Page Comparison

Introduced feature: Custom text variables

Text variables make it possible for the text on the sites and pages to adapt to the context or user watching them. In 3.2 we’re raising the stakes by introducing custom text variablesAside from the default text variables, you can add custom ones yourself.

Text variable

A text variable is a placeholder that picks up its surroundings. In this example below the Primary text field is set to $categoryname Center and when the layout is saved this first part is replaced with the name of the current category.

The text variables are set by Refined, and cannot be changed.

Custom text variable

A custom text is one that you set up in your system. This means that anything can be added and dynamically show up on your layouts, categories, modules, announcement banners, and more. To sum it up, anywhere you as an admin can input text that is shown to users, you can place a custom text variable.

Example

As the Primary text for the Search Highlight, we have $welcometo$ the Hub, this means that when this layout is displayed, the full Primary text will be the content of $welcometo$ and “the Hub”.

The content of any custom text variable is set by an admin in Refined Administration > Languages > Dictionary.

When to use Text Variables

We recommend using text variables in the following situations:

• when you want one place to update wordings and phrases used in many places

• when you are running a site that has several languages in use

Step by step

Let’s walk through what you need to do.

Rw ui steps macro

Rw step Make a plan To make the most of this feature, think about what content you want to add. For instance, if you want to have the main message of all category landing pages to be “Welcome to CATEGORY”, make this clear in the name of the text variable, or if you want the categories themselves to be contained within a text variable. Having a plan for your variables will help you know what they are used for. Context Text variable name Default value Category name $cat_help-and-info§ Help & info Category name $cat_HR-service-desk$ HR Service Desk Message $message-welcome-to$ Welcome to Message $message-search$ Search Announcement $announcement-maintenance$ We have a scheduled maintenance on: Rw step Enter your variables values Second step is to enter the variables into Refined. Go to: Refined Administration > Languages > Dictionary. Add in your variable name, the $ are automatically added, and your default value. Rw step Apply your variables Your new variables can be enterer into every place that the admin can enter text: announcement banners, categories, names, layouts, modules, etc. Rw step Review the results In this final picture, we have the utilised the custom variables to display text. This means that you can reuse values over your site, and have one place where you make updates.

Languages

Perhaps you’ve noticed in some of the screenshots that there is an option to add in languages - yes there is! This newly introduced feature (version 3.2) allows you to display a language switcher on your site, and tailor what the user sees.

A tutorial and walkthrough can be found here: Tutorial: Working with portal languages and translations (from 3.2)