Snippets

Snippets are reusable page fragments that can be embedded in multiple pages. They allow you to define a widget tree once and include it wherever needed, promoting consistency and reducing duplication.

CREATE SNIPPET

CREATE [OR REPLACE] SNIPPET <Module>.<Name> [FOLDER '<path>']
[(
  Params: ( $Param: Module.Entity [, ...] )
)]
{
  <widget-tree>
}

Basic Snippet

A snippet without parameters:

CREATE SNIPPET MyModule.Footer FOLDER 'Snippets'
{
  CONTAINER cFooter (Class: 'app-footer') {
    DYNAMICTEXT txtCopyright (Content: '2024 My Company. All rights reserved.')
  }
};

Snippet with Parameters

Snippets can accept entity parameters, similar to pages:

CREATE SNIPPET MyModule.CustomerCard
(
  Params: ( $Customer: MyModule.Customer )
)
{
  CONTAINER cCard (Class: 'card') {
    DATAVIEW dvCustomer (DataSource: $Customer) {
      DYNAMICTEXT txtName (Content: '{1}', Attribute: Name)
      DYNAMICTEXT txtEmail (Content: '{1}', Attribute: Email)
      ACTIONBUTTON btnEdit (
        Caption: 'Edit',
        Action: SHOW PAGE MyModule.Customer_Edit,
        ButtonStyle: Primary
      )
    }
  }
};

Using Snippets in Pages

Embed a snippet in a page using the SNIPPETCALL widget:

CREATE PAGE MyModule.Home
(
  Title: 'Home',
  Layout: Atlas_Core.Atlas_Default
)
{
  CONTAINER cMain {
    SNIPPETCALL scFooter (Snippet: MyModule.Footer)
  }
};

A snippet with parameters takes its arguments in Params:, one Param = $variable each. The variable is a parameter of the calling page, or — for a call inside another snippet — a parameter of that snippet. A parameter the enclosing data context satisfies is left out:

SNIPPETCALL scCard (Snippet: MyModule.CustomerCard, Params: (Customer = $Customer))

DESCRIBE prints the arguments in this form, so a snippet call keeps its mappings through describe and exec.

Inspecting Snippets

-- List all snippets in a module
LIST SNIPPETS IN MyModule;

-- View full MDL definition
DESCRIBE SNIPPET MyModule.CustomerCard;

DROP SNIPPET

DROP SNIPPET MyModule.Footer;

ALTER SNIPPET

Snippets support the same in-place modification operations as pages. See ALTER PAGE / ALTER SNIPPET:

ALTER SNIPPET MyModule.CustomerCard {
  SET (Caption: 'View Details') ON btnEdit;
  INSERT AFTER txtEmail {
    DYNAMICTEXT txtPhone (Content: '{1}', Attribute: Phone)
  };
  INSERT INTO ctnActions {   -- append as the container's last child
    ACTIONBUTTON btnMore (Caption: 'More', Action: NOTHING)
  }
};

mxcli Documentation