Creating OpenCms Container Templates
This tutorial introduces the most important new concepts in the OpenCms template system. These concepts are probably the most important advancements in OpenCms 8.
At the heart of OpenCms 8 new Advanced Direct Edit functionality lays the "Container Page", a XML Content based data structure that provides a standard mechanism that allows developers to easily create configurable websites with custom HTML.
To display content in a Container Page, "Formatters" are used that render the HTML for a specific content item. There can be several Formatters for the same item that allow different output formatting, for example one for a small side column and one for a wider page body.
Part 2 of the tutorial is about how the new functionalities can be used on templates with the extensions introduced in the <cms:> taglib und expression language, as well as the available new API.
It explains how to use these functionalities to create custom templates that are fully drag and drop enabled. You will also find details about recommended HTML structures, content organization and best practices.
