Question

Q: how do I create a template in a TWiki topic?

The page TWiki.TWikiTemplates seems to imply that you can create a template in at least two ways:

1. in a template file in the twiki/templates directory
2. or, in a user topic

I have been able to create a twiki/template file.

try as I might, I have not been able to create a template in a user topic.

My goal: I want to put the form for a twiki page at the top of the page when it is viewed, not at the bottom. (This is also posed as a Support question, HowToPlaceFormAtTopOfPage.)

I have tried

1. creating a topic ViewTemplate in the web in question b. adding said topic to VIEW_TEMPLATE in WebPreferences in the web in question

I want to put the format in a topic, rather than separately in a template, so that other members of my project, who do not have access to the filesystem that holds twiki/templates, can change the form used in the issue tracking system.

the problem seems to be that the skin template takes precedence over the VIEW_TEMPLATE topc in a web. And, since whoever installed my twiki had a default skin installed (PatternSkin - maybe this was installed by default), no users will ever see the web specific view template.

One can always create a skin specific web view template: data/%!WEB%/!SkinSkinScriptTemplate.txt. However, if your users use many different skins, as mine do, this is unreasonable: it is unreasonable for the owner of a web to have to know about every skin that a user may be using.

IMHO this points out a significant problem with the templates and skin system: it effectively says that there is no way for a web admin to influence the order of objects displayed on a page. Note that I said "influence', not control. I do not care if a user explicxitly says "I want the form to always go at the bottom" - let him. But if the user says "give me the default", I would prefer to give him or her the default for the page or web.

I.e. in priority order from lowest to highest

• site default
• web default
• page default
• skin default
• web/page default overriding skin
• skin default overriding anything above

I have seen trhe notion of "strength" be applied to defaults. The strongest strength wins. Strengths are FP numbers.

Environment

-- AndyGlew - 10 Oct 2006

Answer

If you answer a question - or someone answered one of your questions - please remember to edit the page and set the status to answered. The status selector is below the edit box.

Sorry, closing after more than 30 days...

-- PeterThoeny - 01 Dec 2006