In the default setup of the SMS extension, when a Frontend user chooses to view the details of an individual sermon record, the accessible information is limited by the chosen Layout (Brief, Verbose, Series, or Customized). However, by using the Single Display, you can change the amount of information displayed on single views of a sermon record.

To utilize the Single Display option you must create an additional page, add and configure the SMS plugin on the new page, and change a few Static Template settings through the Constant Editor. (Refer to Step 5: Add and Configure the SMS plugin for a refresher on how to install the SMS plugin.)

The Latest Display limits the number of sermons displayed on the Frontend to the most current sermons. By default, this is set to the last twenty sermons, as determined by their occurrence dates. These defaults can be changed using the Constant Editor (see Layout Options in the Constant Editor).

To use the Latest Display, simply change the What to Display field in the SMS plugin to Latest.

This display option is similar to the SINGLE display. Both display the detail of only one SMS record at a time, but where the SINGLE display is used in conjunction with the LIST display, CURRENT can be used by itself, and will show the sermon or series record which has the "current" check box checked. (see Illustration 25)

Note: As of version 0.9.12 of the Sermon Management System, only the SMS  Series and SMS Sermons records support the "current" state.

Note: At any given time, only one SMS Sermons record can be set as current, and only one SMS Series record can be set as current. By setting a new record as current, this state is removed from the previous record.

The CURRENT display can be used by organizations that wish to manually control which sermon or series is being actively discussed or promoted - hence the current sermon or series. This allows future sermons or series to be input into the SMS and made visible throughout the site, while still maintaining the currently promoted sermon or series. By enabling the "current" check box on a record, the organization can control which record is shown by the CURRENT display.

This display option is identical to the CURRENT display, but instead of displaying the record marked as "current", the previously occurring record is displayed. The "previous" sermon is determined by the sermons occurrence date, and the "previous" series is determined by the series end date.

F.e. In the table below we have two example sermons records. The sermon with UID=72 is marked as the current, therefore the "previous" sermon is Joshua and Gideon, as it is the sermon occurring before the "current" sermon as determined by the occurrence date.

The PREVIOUS display allows an organization to provide a "Last Week's Sermon" page, or a "Previous Series" page.

Technical Stuff: Both the CURRENT and the PREVIOUS displays use the constant editor and TypoScript configuration options as the SINGLE display. Please customize either the CURRENT or PREVIOUS displays, as you would the SINGLE display.

Although there are a plethora of options in the Constant Editor, only a handful relate to the  layout of the SMS extension. We will look only at the Layout options in this section. For the other options, refer to the Performance Modifications section.

Tip: Once you have populated a dozen or more Sermon Records, we would encourage you to experiment with these Constant Editor options. For instance, add a header for a speaker such as “Brought to You by: ” to see what effect it has on your display. You can always undo your experiment by removing the check mark from the options check box.

The default template file, wecsermons.tmpl, is tucked away in the deep recesses of TYPO3. To download the SMS Template:

Note: If your browser gives you the option to Open or Save the template file, choose to Save the file. Opening the file will result in a loss of significant information.

Tip: For an alternative way to access the Template file, see Modifying the CSS File section.

Once you've downloaded and saved the wecsermons.tmpl file on your local computer, it is simply a matter of opening the file in your favorite HTML editor (MS Notepad, Write, Dreamweaver, etc.) and modifying the file.

Caution: Although the SMS Template is highly customizable, do not change the names of the Layout Styles as this will render the template unreadable by the SMS plugin.

Technical Stuff: How the Template Works. As you view the template in your HTML editor, you will see what looks like a “nearly” standard HTML file. The file is wrapped in <html>, <head>, and <body> tags like most web pages. However, the template uses markers to direct TYPO3 to reference and render only relevant portions of the file (for instance, only the Brief Layout, etc.).  Each marker is itself wrapped in triple hash marks such as ###BRIEF###. Each of the markers are defined at the top of the template itself for your convenience (see also the table below).

Modifying the template is a matter of combining standard HTML tags with the SMS Markers. In general, the HTML tags dictate the format and layout of your Frontend display, while the Markers dictate what information is displayed. However, the importance of Subpart Markers cannot be overstated. Subpart Markers tell TYPO3 that particular sections of the HTML page are accessible to the SMS extension. In addition, the Subpart Markers denote particular subsections of the layout. Subpart Markers are encapsulating markers, that is, they work like opening and closing tags. However, note that the formatting is unlike HTML tags; instead, they simply repeat themselves at the beginning and end of a section and look a bit like a pair of HTML comments:

<!-- ###SUBPART_MARKER### -->

Your <HTML TAGS> and

###SMS_Markers###

are nested between Subpart Markers

<!-- ###SUBPART_MARKER### -->

In addition, you can append comments within the Subpart Markers for your own clarification:

<!-- ###SUBPART_MARKER### beginning of marker -->

Finally, Subpart Markers may be nested as needed. For instance, the marker

<!-- ###SERMON_SPEAKERS### --> will be nested within <!-- ###CONTENT### --> and so on:

<!-- ###TEMPLATE_SERMON_CUSTOMIZED### begin template 4 -->

<!-- ###CONTENT### begin -->

<!-- ###SERMON_SPEAKERS### begin -->

   ###SPEAKER_FIRSTNAME###, ###SPEAKER_LASTNAME###

<!-- ###SERMON_SPEAKERS### end -->

<!-- ###CONTENT### end -->

<!-- ###TEMPLATE_SERMON_CUSTOMIZED### end template 4 -->

Note: Although the convention is to capitalize the name of the Markers, they are not case sensitive.

When modifying the template, bear in mind that you may need to modify each of the Display options: List, Single, Latest, and Series, depending on your desired layouts. For instance, if you were to modify Layout 4 (the Customized Layout), you will likely need to modify the following Subparts of the Template:

###TEMPLATE_SERMON_CUSTOMIZED###

###TEMPLATE_SERIES_CUSTOMIZED###

###TEMPLATE_SPEAKER_CUSTOMIZED###

Each of these Subparts defines the specific view options you've chosen in the SMS extension. Of course, you only have to modify the views you've chosen to display in the Frontend.

Most of the modifications of the template itself are self-evident, assuming you have some HTML formatting experience. By looking at the existing template file, you should be able to discern the general syntax of the template itself. However, below is an example of a formatted layout that uses both in-line and CSS formatting.

<!-- ###TEMPLATE_SERMON_CUSTOMIZED### begin -->

   <!--###CONTENT###-->

 <!--###ITEM###-->

     <p class=“sermon_title”>Sermon Title:&nbsp;

     <!--###SERMON_LINK### wrapped subpart indicating a link -->

         ###SERMON_TITLE###

     <!--###SERMON_LINK###--></p>

 <!--###SERMON_SERIES### begin -->

     <div id="series" class="blue_background">

         <p class=“sermon_title”>Sermon Series:&nbsp;

         <!--###SERIES_LINK###-->

              ###SERIES_TITLE###

         <!--###SERIES_LINK###-->

         </p>

     </div>

 <!--###SERMON_SERIES### end -->

<!-- ###ITEM### -->

 <!-- ###CONTENT### -->

<!--###TEMPLATE_SERMON_CUSTOMIZED### end -->

Of course, this is a very simple template that only displays a list of sermon titles and their related series. Literally, the sky is the limit when it comes to creating a modified template. For instance, Illustration 31 shows a screenshot of Ginghamsburg UMC's SMS extension. The SMS extension's display on your site will depend on the layout you choose, the modifications you make to the template, and to the HTML and CSS formatting of your site.

Once you have finished editing the Template file, save it. You may rename the file for your own reference if desired, but the extension .tmpl should not be changed.

Once you've successfully modified the Template file, upload and activate the file by:

Illustration 33: Upload the Modified Template File

1. Refer to Illustration 33. Click the Browse button (4) to open the File Upload dialog box, browse to your modified file, open it, and click the Upload files button (5).

Refer to Illustration 34. Your modified template should now be uploaded to the location you chose. In our example here, the path to that location is: fileadmin/templates/ extensions/wecsermons.tmpl

If at any point you need to change the template, you can modify it on your computer and upload the file again. (Be sure to click the checkbox Overwrite existing files, shown in Illustration 32.) You can also modify the file through the Filelist module, by editing the file in-place as shown in Illustration 38.

Refer to Step 1: Download the SMS Template for similar instructions to downloading the CSS file.

Modify the CSS file by using any standard text editor or HTML editing program.

Refer to Step 3: Activate the Modified Template File for similar instruction to activating the CSS File.

If at any point you need to change the template, you can modify it on your computer and upload the file again. (Be sure to click the check box Overwrite existing files, shown in Illustration 41.)