File and Code Templates
File templates are specifications of the default contents to be generated when creating a new file. Depending on the type of file you are creating, templates provide initial code and formatting that is expected to be in all files of that type (according to industry standards, your corporate policy, or for other reasons).
PhpStorm provides predefined templates for all supported file types, which are suggested when you are creating a new file.
File templates are managed on the page of PhpStorm settings (Ctrl+Alt+S) This settings page can be configured in one of two scopes:
-
The Default scope controls templates that pertain to the entire workspace. They are stored in the IDE configuration directory under fileTemplates.
-
The Project scope controls templates on a per-project basis. They are stored in the project folder under .idea/fileTemplates. These templates can be shared among team members.
By default, the list of templates contains only predefined templates provided by PhpStorm. Some of them are internal, which means they cannot be deleted or renamed. The names of internal templates are shown in bold. The names of templates that you modified, as well as custom templates that you created manually, are shown in blue.
PhpStorm uses several types of templates, separated into the following tabs:
The Files tab contains file templates that can be used for creating new files.
The Includes tab contains templates of reusable content that can be inserted into file templates (for example, as headers).
The Code tab contains internal templates for code fragments (snippets) used by PhpStorm for generating various constructs. You can edit the available snippets on this tab, but you cannot create new ones.
The following procedures describe how to create file templates. Similar procedures can be used for creating include templates.
To create a new file template
In the Settings/Preferences dialog (Ctrl+Alt+S), click File and Code Templates under Editor. The File and Code Templates page opens.
On the Files tab, click Create Template (
) and specify the name, file extension, and body of the template. Apply the changes and close the dialog box.
To copy an existing file template
In the Settings/Preferences dialog (Ctrl+Alt+S), click File and Code Templates under Editor. The File and Code Templates page opens.
On the Files tab, click Copy Template (
) and modify the name, file extension, and body of the template as necessary. Apply the changes and close the dialog box.
To save a file as a template
Open a file in the editor.
Choose Tools | Save File as Template from the menu.
In the Save File as Template dialog box that opens, specify the new template name and edit the body, if necessary.
Apply the changes and close the dialog box.
Syntax
File and code templates are written in the Velocity Template Language (VTL), which enables using the following constructs:
Fixed text (markup, code, comments, etc.), which is rendered as-is.
Variables, which are replaced by their values.
Various directives, including #parse,
#set,#if, and others.
Fore more information, see the VTL reference guide.
The following example shows the default template for creating a PHP class in PhpStorm:
<?php
#parse("PHP File Header.php")
#if (${NAMESPACE})
namespace ${NAMESPACE};
#end
class ${NAME} {
}This template is organized as follows:
The
#parsedirective is used to insert the contents of thePHP File Header.phptemplate.The
#ifdirective is used to check whether the namespace is not empty. If it's not, its name is added to thenamespacestatement as the${NAMESPACE}value.The template then declares a class with the name passed as the
${NAME}value (name of the new file).
When you create a new PHP class based on the template, a file with contents similar to the following is generated:
<?php
/**
* Created by PhpStorm.
* User: jetbrains
* Date: 03/07/2018
* Time: 16:16
*/
namespace My\Name;
class MyClass
{
}