How to work with templates

Application can reuse cms templates by mixing cms template tags and normal django templating language.

static_placeholder

Plain placeholder cannot be used in templates used by external applications, use static_placeholder instead.

CMS_TEMPLATE

New in version 3.0.

CMS_TEMPLATE is a context variable available in the context; it contains the template path for CMS pages and application using apphooks, and the default template (i.e.: the first template in CMS_TEMPLATES) for non-CMS managed URLs.

This is mostly useful to use it in the extends template tag in the application templates to get the current page template.

Example: cms template

{% load cms_tags %}
<html>
    <body>
    {% cms_toolbar %}
    {% block main %}
    {% placeholder "main" %}
    {% endblock main %}
    </body>
</html>

Example: application template

{% extends CMS_TEMPLATE %}
{% load cms_tags %}
{% block main %}
{% for item in object_list %}
    {{ item }}
{% endfor %}
{% static_placeholder "sidebar" %}
{% endblock main %}

CMS_TEMPLATE memorises the path of the cms template so the application template can dynamically import it.

render_model

New in version 3.0.

render_model allows to edit the django models from the frontend by reusing the django CMS frontend editor.