Version 3 end of life
This version of Silverstripe CMS will not recieve any additional bug fixes or documentation updates. Go to documentation for the most recent stable version.

Form Templates

Most markup generated in SilverStripe can be replaced by custom templates. Both Form and FormField instances can be rendered out using custom templates using setTemplate.

	$form = new Form(..);
	$form->setTemplate('MyCustomFormTemplate');

	// or, just a field
	$field = new TextField(..);
	$field->setTemplate('MyCustomTextField');

[notice] It's recommended to copy the contents of the template you're going to replace and use that as a start. For instance, if you want to create a MyCustomFormTemplate copy the contents of Form.ss to a MyCustomFormTemplate.ss file and modify as you need. [/notice]

By default, Form and Fields follow the SilverStripe Template convention and are rendered into templates of the same class name (i.e EmailField will attempt to render into EmailField.ss and if that isn't found, TextField.ss or finally FormField.ss).

[alert] While you can override all templates using normal view inheritance (i.e defining a Form.ss) other modules may rely on the core template structure. It is recommended to use setTemplate and unique templates for specific forms. [/alert]

For FormField instances, there are several other templates that are used on top of the main setTemplate.

	$field = new TextField();

	$field->setTemplate('CustomTextField');
	// Sets the template for the <input> tag. i.e '<input $AttributesHTML />'
	
	$field->setFieldHolderTemplate('CustomTextField_Holder');
	// Sets the template for the wrapper around the text field. i.e 
	//	'<div class="text">'
	//
	// The actual FormField is rendered into the holder via the `$Field` 
	// variable.
	//
	// setFieldHolder() is used in most `Form` instances and needs to output 
	// labels, error messages and the like.

	$field->setSmallFieldHolderTemplate('CustomTextField_Holder_Small');
	// Sets the template for the wrapper around the text field.
	//
	// The difference here is the small field holder template is used when the 
	// field is embedded within another field. For example, if the field is 
	// part of a `FieldGroup` or `CompositeField` alongside other fields.

well as the available syntax, see the Templates documentation.

Related Documentation

API Documentation