I am using handlebars.js templates with node and express. I am making a numbered list using the {{@index}}
template tag, however since index starts at 0 and I want to start from one, it seems I need to use a custom helper. I've seen plenty of posts regarding this and I've found the following code:
Handlebars.registerHelper("inc", function(value, options)
{
return parseInt(value) + 1;
});
{{#each score}}
<li class="list-group-item">
<div id="place"> {{inc @index}}   </div>
<div class="wordOrName">{{ player_name }}</div>
<div class="number">{{ score }}</div></li>
{{/each}}
What I cannot seem to find is where the helper register function is supposed to go. I've tried putting it inside in the template itself and in various other places but I still keep getting
Error: Missing helper: "inc"
at model.<anonymous>
Ideally I'd like to have the helper in a separate file helpers.js but I don't have the slightest idea of how to get handlebars to recognize it.
EDIT:
Handlebars is included in the project with the following code inside the node file index.js:
// view engine
app.set('views', __dirname + '/views/');
app.set('view engine', 'handlebars');
app.engine('handlebars', engines.handlebars);
It appears impossible to include the helper function within the template itself.
I figured it out...The helpers indeed need to be registered in the node app file like so:
// view engine
app.set('views', __dirname + '/views/');
app.set('view engine', 'handlebars');
var hbs = require('handlebars');
hbs.registerHelper("inc", function(value, options)
{
return parseInt(value) + 1;
});
app.engine('handlebars', engines.handlebars);
I wish this info was more easily accessible, but there it is.
Register a math handlebar and perform all mathematical operations.
app.engine('handlebars', exphbs({
helpers:{
// Function to do basic mathematical operation in handlebar
math: function(lvalue, operator, rvalue) {lvalue = parseFloat(lvalue);
rvalue = parseFloat(rvalue);
return {
"+": lvalue + rvalue,
"-": lvalue - rvalue,
"*": lvalue * rvalue,
"/": lvalue / rvalue,
"%": lvalue % rvalue
}[operator];
}
}}));
app.set('view engine', 'handlebars');
Then you can directly perform operation in your view.
{{#each myArray}}
<span>{{math @index "+" 1}}</span>
{{/each}}
You could just paste the helpers inside a separate file, as you said something like "helper.js" and include it in your HTML page after you had imported Handlebars JS file.
<script src="handlebars.min.js"></script>
<script src="helper.js"></script>
You can also check out Swag (https://github.com/elving/swag) It contains a lot of helpful handlebar helpers.
You don't need to add require('handlebars')
just to get helpers working. You can stick to express-handlebars. Define helpers in a config object like so var myConfig = { helpers: {x: function() {return "x";}} }
and pass it to the express-handlebars-object like so: require('express-handlebars').create({myConfig})
Here's a fully functional example with some helpers and some view directories configured.
var express = require('express');
var exphbs = require('express-handlebars');
var app = express();
var hbs = exphbs.create({
helpers: {
test: function () { return "Lorem ipsum" },
json: function (value, options) {
return JSON.stringify(value);
}
},
defaultLayout: 'main',
partialsDir: ['views/partials/']
});
app.engine('handlebars', hbs.engine);
app.set('view engine', 'handlebars');
app.set('views', path.join(__dirname, 'views'));
My understanding is that the object returned from require('express-handlebars');
is not a "real" handlebars object. So you can't rely on some functions, and instead you have to pass stuff like helpers via a config object to the .create()
function
A friend of mine suggested this as well, and it worked!
<h2>Success!</h2>
{{#each data}}
<div>
Name: {{ LocalizedName }}<br>
Rank: {{ Rank }}<br>
</div>
{{/each}}