Return to SmartSimian Templates
The “Add New Template” and “Edit Template” screens consist of a large form with all the settings you need to create a template, or edit an existing template, respectively.
The Add New screen can be reached in one of two ways:
- In the top toolbar, go to Create > Template
- Go to Creator > Templates, then click “Add New”
The Edit screen can be reached by going to Creator > Templates, and then clicking on the name of the template you wish to edit.
Settings
Name
You can name the template anything, but it’s best to name it something that describes the content being displayed how the template is being used. Examples: Music Search results, Artist bio full, Artist bio excerpt, Album full detail, Album archive excerpt.
Content Type
Next to Template For, click the dropdown menu where it says Select Content Type and you will get a list of available content types to choose from including WordPress built-in types.
Template Blocks
After selecting a content type to base the template on, a table will appear below in which you can add the building blocks of your template. See Add Template Blocks for full documentation.
Theme Locations
The Template Locations box appears in the sidebar underneath the default Save box. It lists all available places in the theme to make this template appear. See Assign Theme Locations for full documentation.
Description
The description is only displayed within the WordPress admin areas. It is an optional field, but can be helpful if you have multiple templates that use very similar names or even just for leaving a note for yourself, other developers, or even the client about the purpose of that template.
System Name
System name, also referred to as the slug, is the lowercase “URL friendly” version of the name of the template. You can choose an alternate system name if you like, but it cannot be modified again once the new template has been saved.
Delete/Save
Click the small red “Delete” link to delete the current template, or the large blue “Save” button to save or update the template.
Note: unlike WordPress’s content types, there is no “trash” for deleted templates. When you click delete, you will be asked if you are sure. Immediately after deleting, there will be a link to undo the deletion. After these two chances, however, the template will be deleted permanently.