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# Article custom

On this page:

- Syntax
- Attributes
- Examples
- Genealogy

## Syntax

    <txp:article_custom />

The article_custom tag is a single or a container tag that provides a variety of custom options for sorting, selecting, and displaying articles (the tag will be replaced with one or more articles).

If used as a container, it must be specified as an opening and closing pair of tags, like this:

    <txp:article_custom>
        ...contained statements...
    </txp:article_custom>

This is equivalent to putting the contained statements into a form named ‘my_form’ and using `<txp:article_custom form="my_form" />`.

Unlike the article tag, `<txp:article_custom>` will always return an article list and is not context-sensitive. This means while the article tag can only see posts within the currently viewed section/category/author and so forth, `<txp:article_custom />` can see all posts from all sections, categories and authors unless you restrict it via attributes (see below), thus context-sensitive navigation tags, such as older and newer, will not work.

`<txp:article_custom />` offers many additional attributes that `<txp:article />` does not.. but only `<txp:article />` will produce the full single article page. If you have only `<txp:article_custom />` on a page, rather than `<txp:article />`, then you will never reach the permalinked article page - you’ll always get an article list page.

However, you can have the added features and functionality of `<txp:article_custom />`, while keeping the necessary `<txp:article />` in full force by using conditionals: `<txp:if_individual_article>` and `<txp:if_article_list>`, e.g.:

    <txp:if_article_list>
        <txp:article_custom form="myform" limit="10" category="ideas" section="article" sort="Posted desc" />
    </txp:if_article_list>

    <txp:if_individual_article>
        <txp:article />
    </txp:if_individual_article>

## Attributes

Tag will accept the following attributes (case-sensitive):

`allowoverride="boolean"`
  Whether to use override forms for the generated article list.
  Values: `0` (no) or `1` (yes).
  Default: `0`.
`author="author name"`
  Restrict to articles by specified author(s) login name.
  Values: (comma separated list of) author login name(s).
  Default: unset, retrieves from all authors.
`category="category name"`
  Restrict to articles from specified category/categories. Note: the category names may be different to the title you typed when you created the category, as the names are sanitized for URL use. Check the Categories administration panel to ensure you are using the correct names.
  Values: (comma separated list of) category name(s).
  Default: unset, retrieves from all categories.
`customfieldname="value"`
  Restrict to articles with specified value for specified custom field name. Replace customfieldname with the actual name of the custom field.
  Important: Using dashes `-` or spaces may cause errors or render this feature ineffectual. Underscores in both custom field names and values are confirmed to work.
  Default: unset.
`excerpted="boolean"`
  Restrict to articles with/without an excerpt.
  Values: `0` (no, return all) or `1` (yes, return only those containing an excerpt).
  Default: `0`.
`exclude="article id(s)"`
  Exclude a specific article or list of articles (each ID separated by a comma).
  Default: unset.
`expired="boolean"`
  Whether to include articles that have expired or not.
  Values: `0` (no, don’t include expired articles) or `1` (yes, include expired articles).
  Default: Setting of preference ‘Publish expired articles’.
`form="form name"`
  Use specified form template to process each article.
  Default: `default`.
`id="article ID"`
  Display the specific article or list of articles (each ID separated by a comma).
  Important: When a list is supplied, this does not imply a sort order (see Example 6 below).
  Default: unset.
`keywords="keyword(s)"`
  Restrict to articles with specified keyword(s).
  Default: unset.
`limit="integer"`
  The number of articles to display.
  Default: `10`.
`month="yyyy"/"yyyy-mm"/"yyyy-mm-dd"`
  Restrict to articles posted within the specified year/month/day.
  Default: unset.
`offset="integer"`
  The number of articles to skip.
  Default: `0`.
`section="section name"`
  Restrict to articles from specified section(s).
  Values: (comma separated list of) section name(s).
  Default: unset, retrieves from all sections.
`sort="sort value(s)"`
  How to sort resulting list.
  Values:
  `authorid` (author name).
  `category1`.
  `category2`.
  `comments_count`.
  `custom_n` where `n` is the number of your custom field - for numeric values use `(custom_n+0)`.
  `expires` (expiry date).
  `id` (article id#).
  `image` (article image id#).
  `keywords`.
  `lastmod` (date last modified).
  `lastmodid` (author name of last modification).
  `posted` (date posted).
  `rand()` (random).
  `section`.
  `status`.
  `title`.
  `url_title`.
  Each field in the `textpattern` database table can be used as a sort key.
  Default: `posted desc`.
`status="status"`
  Restrict to articles with the specified `status`.
  Values: `live` or `sticky`.
  Default: `live`.
`time="time"`
  Restrict to articles posted within specified timeframe.
  Values: `past`, `future` or `any` (both `past` and `future`).
  Default: `past`.

### Common presentational attributes

These attributes, which affect presentation, are shared by many tags. Note that default values can vary among tags.

`break="value"`
  Where value is an HTML element, specified without brackets (e.g. `break="li"`) or some string to separate list items.
  Default: `br` (but see break cross-reference for exceptions).
`class="class name"`
  HTML `class` to apply to the `wraptag` attribute value.
  Default: tag name or unset (see class cross-reference).
`label="text"`
  Label prepended to item.
  Default: unset (but see label cross-reference for exceptions).
`labeltag="element"`
  HTML element to wrap (markup) label, specified without brackets (e.g. `labeltag="h3"`).
  Default: unset.
`wraptag="element"`
  HTML element to wrap (markup) list block, specified without brackets (e.g. `wraptag="ul"`).
  Default: unset (but see wraptag cross-reference for exceptions).

## Examples

### Example 1: Display 5 articles from a specific section on the homepage

To show 5 articles from a ‘news’ section within the homepage `default` page template (or the template you use for displaying your homepage), add:

    <txp:article_custom section="news" limit="5" form="homepage_articles" />

Then create an ‘article’ type form template called `homepage_articles`, containing:

    <article>
        <h1>
            <txp:title />
        </h1>
        <txp:if_article_image>
            <p>
                <txp:article_image />
            </p>
        </txp:if_article_image>
        <txp:body />
    </article>

Other tags used: article_image, body, if_article_image, title.

### Example 2: List articles published in specified month

    <txp:article_custom form="month_list" sort="Section asc" month="2004-14" />

This code will display a monthly list articles by section and in ascending order, between the years of 2004 and 2014. See Example 5 below for more information on article sorting.

### Example 3: Select by keyword

    <txp:article_custom sort="Posted desc" keywords="One" />

This code will display articles that have a keyword with a value `One`.

### Example 4a: Select by author (using single tag)

    <txp:article_custom form="author_list" author="Parkling" />

This code will display articles that have a authored by author with login name of `Parkling`. The referenced `author_list` article form might go thus:

    <p>
        <txp:permlink>
            <txp:title />
        </txp:permlink>
    </p>

Other tags used: permlink, title.

### Example 4b: Select by author (using container tag)

    <txp:article_custom author="Parkling">
        <p>
            <txp:permlink>
                <txp:title />
            </txp:permlink>
        </p>
    </txp:article_custom>

This is exactly equivalent to Example 3a, just using a container tag instead of a single tag with referenced form.

Other tags used: permlink, title.

### Example 5: Combined with custom fields

    <txp:article_custom colour="red" />

This code will display articles that have a custom field named `colour` with a value `red`.

### Example 6: Article sorting

    <txp:article_custom sort="AuthorID asc, Posted asc" />

Uses the `sort` attribute to define values by which to order article output. In this case two values are declared. `AuthorID asc` first orders articles alphabetically by author names, then `Posted desc` orders them by date published (`desc` meaning newest to oldest).

Why might you do it? Sorting is a powerful way to group articles (e.g. by author), and/or give priority to articles most recently published (typically better for your website visitors).

### Example 7: Select by article ID(s)

    <txp:article_custom id="81,73" />

Outputs articles specified by list of IDs, in this example that would be articles `81` and `73`. Order of articles may not match the order of the IDs in the list, that depends on what `sort` ordering you have specified, for example:

    <txp:article_custom id="81,73" sort="field(id,81,73)" />

Outputs articles specified by list of IDs, in the order given in the `sort` field.

## Genealogy

### Version 4.6.0

`exclude` attribute added.

### Version 4.5.0

`expired` attribute added.

### Version 4.0.7

Can be used as a container tag.
`id` attribute can take a comma-separated list of IDs.
`wraptag` and `break` attributes added.

### Version 4.0.6

Support added for comma separated lists for `section`, `category` and `author` attributes.

### Version 4.0.4

`listform` attribute deprecated (it never made a difference to `article_custom` anyway).
`sort` attribute added (replaces `sortby` and `sortdir` attributes).
`sortby` and `sortdir` attributes deprecated.

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