   Welcome Joe

`IN` - condition is in a value

For when only the variable is in the value we use the operator IN:

{{ if {$FIRST_NAME} IN 'Bill Joe Sally'

   <p> Welcome {$FIRST_NAME} </p>
   
}}

`|` - pipe separated values, (in array)

For an exact match for one of multiple values we use the pipe separator |:

{{ if {$FIRST_NAME} IN 'Bill|Joe|Sally'

   <p> Welcome {$FIRST_NAME} </p>
   
}}

Which means the following will return false:

{{ if {$FIRST_NAME} IN 'Bill|Joes|Sally'

   // Must match one of 'Bill' OR 'Joes' OR 'Sally'
   // Note: this is identical to 
   // if {$FIRST_NAME} == 'Bill|Joes|Sally'
   
   <p> Welcome {$FIRST_NAME} </p>
   
   // 'Joe' is not an exact match for 'Joes' 

   else
   
   <p> no exact match for '{$FIRST_NAME}' </p>
   
}}

Result:

   no exact match for 'Joe'

This is equivelent to the statement

if {$FIRST_NAME} == 'Bill' or {$FIRST_NAME} == 'Joes' or {$FIRST_NAME} == 'Sally'

// or similar to PHP in_array:

if (in_array({$FIRST_NAME}, array("Bill", "Joes", "Sally"))) {

`$_PAGE` - parse a $_PAGE variable as a Smart Tag

You can use a $_PAGE variable like a Smart Tag:

{{ if {$_PAGE['section']} == 'about'

   <p> You can also see our contact details on our <a href="/contact/">contact page</a>. </p>
	
}}

`$_SESSION` - parse a session variable as a Smart Tag

You can also use $_SESSION variables in conditional statements, or anywhere in a HTML template:

{{ if {$_SESSION['country_id']} == '2'

   <p> Your country id is <b> {$_SESSION['country_id']} </b> which means United States.</p>
	
}}

{{ if {$_SESSION['browser']} !='IE'

   <p> Your browser is <b> {$_SESSION['browser']} </b> which is a good choice.</p>
	
}}

Result:

   Your country id is 2 which means United States.
   Your browser is Default Browser which is a good choice.

`$_GET` - output a get value from a query string

You can also use $_GET variables within statements:

{{ if {$_GET['vq']} CONTAINS 'phone'
   <p> You searched for <em>{$_GET['vq']}</em> - see also our <a href="/contact/">contact page</a>. 
}}

Result:

   You searched for what is your phone number? - see also our contact page.page</a>.

`__lang` - display a languange constant as a Smart tag

You can use __lang constants in your HTML templates:

<b>{__pricing}</b>:<br />

{{ if {$WHOLESALER}

   {__wholesale_price}: $6.00 
   
   else
   
   {__price}: $12.95  
   
}}

Result:

   Pricing:
   Wholesale Price: $6.00

Comparison Operators

Operator	Meaning	Example
`==`	is equal to or matches	`{{ if{$COUNTRY_ID}=='2' Yes we ship to you! }}`
`!=`	is not equal to, does not match	`{{ if{$COUNTRY_ID}!='2' Sorry we don't ship to you. }}`
`<`	is less than	`{{ if{$VIEWS}<'2' Welcome to our store! }}`
`>`	is greater than	`{{ if{$ORDER_ITEMS}>'0' You have {$ORDER_ITEMS} items in your cart. }}`
`<=`	is less than or equal to	`{{ if{$ORDER_ITEMS_TOTAL}<='50' Spend more than $50 for free shipping. }}`
`>=`	is greater than or equal to	`{{ if{$ORDER_ITEMS_TOTAL}>='50' You qualify for free shipping! }}`
`LIKE`	has a match: (e.g. 'ell' will match 'hello' or 'hello' will also match 'ell' )	`{{ if{$_GET['vq']} LIKE 'phone' See our contact page for phone numbers }}`
`NOT LIKE`	has no match (or value is empty or NULL)	`{{ if{$_PAGE['title']} NOT LIKE 'blog' See our blog for updates. // if title is empty will return true }}`
`CONTAINS`	variable contains the value: (e.g. 'hello' contains 'ell' but 'ell' does not contain 'hello')	`{{ if{$_GET['vq']} CONTAINS 'phone' Our phone is 010 101 101 }}`
`IN`	variable is in the value: (e.g. 'ell' is in 'hello' but 'hello' is not in 'ell' )	`{{ if{$FIRST_NAME} IN 'Ben Joe Laura' Hello Joe. }}`
`OR`	either variable in the condition are required to return true; can also use `\|\|`	`{{ if{$FIRST_NAME} OR {$MIDDLE_NAME} Hello Joe. }}`
`AND`	all variables in the condition are required to return true; can also use `&&`	`{{ if{$FIRST_NAME} AND {$LAST_NAME} Hello Joe Bloggs. }}`
`!`	is not: true if not exists; can also use `==''`	`{{ if!{$FIRST_NAME} Please log in. }}`
`\|`	or: true if any one value	`{{ if{$PAGE_SUBSECTION} == 'category\|product' If subsection is category OR product }}`

Determining the booloean value of condition (without a comparison operator), e.g. if {$FIRST_NAME} is similar to PHP:

$a=trim($a); 
if(!empty($a) && (!is_numeric($a) || (is_numeric($a) && $a!=0))) {
   // i.e. is true if it is not empty
   // after whitespace is trimmed
   // and is not equal to zero.
   // The inverse would be
   // if(empty($a) || (is_numeric($a) && $a==0))
}

Functions

There are a few basic functions similar to PHP functions:

Function	Meaning	Examples
`include`	includes a HTML file; can be inside or outside a condtional statement, i.e. anywhere in a template. By default include from the same directory as the current template, but can be also `template_id/filename.html` Must be a HTML file with a name ending with ".html"	`{ include filename.html } { include 4/filename.html } {{ if{ ..condition.. } { include filename.html } }}`
`redirect`	redirects to a URL; Must be inside a condtional statement. Will not redirect to self, limit of 1 redirects per 30 seconds to prevent recursive loop.	`{{ if{ ..condition.. } { redirect / } }} {{ if{ ..condition.. } { redirect https://www.website.com } }}`
`date`	display a PHP date format such as d-m-Y	`{ date 'd-m-Y' } // 01-11-2024 {{ if { date 'm' } =='11' it is nearly Christmas }}`

Requirements

When a conditional statement has no if condition it can be on one line:

{{ Hello {$FIRST_NAME} this is ok to be on one line since there is no if condition. }}

Result:

   Hello  this is ok to be on one line since there is no if condition.

The if condition must come immediately after the opening {{ and have a closing }}

{{ <em>this is NOT ok since the if condition must come first. </em>

   if {$FIRST_NAME} 
   something something

}}

Result:

   this is NOT ok since the if condition must come first. if  something something

There can only be one if condition inside a statement, the second occurence here is treated as HTML:

{{

   if {$FIRST_NAME} 
   something

   if {$LAST_NAME} 
   something

}}

Result:

   something if Bloggs something

Instead, start a new statement:

{{

   if {$FIRST_NAME} 
   something

}}

{{
 
   if {$LAST_NAME} 
   something

}}

Result:

   something something

You can place a conditional statement anywhere within in your HTML templates:

<em class="{{ 

   if {$FIRST_NAME} 
   logged-in
   
   else 
   logged-out
   
}}">something something</em>

HTML output:

   <em class="logged-in">something something</em>

Result:

   something something

Comments can appear anywhere in a conditional statement, and can be either a new line with // or within /* and */

<p>{{

   // this is a single line comment and will not be shown
   // its ok to have comments before your if condition
   
   if {$FIRST_NAME}
   
   Hello {$FIRST_NAME} 
   
   /*
      this is another way of inserting 
      hidden comments across multiple 
      lines.
   */
   
   something something 
   
   <!-- an HTML comment is still rendered in the HTML source -->
   
   // extra white space and line returns inside a conditional statement is removed

   
}}</p>

HTML output:

   <p>Hello  something something <!-- an HTML comment is still shown in the source --></p>

Result:

   Hello  something something

You can have multiple variables within if conditions:

{{ if {$BROWSER} {$BROWSER_VERSION} == 'Default Browser '
   <p> Your browser is {$BROWSER} {$BROWSER_VERSION} </p>. 
}}

Result:

   Your browser is Default Browser

if conditions and values don't need to be enclosed by single quotes:

{{
   if {$FIRST_NAME} {$LAST_NAME} == Joe Bloggs 
   
   Hello {$FIRST_NAME} {$LAST_NAME} something something
}}

Result:

   Hello Joe Bloggs something something

You may alternatively use the PHP style tags <? and ?> instead of {{ and }} to open and close a conditional statement:

<?
   
   <p>
    <em>Hello {$FIRST_NAME}</em>
   </p>
   
?>

Result:

   Hello

Warning: this does not equate to a PHP parser, and all content between <? and ?> is still treated as HTML.

Shop for:

Customer Comments

“Hi there,
Good news - Yes Flint loves it! I will buy some soon. Thanks again for the sample.
Cheers,”
Penny, Orewa

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Code Library: Templates Markup

Smart Tags

Conditional Statements

{{ ... }} - conditional statement opening and closing tags

if - determine whether to display the statement with a condition

Using an if condition with a matching value:

Using an if condition that doesn't match the value:

else - display an alternative when an if condition is false

LIKE - check for a partial match in the condition

NOT LIKE - check for a no match in the condition

CONTAINS - condition contains a value

IN - condition is in a value

| - pipe separated values, (in array)

$_PAGE - parse a $_PAGE variable as a Smart Tag

$_SESSION - parse a session variable as a Smart Tag

$_GET - output a get value from a query string

__lang - display a languange constant as a Smart tag

Comparison Operators

Functions

Requirements

Shop for:

Customer Comments

`{{` ... `}}` - conditional statement opening and closing tags

`if` - determine whether to display the statement with a condition

Using an `if` condition with a matching value:

Using an `if` condition that doesn't match the value:

`else` - display an alternative when an if condition is false

`LIKE` - check for a partial match in the condition

`NOT LIKE` - check for a no match in the condition

`CONTAINS` - condition contains a value

`IN` - condition is in a value

`|` - pipe separated values, (in array)

`$_PAGE` - parse a $_PAGE variable as a Smart Tag

`$_SESSION` - parse a session variable as a Smart Tag

`$_GET` - output a get value from a query string

`__lang` - display a languange constant as a Smart tag