Snippets¶
Snippets are small bits of reusable template or tag parts. You could create a Snippet for any number of purposes, anywhere that you need to reuse a small portion of a template, including partial or complete tags, other variables, etc. Snippets add flexibility and reusability, while making it simple to make site-wide changes by editing the Snippet’s source instead of having to modify many templates.
One idea would be to hold a particular date format string that you wish to reuse over and over. By making it a Snippet you can change it in one place and immediately see the effects everywhere that you’ve used it. For example, you could create a Snippet named my_date_formatting with a value of format=”%m-%d-%Y” and use it in any date variable thusly:
{entry_date {my_date_formatting}}
It will be instantly expanded before your template is parsed, just as if you had put the expanded text into the template itself:
{entry_date format="%m-%d-%Y"}
You can create and edit Snippets at Design ‣ Templates ‣ Snippets.
What is the difference between a Snippet and a User-defined Global Variable?¶
Snippets are expanded at a very early stage on each template, making it possible for them to hold dynamic content, ExpressionEngine tags, other variables, PHP, etc. They shine when you need to reuse dynamic information, but don’t need the extra overhead of access control or separate preferences of an embedded template. User-defined Global Variables are the polar opposites, expanded at the very end of all template parsing, and should be used for static text, HTML, JavaScript, and other static content that would not affect other tags and variables on the template.
What is the difference between a Snippet and an Embedded Template?¶
Snippets can be considered to actually be part of the template that they are used on, with their expanded contents parsed simultaneous to other tags and variables on the template. Embedded templates are separate templates, with their own preferences (caching, PHP parsing, access, etc.), and are parsed individually. Put another way, embedded templates are not included in the parent template, but rather added to them after the fact, using a separate query and full page parsing resources for each template.
Multiple Site Manager Tip¶
If you are using the Multiple Site Manager, you’ll notice that Snippets can be private to a particular site, or shared between all sites. To easily identify the difference when reading your templates, consider prefixing your Snippet names with the site’s short name, or “global”:
{ellislab_date_formatting}
{codeigniter_date_formatting}
{global_date_formatting}
User Contributed Notes
Re:ATTENTION by outline4, 22 march 2011.
Tested Dec 2011 with 2.3.1. Global_vars from index.php ARE rendered within snippets!
// index.php
$assign_to_config['global_vars'] = array(
"my_global_var" => "testing global vars"
);
// my_snippet
Looking for global var: {my_global_var}
// template
{my_snippet}
For information about parse order, look at Lowe’s blog:
http://loweblog.com/downloads/ee-parse-order.pdf
Note that you can’t put a channel:entries tag into a snippet as a replacement for putting it inside an embed. For instance, if you have a channel:entries tag pair and need another one inside of it, you can’t do that in a snippet, it will need to be in an embedded template. The reason is that when the snippet is parsed and the rendered code placed into the template, you’ll essentially have a c:e tag pair inside of another c:e tag pair, which won’t work. More info: http://ellislab.com/forums/viewthread/187760/
ATTENTION: global_vars that are defined within the index.php file, currently don’t render within snippets!
Snippets will work across MSM sites, but not by default. You’ll need to edit each individual snippet once your MSM is turned on.
Look for a new “Snippet Available to Sites” All or This Site Only radio-toggle under the Variable Content field in the Edit Snippet screen.
Lisa makes it a little easier to understand this post.
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