How capture the default.phtml in a variable inside a controller

Question

I have a simple question... How could I render the contents of the default.phtml which is in Project/application/layouts/scripts/default.phtml to a variable, so I can have its html.

In the index controller, with an action and a phtml file named test, this would work:

$html = $this->view->render('index/test.phtml');

But, of course, this does not:

$htmlDefaultLayout = $this->view->render('default.phtml');

Since default.phtml is not inside any controller, I guess.

Is there a good way to do that?

Must not have understood the question. Are you trying to get just the contents of the template? Or do you want the template to be accessed globally? — Mike Purcell, Apr 26 '12 at 23:54
Hi, Mike.. Thanks for answering... The thing is that I need the generated html, that is, the contents of default.phtml — Jack, Apr 27 '12 at 00:00
So you want the generated contents of the template, interpolated with template variables set in action, and store the render (as if you viewed it in browser) in a variable? — Mike Purcell, Apr 27 '12 at 00:05
Yes, more or less, I don't get the interpolation part. Actually, due to the fact that the request is via ajax, the default layout is disabled. What I needed was to grab the html content of that layout either way because inside the action I change the default layout (content, title, etc) and send it with the html generated in the action called by the ajax. So I can send 2 separated htmls in one ajax call. — Jack, Apr 27 '12 at 18:42

Starx · Answer 1 · 2012-04-27T21:02:43.517

3

You can stop the rendering and grab the output like this:

$this->_helper->layout()->disableLayout();
$this->_helper->viewRenderer->setNoRender(true);
$this->view->addScriptPath(APPLICATION_PATH . '/layouts/scripts/'); //default layout path
$htmlDefaultLayout = $this->view->render('default.phtml');

edited Apr 27 '12 at 21:02

answered Apr 27 '12 at 00:07

Starx

77,474
47
185
261

Thanks Starx. That was actually my first try but the problem is that there is no path to default.phtml. – Jack Apr 27 '12 at 18:33

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 27 '12 at 01:45

You can add to the path that Zend_View looks in for views so you could then render the default.phtml file.

Example:

// add the layout directory to the path
$this->view->addScriptPath(APPLICATION_PATH . '/layouts/scripts/');

$htmlDefaultLayout = $this->view->render('default.phtml');

The last path added to the scriptPath in Zend_View are the first to be checked (LIFO).

See View Script Paths.

How capture the default.phtml in a variable inside a controller

2 Answers2

Linked