What is required for Display Templates?

Yesterday we had the first Biwug Quiz. One of the questions was the following:

Display Templates require one of the following options:

1. HTML
2. JavaScript
3. JavaScript & HTML
4. XSL

Everyone has answered that you need the JavaScript and HTML file, but this isn’t correct. The correct one was number two JavaScript. To clarify the answer I will show you why you don’t need the HTML file.

The HTML file only makes the creation process of display template easier.

If you create a new site collection from the team site definition, you will only have the JavaScript files available in the master page gallery.

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The HTML versions become available once you have activated the SharePoint Server Publishing Infrastructure feature.

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If you aren’t working with the HTML file (what I don’t recommend) you will have to do some manual actions.

First of all, start by making a copy of one of the existing display templates. I choose to create a copy of the Item_TwoLines.js file.

The next step is to modify the properties for that file like this:

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Once you have modified these properties, it is time to change the template a bit.

To start you will need to update your template URLs in the display template because the reference will be set to the old file.

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ctx['DisplayTemplateData']['TemplateUrl']='~sitecollection\u002f_catalogs\u002fmasterpage\u002fDisplay Templates\u002fContent Web Parts\u002fItem_TwoLines_Custom.js';

Srch.U.registerRenderTemplateByName("~sitecollection\u002f_catalogs\u002fmasterpage\u002fDisplay Templates\u002fContent Web Parts\u002fItem_TwoLines_Custom.js", DisplayTemplate_dee7d9226aa44ed7b709d342fec837ee);

$includeLanguageScript("~sitecollection\u002f_catalogs\u002fmasterpage\u002fDisplay Templates\u002fContent Web Parts\u002fItem_TwoLines_Custom.js", "~sitecollection/_catalogs/masterpage/Display Templates/Language Files/{Locale}/CustomStrings.js");

RegisterModuleInit(Srch.U.replaceUrlTokens("~sitecollection\u002f_catalogs\u002fmasterpage\u002fDisplay Templates\u002fContent Web Parts\u002fItem_TwoLines_Custom.js"), RegisterTemplate_dee7d9226aa44ed7b709d342fec837ee);

Then it is up to you what you want to modify in the template, I added a text element that shows “My file extension is: FileExtension”.

This is the end result:

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