How to include twig in the editor? e.g. Shortcodes for dynamic content

Question

I would like to display dynamic content in the middle of a text block. For example, a list of entries pulled in from the backend, in the middle of content.

In Wordpress we can use Shortcodes. Does Craft have something similar?

Can I just add an include statement to include a template? (I cant get this working using normal twig include code).

I could create a new field for someone to add in in between two other text block fields, but its quote over the top for what should be a simple include statement to include a template.

Thanks!

Answer 1

The typical 'Craft' way of doing this would be via a Matrix field instead of a single text block field, so that editors can sandwich the dynamic content (which would be its own block type) in between whatever other block types they select. That way is very powerful, flexible, extensible, and clean...

However, assuming migrating your content to a Matrix setup would be too onerous or undesirable for other reasons, there's nothing to stop you creating your own basic shortcode replacement functionality via Twig's replace filter. For example, in your body field you might insert arbitrary markers like [list-of-entries]... then in the template that outputs the field, you can go to town with defining what each shortcode represents and then replace them like this:

{% set listOfEntries %}
    <ul>
        {% for item in craft.entries.section('something').all %}
            <li>{{ item.title }}</li>
        {% endfor %}
    </ul>
{% endset %}

{% set parsedBody = entry.body|replace({
    "[dynamic-address-injection]" : craft.entries.section('something').one().addressField,
    "[video]" : entry.videos.one().embedCode,
    "[list-of-entries]" : listOfEntries
}) %}

{{ parsedBody }}

Answer 2

There's also the Shortcodes plugin