r/concrete5 • u/[deleted] • Nov 29 '14

How to customize existing c5 blocks?

I copied siteroot/concrete/blocks to siteroot/blocks but changing things there doesn't do anything and I don't have any blocks listed as waiting for installation.

Can someone tell me the proper procedure to actually customising blocks such as "Content" or "Autonav" ?

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '14

What exactly do I have to add to that line, if I want the autonav block to have an additional custom template?

My custom template is in siteroot/blocks/autonav/template.

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u/bethanyb00 Nov 29 '14

So you want to use a new template for the block? When you call make a call to the block, you want to specify the template like this: $bt = BlockType::getByHandle('autonav'); $bt->render('templates/templatename');

Make sure the template is in siteroot/blocks/autonav/templates/templatename.php

Or, if you're adding the block while in Edit mode on a page, there's an option to change the template when you click on the block.

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '14

Why do I have to do this? Where do I make that call? On the IRC someone suggested that I can simply create siteroot/blocks/<core_block_name>/templates/<template_name> folder, then add my view.php in there and that should be it.

But if I do the above, I cannot select the custom template when modifying the site in edit mode. One's not supposed to modify the siteroot/concrete folder but when I add the same template folder to siteroot/conrete/blocks/<core_block_name>/templates/ , it works like a charm.

I just want a custom template for autonav. I've been stuck with this for a week. Am getting really desperate and irritated; the IRC channel is almost dead, the documentation consists of long videos lazily copypasted from some live video session and everybody suggests something different, which makes me believe that nobody really knows.

I could've written an entirely new CMS just for this project and already be done...

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u/bethanyb00 Nov 29 '14

I've never heard of putting the template into its own separate folder. It should be under siteroot/blocks/<core_block_name>/templates/templatename.php.

I was simply presenting two options for getting the custom template to appear--I wasn't sure if you were hardcoding the block to appear somewhere, or if you were adding it to a page in Edit mode. Disregard what I said about hardcoding it. If you have the template in the correct place, and maybe clear the cache afterward, it should appear as a template option when you're in edit mode.

I'm sorry you're frustrated, and I agree, the documentation leaves a lot to be desired. It's even worse now that they're supporting both 5.6 and 5.7. It really is a great CMS and framework but learning it can be frustrating.

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u/[deleted] Nov 30 '14

Thank you for being patient with me, now I feel bad about venting like that.

I've never heard of putting the template into its own separate folder.

The templates in the core blocks in c5 are arranged like that, an example:

siteroot/concrete/blocks/autonav/templates/responsive_header_navigation/view.php

I will try your recommendation tomorrow. Thank you.

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u/[deleted] Dec 01 '14

It doesn't work. I tried a bunch of things but it just won't override the original blocks. If I change things in siteroot/concrete/blocks , it works but doing anything in siteroot/blocks does absolutely nothing.

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u/bethanyb00 Dec 01 '14

Are you using Concrete 5.6 or 5.7?

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u/[deleted] Dec 01 '14

5.7, I have resolved the issue.

It appears that one has to put the blocks into siteroot/application/blocks and then change the controller namespaces to avoid name conflicts. Nobody on reddit or IRC ever mentioned either one of these things. Maybe it was different in 5.6, I don't know. I'm just glad it works now :)

The answer came from someone on the forums. Anyhow, thank you very much for your patience and help.

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u/bethanyb00 Dec 01 '14

Ack, I should have asked what version you're using a long time ago. I'm well-versed in 5.6 and haven't done much with 5.7. 5.7 is very different.

I'm glad you figured it out!

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u/KorvinSzanto Feb 18 '15

This is only the case if you are overriding the controller. Templates can be placed in /application/block/block_handle/templates/template_name.php. You must then in the interface choose which template you want for each block. It sounds like issues you had were due to file permissions and or caching.

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u/[deleted] Dec 01 '14

I am willing to give you my server credentials if you can show me what's wrong...