How to override templates


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Overrides for templates go in a directory that parallels the structure of the default templates directory. The overrides then get pulled in via the Apache configuration.

In the following example, we demonstrate how to create a file that overrides the default "Advanced search page" (advanced.tt2) by adding a new templates directory and editing the new file in that directory.

Adding an override for the Advanced search page (example).

bash$ mkdir -p /openils/var/templates_custom/opac
bash$ cp /openils/var/templates/opac/advanced.tt2 \
         /openils/var/templates_custom/opac/.
bash$ vim /openils/var/templates_custom/opac/advanced.tt2

We now need to teach Apache about the new templates directory. Open eg.conf and add the following <Location /eg> element to each of the <VirtualHost> elements in which you want to include the overrides. The default Evergreen configuration includes a VirtualHost directive for port 80 (HTTP) and another one for port 443 (HTTPS); you probably want to edit both, unless you want the HTTP user experience to be different from the HTTPS user experience.

Configuring the custom templates directory in Apache’s eg.conf.

<VirtualHost *:80>
    # <snip>

    # - absorb the shared virtual host settings
    Include eg_vhost.conf
    <Location /eg>
        PerlAddVar OILSWebTemplatePath "/openils/var/templates_algoma"
    </Location>

    # <snip>
</VirtualHost>

Finally, reload the Apache configuration to pick up the changes:

Reloading the Apache configuration.

bash# /etc/init.d/apache2 reload

You should now be able to see your change at http://localhost/eg/opac/advanced

Defining multiple layers of overrides

You can define multiple layers of overrides, so if you want every library in your consortium to have the same basic customizations, and then apply library-specific customizations, you can define two template directories for each library.

In the following example, we define the template_CONS directory as the set of customizations to apply to all libraries, and template_BR# as the set of customizations to apply to library BR1 and BR2.

As the consortial customizations apply to all libraries, we can add the extra template directory directly to eg_vhost.conf:

Apache configuration for all libraries (eg_vhost.conf).

# Templates will be loaded from the following paths in reverse order.
PerlAddVar OILSWebTemplatePath "/openils/var/templates"
PerlAddVar OILSWebTemplatePath "/openils/var/templates_CONS"

Then we define a virtual host for each library to add the second layer of customized templates on a per-library basis. Note that for the sake of brevity we only show the configuration for port 80.

Apache configuration for each virtual host (eg.conf).

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName br1.concat.ca
    DocumentRoot /openils/var/web/
    DirectoryIndex index.html index.xhtml
    Include eg_vhost.conf
    <Location /eg>
        PerlAddVar OILSWebTemplatePath "/openils/var/templates_BR1"
    </Location>
</VirtualHost>

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName br2.concat.ca
    DocumentRoot /openils/var/web/
    DirectoryIndex index.html index.xhtml
    Include eg_vhost.conf
    <Location /eg>
        PerlAddVar OILSWebTemplatePath "/openils/var/templates_BR2"
    </Location>
</VirtualHost>

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