> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://playground.e107sk.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://playground.e107sk.com/e107-aragorn-theme/theme-layouts/layouts.md).

# Overview

**Status: done (100%)** — refinements remain possible; the page-header markup in particular may later move into `tablestyle()` if a suitable template mechanism is found.

## How layouts work

Each layout registered in `theme.xml` has one file:

```
layouts/<name>_layout.html
```

The file contains the layout's own chrome and `{---}` where the page content renders. Core inserts the file at the `{---LAYOUT---}` marker of [theme.html](/e107-aragorn-theme/theme-skeleton/skeleton/theme-html.md), **inside** the shared `<div class="page {PAGE_CLASS}">` wrapper — layout files therefore start at `.page-wrapper` (or their `aside`), never with `.page` itself.

{% hint style="warning" %}
Every layout declared in `theme.xml` must have its file, and `theme.html` must exist too — if either is missing, `e_theme::loadLayout()` silently falls back to legacy `theme.php` layouts.
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="warning" %}
The layout renderer parses **line by line** — keep every shortcode on a single line in layout files and partials.
{% endhint %}

## Current layouts

| Layout                                                                  | custompages        | Purpose                                   |
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------ | ----------------------------------------- |
| [`full`](/e107-aragorn-theme/theme-layouts/layouts/full.md)             | —                  | full page, horizontal header, boxed width |
| [`auth`](/e107-aragorn-theme/theme-layouts/layouts/auth.md)             | `login fpw signup` | centered auth pages                       |
| [`page`](/e107-aragorn-theme/theme-layouts/layouts/page.md) *(default)* | `page faq`         | boxed page with the magic page header     |
| [`sidebar`](/e107-aragorn-theme/theme-layouts/layouts/sidebar.md)       | `news`             | magic page header + right menu column     |
| [`home`](/e107-aragorn-theme/theme-layouts/layouts/home.md)             | `FRONTPAGE`        | full-width marketing front page           |
| [`memberdesk`](/e107-aragorn-theme/theme-layouts/layouts/memberdesk.md) | —                  | member area, left vertical sidebar        |
| [`raw`](/e107-aragorn-theme/theme-layouts/layouts/raw.md)               | —                  | bare output                               |

Each layout has its own page with the exact structure and rules.

## Magic shortcodes — `{---CAPTION---}` and `{---BREADCRUMB---}`

The `page` and `sidebar` layouts render a Tabler `.page-header` whose content comes from core **magic shortcodes** (`e_render::getMagicShortcodes()`):

* `{---CAPTION---}` — the caption of the page's **main render**,
* `{---BREADCRUMB---}` — the current breadcrumb, by default rendered via `e107::getForm()->breadcrumb()`.

Which render is "main" is designated by `{SETSTYLE=default}` — that is why those two layouts use `default` before `{---}` while the others use `card`.

{% hint style="danger" %}
Never switch the `page` or `sidebar` layout to `{SETSTYLE=card}` — the magic shortcodes are fed by the `default`-styled main render, and with `card` the page header stays empty.
{% endhint %}

Core also offers theme hooks for customizing the output: if `theme_shortcodes` defines `sc_caption($caption)` or `sc_breadcrumb($bread)`, their return value replaces the marker instead of the default rendering.

## `{SETSTYLE}` styles

Which style each layout uses and what `tablestyle()` renders for it is documented on [theme.php](/e107-aragorn-theme/theme-skeleton/skeleton/theme-php.md). Rule of thumb: `card` for plain content layouts, `default` only for the layouts with the magic page header.

## Per-layout behaviour without per-layout files

* **Body classes** — `{BODY_CLASS}` on the body tag (see [theme.html](/e107-aragorn-theme/theme-skeleton/skeleton/theme-html.md)).
* **Page wrapper classes** — `{PAGE_CLASS}` on the shared `.page` wrapper (`auth` → `page-center`).
* **Header/footer variants** — the `{HEADER}` / `{FOOTER}` shortcode switches: `auth` and `memberdesk` suppress the header, `memberdesk` loads `footers/footer_small.html` (see [Header & footer partials](/e107-aragorn-theme/theme-layouts/header-footer.md)).

{% hint style="danger" %}
In all three shortcodes, `THEME_LAYOUT` must be read via `defset()` **at call time, inside the method**. The theme shortcode batch is a singleton created on the first `getScBatch('theme')` call anywhere — a plugin or menu can instantiate it *before* `e_theme::initThemeLayout()` has defined the constant, so constructor caching works only sometimes.
{% endhint %}