Class View

View, the V in the MVC triad. View interacts with Helpers and view variables passed in from the controller to render the results of the controller action. Often this is HTML, but can also take the form of JSON, XML, PDF's or streaming files.

CakePHP uses a two-step-view pattern. This means that the view content is rendered first, and then inserted into the selected layout. This also means you can pass data from the view to the layout using $this->set()

Since 2.1, the base View class also includes support for themes by default. Theme views are regular view files that can provide unique HTML and static assets. If theme views are not found for the current view the default app view files will be used. You can set $this->theme = 'mytheme' in your Controller to use the Themes.

Example of theme path with $this->theme = 'SuperHot'; Would be app/View/Themed/SuperHot/Posts

Object

View

Direct Subclasses

Package: Cake\View
Copyright: Copyright (c) Cake Software Foundation, Inc. (http://cakefoundation.org)
License: MIT License
Location: Cake/View/View.php

Constants summary

string

TYPE_ELEMENT ¶

'element'
string

TYPE_LAYOUT ¶

'layout'
string

TYPE_VIEW ¶

'view'

Properties summary

$Blocks public

ViewBlock

ViewBlock instance.
$Helpers public

HelperCollection

Helpers collection
$_current protected

string

The currently rendering view file. Used for resolving parent files.
$_currentType protected

string

Currently rendering an element. Used for finding parent fragments for elements.
$_eventManager protected

CakeEventManager

Instance of the CakeEventManager this View object is using to dispatch inner events. Usually the manager is shared with the controller, so it it possible to register view events in the controller layer.
$_eventManagerConfigured protected

boolean

Whether the event manager was already configured for this object
$_parents protected

array

The names of views and their parents used with View::extend();
$_passedVars protected

array

List of variables to collect from the associated controller.
$_paths protected

array

Holds an array of paths.
$_scripts protected

array

Scripts (and/or other tags) for the layout.
$_stack protected

array

Content stack, used for nested templates that all use View::extend();
$autoLayout public

boolean

Turns on or off CakePHP's conventional mode of applying layout files. On by default. Setting to off means that layouts will not be automatically applied to rendered views.
$cacheAction public

mixed

Used to define methods a controller that will be cached.
$elementCache public

string

The Cache configuration View will use to store cached elements. Changing this will change the default configuration elements are stored under. You can also choose a cache config per element.
$elementCacheSettings public

array

Element cache settings
$ext public

string

File extension. Defaults to CakePHP's template ".ctp".
$hasRendered public

boolean

True when the view has been rendered.
$helpers public

mixed

An array of names of built-in helpers to include.
$layout public

string

Name of layout to use with this View.
$layoutPath public

string

Path to Layout.
$name public

string

Name of the controller.
$passedArgs public

mixed

Current passed params
$plugin public

string

Name of the plugin.
$request public

CakeRequest

An instance of a CakeRequest object that contains information about the current request. This object contains all the information about a request and several methods for reading additional information about the request.
$response public

CakeResponse

Reference to the Response object
$subDir public

string

Sub-directory for this view file. This is often used for extension based routing. Eg. With an xml extension, $subDir would be xml/
$theme public

string

Theme name.
$uuids public

array

List of generated DOM UUIDs.
$validationErrors public

array

Holds current errors for the model validation.
$view public

string

Name of view to use with this View.
$viewPath public

string

Path to View.
$viewVars public

array

Variables for the view

Magic properties summary

$Blocks public

ViewBlock
$Cache public

CacheHelper
$Form public

FormHelper
$Html public

HtmlHelper
$Js public

JsHelper
$Number public

NumberHelper
$Paginator public

PaginatorHelper
$Rss public

RssHelper
$Session public

SessionHelper
$Text public

TextHelper
$Time public

TimeHelper

Method Summary

__construct() public

Constructor
__get() public

Magic accessor for helpers. Provides access to attributes that were deprecated.
__isset() public

Magic isset check for deprecated attributes.
__set() public

Magic accessor for deprecated attributes.
_elementCache() protected

Checks if an element is cached and returns the cached data if present
_evaluate() protected

Sandbox method to evaluate a template / view script in.
_getElementFileName() protected

Finds an element filename, returns false on failure.
_getExtensions() protected

Get the extensions that view files can use.
_getLayoutFileName() protected

Returns layout filename for this template as a string.
_getViewFileName() protected

Returns filename of given action's template file (.ctp) as a string. CamelCased action names will be under_scored! This means that you can have LongActionNames that refer to long_action_names.ctp views.
_paths() protected

Return all possible paths to find view files in order
_render() protected

Renders and returns output for given view filename with its array of data. Handles parent/extended views.
_renderElement() protected

Renders an element and fires the before and afterRender callbacks for it and writes to the cache if a cache is used
addScript() public deprecated

Adds a script block or other element to be inserted in $scripts_for_layout in the <head /> of a document layout
append() public

Append to an existing or new block. Appending to a new block will create the block.
assign() public

Set the content for a block. This will overwrite any existing content.
blocks() public

Get the names of all the existing blocks.
element() public

Renders a piece of PHP with provided parameters and returns HTML, XML, or any other string.
elementExists() public

Checks if an element exists
end() public

End a capturing block. The compliment to View::start()
extend() public

Provides view or element extension/inheritance. Views can extends a parent view and populate blocks in the parent template.
fetch() public

Fetch the content for a block. If a block is empty or undefined '' will be returned.
get() public

Returns the contents of the given View variable or a block. Blocks are checked before view variables.
getEventManager() public

Returns the CakeEventManager manager instance that is handling any callbacks. You can use this instance to register any new listeners or callbacks to the controller events, or create your own events and trigger them at will.
getVar() public deprecated

Returns the contents of the given View variable(s)
getVars() public

Returns a list of variables available in the current View context
loadHelper() public

Loads a helper. Delegates to the HelperCollection::load() to load the helper
loadHelpers() public

Interact with the HelperCollection to load all the helpers.
pluginSplit() public

Splits a dot syntax plugin name into its plugin and filename. If $name does not have a dot, then index 0 will be null. It checks if the plugin is loaded, else filename will stay unchanged for filenames containing dot
prepend() public

Prepend to an existing or new block. Prepending to a new block will create the block.
render() public

Renders view for given view file and layout.
renderCache() public

Render cached view. Works in concert with CacheHelper and Dispatcher to render cached view files.
renderLayout() public

Renders a layout. Returns output from _render(). Returns false on error. Several variables are created for use in layout.
set() public

Allows a template or element to set a variable that will be available in a layout or other element. Analogous to Controller::set().
start() public

Start capturing output for a 'block'
startIfEmpty() public

Start capturing output for a 'block' if it has no content
uuid() public

Generates a unique, non-random DOM ID for an object, based on the object type and the target URL.

Method Detail

__construct() public ¶

__construct( Controller $controller = null )

Constructor

Parameters

Controller $controller optional null: A controller object to pull View::_passedVars from.

Overrides

Object::__construct()

__get() public ¶

__get( string $name )

Magic accessor for helpers. Provides access to attributes that were deprecated.

Parameters

string $name: Name of the attribute to get.

Returns

mixed

__isset() public ¶

__isset( string $name )

Magic isset check for deprecated attributes.

Parameters

string $name: Name of the attribute to check.

Returns

boolean

__set() public ¶

__set( string $name , mixed $value )

Magic accessor for deprecated attributes.

Parameters

string $name: Name of the attribute to set.
mixed $value: Value of the attribute to set.

Returns

mixed

_elementCache() protected ¶

_elementCache( string $name , string $data , array $options )

Checks if an element is cached and returns the cached data if present

Parameters

string $name: Element name
string $data: Data
array $options: Element options

Returns

string|null

_evaluate() protected ¶

_evaluate( string $viewFile , array $dataForView )

Sandbox method to evaluate a template / view script in.

Parameters

string $viewFile: $viewFn Filename of the view
array $dataForView: Data to include in rendered view. If empty the current View::$viewVars will be used.

Returns

string
Rendered output

_getElementFileName() protected ¶

_getElementFileName( string $name )

Finds an element filename, returns false on failure.

Parameters

string $name: The name of the element to find.

Returns

mixed
Either a string to the element filename or false when one can't be found.

_getExtensions() protected ¶

_getExtensions( )

Get the extensions that view files can use.

Returns

array
Array of extensions view files use.

_getLayoutFileName() protected ¶

_getLayoutFileName( string $name = null )

Returns layout filename for this template as a string.

Parameters

string $name optional null: The name of the layout to find.

Returns

string
Filename for layout file (.ctp).

Throws

MissingLayoutException
when a layout cannot be located

_getViewFileName() protected ¶

_getViewFileName( string $name = null )

Returns filename of given action's template file (.ctp) as a string. CamelCased action names will be under_scored! This means that you can have LongActionNames that refer to long_action_names.ctp views.

Parameters

string $name optional null: Controller action to find template filename for

Returns

string
Template filename

Throws

MissingViewException
when a view file could not be found.

_paths() protected ¶

_paths( string $plugin = null , boolean $cached = true )

Return all possible paths to find view files in order

Parameters

string $plugin optional null: Optional plugin name to scan for view files.
boolean $cached optional true: Set to false to force a refresh of view paths. Default true.

Returns

array
paths

_render() protected ¶

_render( string $viewFile , array $data = array() )

Renders and returns output for given view filename with its array of data. Handles parent/extended views.

Parameters

string $viewFile: Filename of the view
array $data optional array(): Data to include in rendered view. If empty the current View::$viewVars will be used.

Returns

string
Rendered output

Throws

CakeException
when a block is left open.

_renderElement() protected ¶

_renderElement( string $file , array $data , array $options )

Renders an element and fires the before and afterRender callbacks for it and writes to the cache if a cache is used

Parameters

string $file: Element file path
array $data: Data to render
array $options: Element options

Returns

string

addScript() public deprecated ¶

addScript( string $name , string $content = null )

Adds a script block or other element to be inserted in $scripts_for_layout in the <head /> of a document layout

Deprecated

Will be removed in 3.0. Superseded by blocks functionality.

Parameters

string $name: Either the key name for the script, or the script content. Name can be used to update/replace a script element.
string $content optional null: The content of the script being added, optional.

See

View::start()

append() public ¶

append( string $name , mixed $value = null )

Append to an existing or new block. Appending to a new block will create the block.

Parameters

string $name: Name of the block
mixed $value optional null: The content for the block.

See

ViewBlock::concat()

assign() public ¶

assign( string $name , mixed $value )

Set the content for a block. This will overwrite any existing content.

Parameters

string $name: Name of the block
mixed $value: The content for the block.

See

ViewBlock::set()

blocks() public ¶

blocks( )

Get the names of all the existing blocks.

Returns

array
An array containing the blocks.

See

ViewBlock::keys()

element() public ¶

element( string $name , array $data = array() , array $options = array() )

Renders a piece of PHP with provided parameters and returns HTML, XML, or any other string.

This realizes the concept of Elements, (or "partial layouts") and the $params array is used to send data to be used in the element. Elements can be cached improving performance by using the cache option.

Parameters

string $name: Name of template file in the/app/View/Elements/ folder, or MyPlugin.template to use the template element from MyPlugin. If the element is not found in the plugin, the normal view path cascade will be searched.
array $data optional array(): Array of data to be made available to the rendered view (i.e. the Element)
array $options optional array(): Array of options. Possible keys are: - cache - Can either be true, to enable caching using the config in View::$elementCache. Or an array If an array, the following keys can be used: - config - Used to store the cached element in a custom cache configuration. - key - Used to define the key used in the Cache::write(). It will be prefixed with element_ - plugin - (deprecated!) Load an element from a specific plugin. This option is deprecated, and will be removed in CakePHP 3.0. Use Plugin.element_name instead. - callbacks - Set to true to fire beforeRender and afterRender helper callbacks for this element. Defaults to false. - ignoreMissing - Used to allow missing elements. Set to true to not trigger notices.

Returns

string
Rendered Element

elementExists() public ¶

elementExists( string $name )

Checks if an element exists

Parameters

string $name: Name of template file in the /app/View/Elements/ folder, or MyPlugin.template to check the template element from MyPlugin. If the element is not found in the plugin, the normal view path cascade will be searched.

Returns

boolean
Success

end() public ¶

end( )

End a capturing block. The compliment to View::start()

See

ViewBlock::end()

extend() public ¶

extend( string $name )

Provides view or element extension/inheritance. Views can extends a parent view and populate blocks in the parent template.

Parameters

string $name: The view or element to 'extend' the current one with.

Throws

LogicException
when you extend a view with itself or make extend loops.
LogicException
when you extend an element which doesn't exist

fetch() public ¶

fetch( string $name , string $default = '' )

Fetch the content for a block. If a block is empty or undefined '' will be returned.

Parameters

string $name: Name of the block
string $default optional '': Default text

Returns

string
$default The block content or $default if the block does not exist.

See

ViewBlock::get()

get() public ¶

get( string $var )

Returns the contents of the given View variable or a block. Blocks are checked before view variables.

Parameters

string $var: The view var you want the contents of.

Returns

mixed
The content of the named var if its set, otherwise null.

getEventManager() public ¶

getEventManager( )

Returns the CakeEventManager manager instance that is handling any callbacks. You can use this instance to register any new listeners or callbacks to the controller events, or create your own events and trigger them at will.

Returns

CakeEventManager

getVar() public deprecated ¶

getVar( string $var )

Returns the contents of the given View variable(s)

Deprecated

Will be removed in 3.0. Use View::get() instead.

Parameters

string $var: The view var you want the contents of.

Returns

mixed
The content of the named var if its set, otherwise null.

getVars() public ¶

getVars( )

Returns a list of variables available in the current View context

Returns

array
Array of the set view variable names.

loadHelper() public ¶

loadHelper( string $helperName , array $settings = array() )

Loads a helper. Delegates to the HelperCollection::load() to load the helper

Parameters

string $helperName: Name of the helper to load.
array $settings optional array(): Settings for the helper

Returns

Helper
a constructed helper object.

See

HelperCollection::load()

loadHelpers() public ¶

loadHelpers( )

Interact with the HelperCollection to load all the helpers.

pluginSplit() public ¶

pluginSplit( string $name , boolean $fallback = true )

Splits a dot syntax plugin name into its plugin and filename. If $name does not have a dot, then index 0 will be null. It checks if the plugin is loaded, else filename will stay unchanged for filenames containing dot

Parameters

string $name: The name you want to plugin split.
boolean $fallback optional true: If true uses the plugin set in the current CakeRequest when parsed plugin is not loaded

Returns

array
Array with 2 indexes. 0 => plugin name, 1 => filename

prepend() public ¶

prepend( string $name , mixed $value = null )

Prepend to an existing or new block. Prepending to a new block will create the block.

Parameters

string $name: Name of the block
mixed $value optional null: The content for the block.

See

ViewBlock::concat()

render() public ¶

render( string $view = null , string $layout = null )

Renders view for given view file and layout.

Render triggers helper callbacks, which are fired before and after the view are rendered, as well as before and after the layout. The helper callbacks are called:

beforeRender
afterRender
beforeLayout
afterLayout

If View::$autoRender is false and no $layout is provided, the view will be returned bare.

View and layout names can point to plugin views/layouts. Using the Plugin.view syntax a plugin view/layout can be used instead of the app ones. If the chosen plugin is not found the view will be located along the regular view path cascade.

Parameters

string $view optional null: Name of view file to use
string $layout optional null: Layout to use.

Returns

string|null
Rendered content or null if content already rendered and returned earlier.

Throws

CakeException
If there is an error in the view.

renderCache() public ¶

renderCache( string $filename , string $timeStart )

Render cached view. Works in concert with CacheHelper and Dispatcher to render cached view files.

Parameters

string $filename: the cache file to include
string $timeStart: the page render start time

Returns

boolean
Success of rendering the cached file.

renderLayout() public ¶

renderLayout( string $content , string $layout = null )

Renders a layout. Returns output from _render(). Returns false on error. Several variables are created for use in layout.

title_for_layout - A backwards compatible place holder, you should set this value if you want more control.
content_for_layout - contains rendered view file
scripts_for_layout - Contains content added with addScript() as well as any content in the 'meta', 'css', and 'script' blocks. They are appended in that order.

Deprecated features:

$scripts_for_layout is deprecated and will be removed in CakePHP 3.0. Use the block features instead. meta, css and script will be populated by the matching methods on HtmlHelper.
$title_for_layout is deprecated and will be removed in CakePHP 3.0
$content_for_layout is deprecated and will be removed in CakePHP 3.0. Use the content block instead.

Parameters

string $content: Content to render in a view, wrapped by the surrounding layout.
string $layout optional null: Layout name

Returns

mixed
Rendered output, or false on error

Throws

CakeException
if there is an error in the view.

set() public ¶

set( string|array $one , string|array $two = null )

Allows a template or element to set a variable that will be available in a layout or other element. Analogous to Controller::set().

Parameters

string|array $one: A string or an array of data.
string|array $two optional null: Value in case $one is a string (which then works as the key). Unused if $one is an associative array, otherwise serves as the values to $one's keys.

start() public ¶

start( string $name )

Start capturing output for a 'block'

Parameters

string $name: The name of the block to capture for.

See

ViewBlock::start()

startIfEmpty() public ¶

startIfEmpty( string $name )

Start capturing output for a 'block' if it has no content

Parameters

string $name: The name of the block to capture for.

See

ViewBlock::startIfEmpty()

uuid() public ¶

uuid( string $object , string $url )

Generates a unique, non-random DOM ID for an object, based on the object type and the target URL.

Parameters

string $object: Type of object, i.e. 'form' or 'link'
string $url: The object's target URL

Returns

string

Methods inherited from Object

_mergeVars() protected ¶

_mergeVars( array $properties , string $class , boolean $normalize = true )

Merges this objects $property with the property in $class' definition. This classes value for the property will be merged on top of $class'

This provides some of the DRY magic CakePHP provides. If you want to shut it off, redefine this method as an empty function.

Parameters

array $properties: The name of the properties to merge.
string $class: The class to merge the property with.
boolean $normalize optional true: Set to true to run the properties through Hash::normalize() before merging.

_set() protected ¶

_set( array $properties = array() )

Allows setting of multiple properties of the object in a single line of code. Will only set properties that are part of a class declaration.

Parameters

array $properties optional array(): An associative array containing properties and corresponding values.

_stop() protected ¶

_stop( integer|string $status = 0 )

Stop execution of the current script. Wraps exit() making testing easier.

Parameters

integer|string $status optional 0: see http://php.net/exit for values

dispatchMethod() public ¶

dispatchMethod( string $method , array $params = array() )

Calls a method on this object with the given parameters. Provides an OO wrapper for call_user_func_array

Parameters

string $method: Name of the method to call
array $params optional array(): Parameter list to use when calling $method

Returns

mixed
Returns the result of the method call

log() public ¶

log( string $msg , integer $type = LOG_ERR , null|string|array $scope = null )

Convenience method to write a message to CakeLog. See CakeLog::write() for more information on writing to logs.

Parameters

string $msg: Log message
integer $type optional LOG_ERR: Error type constant. Defined in app/Config/core.php.
null|string|array $scope optional null: The scope(s) a log message is being created in. See CakeLog::config() for more information on logging scopes.

Returns

boolean
Success of log write

requestAction() public ¶

requestAction( string|array $url , array $extra = array() )

Calls a controller's method from any location. Can be used to connect controllers together or tie plugins into a main application. requestAction can be used to return rendered views or fetch the return value from controller actions.

Under the hood this method uses Router::reverse() to convert the $url parameter into a string URL. You should use URL formats that are compatible with Router::reverse()

Passing POST and GET data

POST and GET data can be simulated in requestAction. Use $extra['url'] for GET data. The $extra['data'] parameter allows POST data simulation.

Parameters

string|array $url: String or array-based URL. Unlike other URL arrays in CakePHP, this URL will not automatically handle passed and named arguments in the $url parameter.
array $extra optional array(): if array includes the key "return" it sets the AutoRender to true. Can also be used to submit GET/POST data, and named/passed arguments.

Returns

mixed

Boolean true or false on success/failure, or contents of rendered action if 'return' is set in $extra.

toString() public ¶

toString( )

Object-to-string conversion. Each class can override this method as necessary.

Returns

string
The name of this class

Properties detail

`$Blocks` ¶

public ViewBlock

ViewBlock instance.

`$Helpers` ¶

public HelperCollection

Helpers collection

`$_current` ¶

protected string

The currently rendering view file. Used for resolving parent files.

null

`$_currentType` ¶

protected string

Currently rendering an element. Used for finding parent fragments for elements.

''

`$_eventManager` ¶

protected CakeEventManager

Instance of the CakeEventManager this View object is using to dispatch inner events. Usually the manager is shared with the controller, so it it possible to register view events in the controller layer.

null

`$_eventManagerConfigured` ¶

protected boolean

Whether the event manager was already configured for this object

false

`$_parents` ¶

protected array

The names of views and their parents used with View::extend();

array()

`$_passedVars` ¶

protected array

List of variables to collect from the associated controller.

array(
    'viewVars', 'autoLayout', 'ext', 'helpers', 'view', 'layout', 'name', 'theme',
    'layoutPath', 'viewPath', 'request', 'plugin', 'passedArgs', 'cacheAction'
)

`$_paths` ¶

protected array

Holds an array of paths.

array()

`$_scripts` ¶

protected array

Scripts (and/or other tags) for the layout.

array()

`$_stack` ¶

protected array

Content stack, used for nested templates that all use View::extend();

array()

`$autoLayout` ¶

public boolean

Turns on or off CakePHP's conventional mode of applying layout files. On by default. Setting to off means that layouts will not be automatically applied to rendered views.

true

`$cacheAction` ¶

public mixed

Used to define methods a controller that will be cached.

See

Controller::$cacheAction

false

`$elementCache` ¶

public string

The Cache configuration View will use to store cached elements. Changing this will change the default configuration elements are stored under. You can also choose a cache config per element.

See

View::element()

'default'

`$elementCacheSettings` ¶

public array

Element cache settings

See

View::_elementCache();
View::_renderElement

array()

`$ext` ¶

public string

File extension. Defaults to CakePHP's template ".ctp".

'.ctp'

`$hasRendered` ¶

public boolean

True when the view has been rendered.

false

`$helpers` ¶

public mixed

An array of names of built-in helpers to include.

array()

`$layout` ¶

public string

Name of layout to use with this View.

'default'

`$layoutPath` ¶

public string

Path to Layout.

null

`$name` ¶

public string

Name of the controller.

null

`$passedArgs` ¶

public mixed

Current passed params

array()

`$plugin` ¶

public string

Name of the plugin.

Link

http://manual.cakephp.org/chapter/plugins

null

null

`$theme` ¶

public string

Theme name.

null

`$uuids` ¶

public array

List of generated DOM UUIDs.

array()

`$validationErrors` ¶

public array

Holds current errors for the model validation.

array()

`$view` ¶

public string

Name of view to use with this View.

null

`$viewPath` ¶

public string

Path to View.

null

`$viewVars` ¶

public array

Variables for the view

array()

Packages

Classes

Class View

Direct Subclasses

Constants summary

Properties summary

Magic properties summary

Method Summary

__construct() public

__get() public

__isset() public

__set() public

_elementCache() protected

_evaluate() protected

_getElementFileName() protected

_getExtensions() protected

_getLayoutFileName() protected

_getViewFileName() protected

_paths() protected

_render() protected

_renderElement() protected

addScript() public deprecated

append() public

assign() public

blocks() public

element() public

elementExists() public

end() public

extend() public

fetch() public

get() public

getEventManager() public

getVar() public deprecated

getVars() public

loadHelper() public

loadHelpers() public

pluginSplit() public

prepend() public

render() public

renderCache() public

renderLayout() public

set() public

start() public

startIfEmpty() public

uuid() public

Method Detail

__construct() public ¶

Parameters

Overrides

__get() public ¶

Parameters

Returns

__isset() public ¶

Parameters

Returns

__set() public ¶

Parameters

Returns

_elementCache() protected ¶

Parameters

Returns

_evaluate() protected ¶

Parameters

Returns

_getElementFileName() protected ¶

Parameters

Returns

_getExtensions() protected ¶

Returns

_getLayoutFileName() protected ¶

Parameters

Returns

Throws

_getViewFileName() protected ¶

Parameters

Returns

Throws

_paths() protected ¶

Parameters

Returns