Overview #

There are 3 different places to use Velocity templating in Liferay Portal. Each place introduces its own slight difference in behavior. These differences are noted below.

The places in Liferay that support Velocity templating are:

1. theme
2. layout templates
3. CMS Content Templates

In the theme, we assume 1) that more power is greater flexibility to develop cool stuff... and 2) the portal admin is taking FULL responsibility for installing a theme that might potentially have code which could kill the entire system (this is why we have official and non-official plugins as the same could be said for webs, portlets and hooks).

Objects Available in Themes, Layouts, and CMS #

In the theme, layout templates and CMS Templates we load all the tools found in the com.liferay.portal.velocity.VelocityVariables insertHelperUtilities() method:

• arrayUtil
• browserSniffer
• dateFormats
• dateTool
• dateUtil
• escapeTool
• expandoColumnLocalService
• expandoRowLocalService
• expandoTableLocalService
• expandoValueLocalService
• getterUtil
• htmlUtil
• httpUtil
• imageToken
• iteratorTool
• journalContentUtil
• languageUtil
• unicodeLanguageUtil
• listTool
• localeUtil
• mathTool
• numberTool
• paramUtil
• portalUtil
• portal
• prefsPropsUtil
• propsUtil
• portletURLFactory
• velocityPortletPreferences
• randomizer
• saxReaderUtil
• serviceLocator
• sessionClicks
• sortTool
• staticFieldGetter
• stringUtil
• timeZoneUtil
• utilLocator
• unicodeFormatter
• validator
• accountPermission
• commonPermission
• groupPermission
• layoutPermission
• organizationPermission
• passwordPolicyPermission
• portalPermission
• portletPermission
• rolePermission
• userGroupPermission
• userPermission
• locationPermission

Objects Which Can Be Restricted From Access by CMS #

We call these restricted variables. They are restricted by adding them to the following portal property:

    #
    # Input a comma delimited list of variables which are restricted from the
    # context in Velocity based Journal templates.
    #
    journal.template.velocity.restricted.variables=serviceLocator

Following are the list of variables that can be restricted:

• portalUtil
• portal
• prefsPropsUtil
• propsUtil
• velocityPortletPreferences
• serviceLocator
• sessionClicks
• utilLocator

Now, on the issue of what other variables are accessible where.

Run Time Variables #

In each of the three contexts there are some "run-time" variables which are available only in those contexts.

Layout Templates #

The only additional runtime variable for layouts is:

• processor

Themes #

• request
• portletConfig
• renderRequest
• renderResponse
• xmlRequest
• themeDisplay
• company
• user
• realUser
• layout
• layouts
• plid
• layoutTypePortlet
• scopeGroupId
• permissionChecker
• locale
• timeZone
• theme
• colorScheme
• portletDisplay
• navItems
• fullCssPath
• fullTemplatesPath
• init
• portletGroupId
• processor
• taglibLiferay
• theme

These are all objects are you might expect them to be... real

HttpServletRequest

CMS Templates #

The processing of a template is handled in such a way that it is not dependent on access to a real HttpRequest of any kind. Why? Because it's done WITHIN the service call. We do not allow our service layer objects to have an HttpRequest or HttpResponse of any kind as parameters. Thus, we can't add any of those NON-serializable objects like

HttpServletRequest

ThemeDisplay

PortletDisplay

PortletPreferences

As such we have the following variables:

• xmlRequest
• request
• company
• companyId
• groupId
• journalTemplatesPath
• viewMode
• locale
• permissionChecker
• randomNamespace

Request is NOT an Http Request of any kind. We have "mocked up" these items into what we call and "xmlRequest".

    String xmlRequest = PortletRequestUtil.toXML(PortletRequest portletRequest, PortletResponse portletResponse);

This serializes all the most important pieces required into a hierarchical HashMap called "request" ("xmlRequest" is still just the string from before... so that you can further call

JournalContentUtil

So, if you were to dump a $request variable from a template it would look like this:

render-url-exclusive=[[http://localhost:8080/web/workshop/home|http://localhost:8080/web/workshop/home]] ?p_p_id=56_INSTANCE_6860&p_p_lifecycle=0 &p_p_state=exclusive&p_p_mode=view& p_p_col_id=column-1&p_p_col_count=1, auth-type=, scheme=http, render-url-normal=[[http://localhost:8080/web/workshop/home|http://localhost:8080/web/workshop/home]] ?p_p_id=56_INSTANCE_6860&p_p_lifecycle=0& p_p_state=normal&p_p_mode=view& p_p_col_id=column-1&p_p_col_count=1, locale=en_US, attributes={ COMPANY_ID=10095, PORTLET_ID=56_INSTANCE_6860, RENDER_PORTLET_COLUMN_POS=0, CURRENT_COMPLETE_URL=[[http://localhost:8080/web/workshop/home|http://localhost:8080/web/workshop/home]], LAST_PATH={ contextPath=/web, path=/workshop/home }, FRIENDLY_URL=/web/workshop/home, com.liferay.portal.servlet.filters.strip.StripFilterSKIP_FILTER=true, PORTLET_PARALLEL_RENDER=true, RENDER_PORTLET_COLUMN_ID=column-1, LAYOUT_FRIENDLY_URL=/home, CURRENT_URL=/web/workshop/home, RENDER_PORTLET_COLUMN_COUNT=1, org.apache.struts.action.mapping.instance=ActionConfig [path=/journal_content/view, scope=session, type=com.liferay.portlet.journalcontent.action.ViewAction, validate=true,cancellable=false, LIFERAY_SHARED_PAGE_KEYWORDS=[ad], USER_ID=10150, PORTLET_STRUTS_ACTION=/journal_content/view, com.liferay.portal.servlet.filters.gzip.GZipFilterSKIP_FILTER=true }, render-url-pop-up=[[http://localhost:8080/web/workshop/home|http://localhost:8080/web/workshop/home]] ?p_p_id=56_INSTANCE_6860&p_p_lifecycle=0& p_p_state=pop_up&p_p_mode=view&p_p_col_id=column-1 &p_p_col_count=1, render-url-maximized=[[http://localhost:8080/web/workshop/home|http://localhost:8080/web/workshop/home]] ?p_p_id=56_INSTANCE_6860&p_p_lifecycle=0& p_p_state=maximized&p_p_mode=view& p_p_col_id=column-1&p_p_col_count=1, render-url-minimized=[[http://localhost:8080/web/workshop/home|http://localhost:8080/web/workshop/home]] ?p_p_id=56_INSTANCE_6860&p_p_lifecycle=0& p_p_state=minimized&p_p_mode=view& p_p_col_id=column-1&p_p_col_count=1, server-port=8080, portlet-mode=view, secure=false, action=false, theme-display={ secure=false, scope-group-id=10174, portal-url=localhost:8080, plid=10265, path-main=/c, i18n-language-id=, url-portal=localhost:8080, do-as-user-id=, path-context=, path-image=/image, user-id=10150, language-id=en_US, company-id=10095, locale=en_US, time-zone=UTC, path-friendly-url-public=/web, path-theme-images=/sesameworkshop-theme/images, real-user-id=10150, cdn-host=, path-friendly-url-private-group=/group, server-name=localhost, path-friendly-url-private-user=/user, server-port=8080, portlet-display={ title=Journal Content, portlet-name=56, instance-id=6860, resource-pk=10265_LAYOUT_56_INSTANCE_6860, root-portlet-id=56, id=56_INSTANCE_6860 } }, parameters=, container-type=portlet, context-path=/, content-type=text/html, render-url=[[http://localhost:8080/web/workshop/home|http://localhost:8080/web/workshop/home]] ?p_p_id=56_INSTANCE_6860&p_p_lifecycle=0& p_p_state=normal&p_p_mode=view& p_p_col_id=column-1&p_p_col_count=1, remote-user=10150, window-state=normal, server-name=localhost, container-namespace=/, portlet-session={ portlet-attributes=, application-attributes={ com.liferay.portal.kernel.util.ProgressTracker_PERCENT=100, j_username=10150, HTTPS_INITIAL=false, LIFERAY_SHARED_VISITED_GROUP_ID_PREVIOUS=10100, LAST_PATH={ contextPath=/web, path=/workshop/home }, USER_ID=10150, LIFERAY_SHARED_VISITED_GROUP_ID_RECENT=10174, org.apache.struts.action.LOCALE=en_US } }, portlet-namespace=_56_INSTANCE_6860_, portlet-session-id=1D8EA0980982E0C4DD5199B092450A2E

Note that it contains a VERY good selection of runtime values, all of which must be serializable.

Now, suppose you want to pass a runtime value to a template. Just add it as either a request parameter or a request attributes, both of which are made available here, as well as session vars in both scopes. Important pieces of

ThemeDisplay

PortletDisplay

Variables defined in init.vm #

From Alimozzaman blog:

These are the default Liferay 6 theme variables defined in init.vm.
I was searching but did not get any link ,so I hope this will help lot of
people also around  the globe. If anything goes  wrong, pls make a comment
and also try to add something that will help people around us.

## ———- Common variables ———- ##

$theme_display
$portlet_display
$theme_timestamp
$theme_settings
$css_class
$layout
$page_group
$liferay_toggle_controls
$liferay_dockbar_pinned
$css_folder
$images_folder
$javascript_folder
$templates_folder
$full_css_path
$full_templates_path
$css_main_file
$js_main_file
$company_id
$company_name
$company_logo
$company_logo_height
$company_logo_width
$company_url

$user_id
$is_default_user
$user_first_name
$user_middle_name
$user_last_name
$user_name
$is_male
$is_female
$user_birthday
$user_email_address
$language_id
$w3c_language_id
$time_zone
$user_greeting
$user_comments
$user_login_ip
$user_last_login_ip
$is_signed_in
$group_id

## ———- URLs ———- ##
$show_add_content
$add_content_text
$add_content_url
$layout_text
$layout_url
$show_control_panel
$control_panel_text
$control_panel_url
$show_home
$home_text
$home_url
$show_my_account
$my_account_text
$my_account_url
$show_page_settings
$page_settings_text
$page_settings_url
$show_sign_in
$sign_in_text
$sign_in_url
$show_sign_out
$sign_out_text
$sign_out_url
$show_toggle_controls
$toggle_controls_text
$toggle_controls_url
$update_available_url

## ———- Page ———- ##

$the_title
$selectable
$is_maximized
$is_freeform

$page_javascript_1
$page_javascript_2
$page_javascript_3
$layout
$page = $layout
$is_first_child
$is_first_parent
$the_title
$is_portlet_page

$all_portlets
$column_1_portlets
$column_2_portlets
$column_3_portlets
$column_4_portlets
$column_5_portlets
$maximized_portlet_id
$typeSettingsProperties
$page_javascript_1
$page_javascript_2
$page_javascript_3
$community_name
$css_class
$my_places_portlet_url
$community_default_public_url
$community_default_private_url
$community_default_url
$the_title
$layouts
$pages

## ———- Navigation ———- ##
$nav_items
$has_navigation

## ———- Staging ———- ##
$show_staging
$staging_text
## ———- My places ———- ##
$show_my_places
$my_places_text

## ———- Includes ———- ##
$dir_include
$bottom_include
$bottom_ext_include
$content_include
$top_head_include
$top_messages_include

## ———- Date ———- ##
$date
$current_time
$the_year

Final Notes #

Additionally, providing further complex tools to template in all cases, themes, layout templates and CMS Contents is best done through Spring as previously demonstrated in Ray Auge's blog, and is also available from plugins and no longer requires your plugin to use ServiceBuilder as of recently.

Note -- the Velocity Variables Explorer portlet is no longer available! The Velocity Variables Explorer portlet can also be used to browse through run-time generated velocity variables, separately for CMS content, layout and themes, as well as for Request and Helper sets (see VelocityVariables.java). Portlet generates variables display in accordance to Liferay version it is running on. For each velocity variable this tool displays list of public methods and, when available, provides access to extended description, use samples, source of an appropriate java class.