Twig Functions Reference

Total CMS provides powerful custom Twig functions for form handling, string manipulation, media embedding, and more. This reference includes practical usage examples for each function.

Form and UI Functions

selectOptions(array $options, string $label, string $value): array

Converts simple arrays to proper select option format.

{# Simple array to select options #}
{% set categories = ['Technology', 'Design', 'Marketing'] %}
{% set selectOptions = selectOptions(categories) %}

<select name="category">
    {% for option in selectOptions %}
        <option value="{{ option.value }}">{{ option.label }}</option>
    {% endfor %}
</select>

{# Dynamic categories from collection #}
{% set categories = cms.objects('categories') | map(c => c.name) %}
<select name="category">
    {% for option in selectOptions(categories) %}
        <option value="{{ option.value }}" {{ option.value == selectedCategory ? 'selected' : '' }}>
            {{ option.label }}
        </option>
    {% endfor %}
</select>

{# Using with custom label and value keys #}
{% set users = cms.objects('users') %}
{% set userOptions = selectOptions(users, 'name', 'id') %}
<select name="author">
    {% for option in userOptions %}
        <option value="{{ option.value }}">{{ option.label }}</option>
    {% endfor %}
</select>

Math Functions

floor(number): int

Rounds a number down to the nearest integer.

{{ floor(4.7) }} {# Output: 4 #}
{{ floor(9.99) }} {# Output: 9 #}

{# Calculate pages #}
{% set totalItems = 47 %}
{% set perPage = 10 %}
{% set fullPages = floor(totalItems / perPage) %}

ceil(number): int

Rounds a number up to the nearest integer.

{{ ceil(4.1) }} {# Output: 5 #}
{{ ceil(9.01) }} {# Output: 10 #}

{# Calculate total pages needed #}
{% set totalItems = 47 %}
{% set perPage = 10 %}
{% set totalPages = ceil(totalItems / perPage) %}

String Functions

addslashes(string): string

Escapes special characters with backslashes.

{% set text = "He said \"Hello\"" %}
{{ addslashes(text) }} {# Output: He said \"Hello\" #}

chunk_split(string, length, separator): string

Splits a string into smaller chunks.

{% set serial = "ABCD1234EFGH5678" %}
{{ chunk_split(serial, 4, '-') }} {# Output: ABCD-1234-EFGH-5678- #}

explode(delimiter, string): array

Splits a string into an array by a delimiter.

{% set tags = "php,javascript,python" %}
{% set tagArray = explode(',', tags) %}
{% for tag in tagArray %}
    <span class="tag">{{ tag }}</span>
{% endfor %}

str_pad(string, length, pad_string, pad_type): string

Pads a string to a certain length.

{{ str_pad('42', 5, '0', 0) }} {# Output: 00042 (STR_PAD_LEFT = 0) #}
{{ str_pad('42', 5, '0', 1) }} {# Output: 42000 (STR_PAD_RIGHT = 1) #}

strlen(string): int

Returns the length of a string.

{{ strlen('Hello World') }} {# Output: 11 #}

{% if strlen(post.excerpt) > 200 %}
    {{ post.excerpt | slice(0, 200) }}...
{% else %}
    {{ post.excerpt }}
{% endif %}

indexOf(haystack, needle, offset): int|false

Finds the position of the first occurrence of a substring. Alias for strpos.

{{ indexOf('Hello World', 'World') }} {# Output: 6 #}

{% if indexOf(email, '@') %}
    Valid email format
{% endif %}

{# With offset - start searching from position 5 #}
{{ indexOf('Hello Hello', 'Hello', 5) }} {# Output: 6 #}

lastIndexOf(haystack, needle, offset): int|false

Finds the position of the last occurrence of a substring. Alias for strrpos.

{% set filename = "document.backup.pdf" %}
{% set lastDot = lastIndexOf(filename, '.') %}
{# lastDot = 15 #}

{# Get file extension #}
{% set ext = filename | slice(lastIndexOf(filename, '.') + 1) %}
{# ext = "pdf" #}

wordwrap(string, width, break, cut): string

Wraps a string to a given number of characters.

{% set longText = "This is a very long line that needs to be wrapped" %}
{{ wordwrap(longText, 20, '<br>', false) }}

similar_text(string1, string2): int

Returns the number of matching characters between two strings.

{% set similarity = similar_text('Hello', 'Hallo') %}
{# similarity = 4 #}

String Testing Functions

contains(string, substring): bool

Checks if a string contains a substring.

{# Check file types #}
{% set document = cms.file('manual') %}
{% if contains(document.file, '.pdf') %}
    <span class="file-type pdf">PDF Document</span>
{% elseif contains(document.file, '.doc') %}
    <span class="file-type doc">Word Document</span>
{% endif %}

{# Filter posts by content #}
{% for post in cms.objects('blog') %}
    {% if contains(post.content | lower, 'tutorial') %}
        <article class="tutorial-post">
            <span class="badge">Tutorial</span>
            <h2>{{ post.title }}</h2>
        </article>
    {% endif %}
{% endfor %}

{# Check for external links #}
{% for link in cms.objects('links') %}
    <a href="{{ link.url }}"
       {{ contains(link.url, 'http') ? 'target="_blank" rel="noopener"' : '' }}>
        {{ link.title }}
        {% if contains(link.url, 'http') %}
            <span class="external-icon">↗</span>
        {% endif %}
    </a>
{% endfor %}

startsWith(string, prefix): bool

Checks if a string starts with a specific substring.

{# Protocol-aware link handling #}
{% for link in cms.objects('social-links') %}
    {% if startsWith(link.url, 'http') %}
        <a href="{{ link.url }}" target="_blank">{{ link.title }}</a>
    {% else %}
        <a href="https://{{ link.url }}" target="_blank">{{ link.title }}</a>
    {% endif %}
{% endfor %}

{# File path handling #}
{% set upload = cms.file('document') %}
{% if startsWith(upload.file, '/') %}
    <a href="{{ upload.file }}">Download</a>
{% else %}
    <a href="/uploads/{{ upload.file }}">Download</a>
{% endif %}

{# CSS class conditionals #}
{% for page in navigation %}
    <a href="{{ page.url }}"
       class="{{ startsWith(page.url, '/admin') ? 'admin-link' : 'public-link' }}">
        {{ page.title }}
    </a>
{% endfor %}

endsWith(string, suffix): bool

Checks if a string ends with a specific substring.

{# File extension detection #}
{% for file in cms.depot('downloads') %}
    <div class="file-item">
        {% if endsWith(file.filename | lower, '.pdf') %}
            <i class="icon-pdf"></i>
        {% elseif endsWith(file.filename | lower, '.jpg') or endsWith(file.filename | lower, '.png') %}
            <i class="icon-image"></i>
        {% elseif endsWith(file.filename | lower, '.zip') %}
            <i class="icon-archive"></i>
        {% else %}
            <i class="icon-file"></i>
        {% endif %}
        <span>{{ file.filename }}</span>
    </div>
{% endfor %}

{# URL handling #}
{% for link in cms.objects('resources') %}
    <a href="{{ link.url }}"
       {{ endsWith(link.url, '.pdf') ? 'download' : '' }}>
        {{ link.title }}
        {% if endsWith(link.url, '.pdf') %}
            <span class="download-icon">⬇</span>
        {% endif %}
    </a>
{% endfor %}

Hashing Functions

md5(string): string

Generates an MD5 hash of a string.

{{ md5('hello@example.com') }}
{# Useful for Gravatar URLs #}
<img src="https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/{{ md5(user.email | lower | trim) }}">

sha1(string): string

Generates a SHA1 hash of a string.

{{ sha1('some-data') }}

Utility Functions

uniqid(): string

Generates unique identifiers for HTML elements and temporary values.

{# Unique form field IDs #}
{% set fieldId = uniqid() %}
<label for="email-{{ fieldId }}">Email Address</label>
<input type="email" id="email-{{ fieldId }}" name="email">

{# Unique modal IDs #}
{% for product in cms.objects('products') %}
    {% set modalId = uniqid() %}
    <button data-modal="#modal-{{ modalId }}">View {{ product.name }}</button>
    <div id="modal-{{ modalId }}" class="modal">
        <h2>{{ product.name }}</h2>
        <p>{{ product.description }}</p>
    </div>
{% endfor %}

buildQuery(array): string

Generates a URL-encoded query string from an array. Alias for http_build_query.

{% set params = {page: 2, sort: 'date', order: 'desc'} %}
<a href="/blog?{{ buildQuery(params) }}">Page 2</a>
{# Output: /blog?page=2&sort=date&order=desc #}

{# Build search URL with filters #}
{% set filters = {category: 'tech', author: 'joe', featured: true} %}
<a href="/search?{{ buildQuery(filters) }}">View Results</a>

Type Checking Functions

typeof(variable): string

Returns the type of a variable as a string. Alias for gettype.

{{ typeof('hello') }}   {# Output: string #}
{{ typeof(42) }}        {# Output: integer #}
{{ typeof([1, 2, 3]) }} {# Output: array #}
{{ typeof(true) }}      {# Output: boolean #}
{{ typeof(null) }}      {# Output: NULL #}

{# Conditional rendering based on type #}
{% if typeof(value) == 'array' %}
    {% for item in value %}{{ item }}{% endfor %}
{% else %}
    {{ value }}
{% endif %}

istype(variable, type): bool

Checks if a variable is of a specific type.

{# Safe data handling #}
{% set config = cms.objects('settings', 'site-config') %}

{% if istype(config.menu, 'array') %}
    <nav>
        {% for item in config.menu %}
            <a href="{{ item.url }}">{{ item.title }}</a>
        {% endfor %}
    </nav>
{% endif %}

{# Form field handling #}
{% for field in schema.properties %}
    {% if istype(field.default, 'string') %}
        <input type="text" name="{{ field.name }}" value="{{ field.default }}">
    {% elseif istype(field.default, 'array') %}
        <select name="{{ field.name }}[]" multiple>
            {% for option in field.default %}
                <option value="{{ option }}">{{ option }}</option>
            {% endfor %}
        </select>
    {% elseif istype(field.default, 'boolean') %}
        <input type="checkbox" name="{{ field.name }}" {{ field.default ? 'checked' : '' }}>
    {% endif %}
{% endfor %}

Array Sorting Functions

ksort(array): array

Sorts an array by key in ascending order.

{% set data = {z: 'last', a: 'first', m: 'middle'} %}
{% set sorted = ksort(data) %}
{# Result: {a: 'first', m: 'middle', z: 'last'} #}

krsort(array): array

Sorts an array by key in descending order.

{% set data = {a: 'first', m: 'middle', z: 'last'} %}
{% set sorted = krsort(data) %}
{# Result: {z: 'last', m: 'middle', a: 'first'} #}

sortByKey(array, key): array

Sorts an array of objects/arrays by a specific key.

{% set products = cms.objects('products') %}
{% set sortedByPrice = sortByKey(products, 'price') %}

{% for product in sortedByPrice %}
    <div class="product">
        <h3>{{ product.name }}</h3>
        <span class="price">${{ product.price }}</span>
    </div>
{% endfor %}

{# Sort users by name #}
{% set users = sortByKey(cms.objects('users'), 'name') %}

Debugging Functions

print_r(variable): string

Pretty-prints variables for debugging.

{% if app.debug %}
    <details>
        <summary>Debug: Post Data</summary>
        {{ print_r(post) }}
    </details>
{% endif %}

var_dump(variable): string

Detailed variable dump with type information.

{% if app.debug %}
    <div class="debug-dump">
        {{ var_dump(complexObject) }}
    </div>
{% endif %}

json_pretty(variable): string

Outputs a variable as formatted JSON.

{% if cms.config('debug') %}
    <pre>{{ json_pretty(data) }}</pre>
{% endif %}

{# Output:
{
    "name": "John",
    "email": "john@example.com",
    "active": true
}
#}

parseJson(string): array

Decodes JSON strings to arrays. Alias for json_decode.

{# Process stored JSON configuration #}
{% set settings = cms.object('config', 'app-settings') %}
{% set config = parseJson(settings.json_config) %}

<div class="app-config">
    {% for key, value in config %}
        <div class="config-item">
            <strong>{{ key | humanize }}:</strong> {{ value }}
        </div>
    {% endfor %}
</div>

{# Parse API response #}
{% set data = parseJson(apiResponse) %}
{% if data %}
    <h2>{{ data.title }}</h2>
    <p>{{ data.description }}</p>
{% endif %}

File System Functions

imageExists(image): bool

Checks if an image file exists.

{# Safe image display with fallbacks #}
{% set product = cms.object('product', 'smartphone') %}

{% if imageExists(product.image) %}
    <img src="{{ product.image.url }}" alt="{{ product.image.alt }}">
{% else %}
    <img src="/assets/placeholder-product.jpg" alt="Product image unavailable">
{% endif %}

{# Gallery with existence check #}
{% set gallery = cms.object('gallery', 'portfolio') %}
<div class="gallery">
    {% for image in gallery.images %}
        {% if imageExists(image) %}
            <figure>
                <img src="{{ image.url | resize(400, 300) }}" alt="{{ image.alt }}">
                <figcaption>{{ image.caption }}</figcaption>
            </figure>
        {% endif %}
    {% endfor %}
</div>

fileExists(file): bool

Checks if a file exists.

{# Download links with existence check #}
{% set manual = cms.file('user-manual') %}

{% if fileExists(manual) %}
    <a href="{{ manual.file }}" download class="download-btn">
        Download Manual ({{ manual.file | filesize }})
    </a>
{% else %}
    <span class="unavailable">Manual currently unavailable</span>
{% endif %}

svgSymbol(id): string

Creates an SVG element that references a symbol defined in an SVG sprite.

{# Basic icon usage #}
{{ svgSymbol('icon-home') }}
{# Outputs: <svg><use href="#icon-home"></use></svg> #}

{# Navigation with icons #}
<nav class="main-nav">
    <a href="/">{{ svgSymbol('icon-home') }} Home</a>
    <a href="/about">{{ svgSymbol('icon-info') }} About</a>
    <a href="/contact">{{ svgSymbol('icon-mail') }} Contact</a>
</nav>

SVG Sprite Setup: To use this function, define your SVG symbols in a sprite:

<!-- Place this in your template, typically hidden. -->
<!-- Use the svgSymbol filter as well. -->
<svg style="display: none;">
    {{ cms.svg('home') | svgToSymbol('icon-home') }}
    {{ cms.svg('mail') | svgToSymbol('icon-mail') }}
</svg>

Media Embedding Functions

embed(url, options)

Auto-detects and embeds various media types.

{# Auto-embed various media types #}
{% for media in cms.objects('media-links') %}
    <div class="media-embed">
        {{ embed(media.url, {
            width: 800,
            height: 450,
            autoplay: false,
            responsive: true
        }) }}
    </div>
{% endfor %}

{# Blog post with media embeds #}
{% set post = cms.object('blog', 'video-tutorial') %}
<article>
    <h1>{{ post.title }}</h1>

    {% if post.video_url %}
        <div class="post-media">
            {{ embed(post.video_url, {
                width: '100%',
                height: 315,
                autoplay: false
            }) }}
        </div>
    {% endif %}

    <div class="content">{{ post.content | markdown }}</div>
</article>

youtube(url, options)

Embeds YouTube videos with specific options.

{# YouTube playlist #}
<div class="playlist">
    {% for video in playlist.videos %}
        <div class="video-card">
            <h4>{{ video.title }}</h4>
            {{ youtube(video.youtube_url, {
                width: 560,
                height: 315,
                rel: 0,
                showinfo: 0,
                autoplay: 0,
                modestbranding: 1,
                privacy_enhanced: true
            }) }}
            <p>{{ video.description }}</p>
        </div>
    {% endfor %}
</div>

vimeo(url, options)

Embeds Vimeo videos with specific options.

{# Vimeo video gallery #}
{% set videos = cms.objects('video-gallery') %}
<div class="video-grid">
    {% for video in videos %}
        <div class="video-item">
            <h3>{{ video.title }}</h3>
            {{ vimeo(video.vimeo_url, {
                width: 560,
                height: 315,
                autoplay: false,
                loop: false,
                portrait: false,
                title: false,
                byline: false,
                dnt: true
            }) }}
        </div>
    {% endfor %}
</div>

video(url, options)

Creates HTML5 video players.

{# Video testimonials #}
<div class="testimonials">
    {% for testimonial in testimonials %}
        <div class="testimonial">
            {{ video(testimonial.video_file, {
                width: 400,
                height: 300,
                controls: true,
                poster: testimonial.thumbnail,
                preload: 'metadata'
            }) }}
            <h3>{{ testimonial.client_name }}</h3>
        </div>
    {% endfor %}
</div>

{# Hero background video #}
<section class="hero-video">
    {{ video(hero.background_video, {
        width: '100%',
        height: '100%',
        autoplay: true,
        muted: true,
        loop: true,
        controls: false,
        class: 'hero-bg-video'
    }) }}
</section>

audio(url, options)

Creates HTML5 audio players.

{# Podcast episode player #}
<div class="podcast-player">
    <h2>{{ episode.title }}</h2>
    {{ audio(episode.audio_file, {
        controls: true,
        preload: 'metadata',
        class: 'podcast-audio'
    }) }}
    <p>{{ episode.description }}</p>
</div>

iframe(url)

Creates iframe embeds for external content.

{# External form embed #}
<div class="contact-section">
    <h2>Contact Us</h2>
    {{ iframe(contact.form_url) }}
</div>

{# Map embed #}
<div class="map-container">
    {{ iframe(location.map_embed_url) }}
</div>

Access Control Functions

Total CMS provides comprehensive access control functions for checking user permissions in templates. These allow you to conditionally show/hide UI elements based on the current user's access groups.

Quick Reference

{# Collections #}
{% if cms.canAccessCollection('blog', 'GET') %}...{% endif %}
{% if cms.canAccessCollectionsMethod('POST') %}...{% endif %}

{# Schemas #}
{% if cms.canAccessSchema('blog', 'GET') %}...{% endif %}
{% if cms.canAccessSchemasMethod('POST') %}...{% endif %}

{# Templates #}
{% if cms.canAccessTemplatesMethod('GET') %}...{% endif %}

{# Settings #}
{% if cms.canAccessSetting('cache', 'GET') %}...{% endif %}
{% if cms.canAccessSettingsMethod('POST') %}...{% endif %}

{# Utils #}
{% if cms.canAccessUtil('cache-manager', 'GET') %}...{% endif %}
{% if cms.canAccessUtilsMethod('POST') %}...{% endif %}

{# Boolean permissions #}
{% if cms.canAccessMailer() %}...{% endif %}
{% if cms.canAccessPlayground() %}...{% endif %}
{% if cms.canAccessDocs() %}...{% endif %}

{# Admin check #}
{% if cms.isAdmin() %}...{% endif %}

For complete documentation including practical examples, access group configuration, and best practices, see the Access Groups Documentation.

Related Documentation

• Access Groups - Complete access control documentation
• Twig Variables - Available variables in templates
• Twig Filters - Available filters for data transformation
• CMS Grid Tag - Grid rendering system

Remember: These functions help you create dynamic, robust templates that handle various data types and conditions gracefully!