View

API reference › yii › base › View

class	yii\base\View
Extends	Component » BaseObject
Implements	DynamicContentAwareInterface, Configurable
Since	2.0
Source	framework/base/View.php

1 subclass

• yii\web\View

View represents a view object in the MVC pattern.

View provides a set of methods (e.g. render()) for rendering purpose.

For more details and usage information on View, see the guide article on views.

Properties

Property	Type	Description	Defined by
$behaviors read-only	array<Behavior<static>>	List of behaviors attached to this component.	Component
$blocks	array	A list of named output blocks. Default: null.	View
$context	ViewContextInterface	The context under which the renderFile() method is being invoked. Default: null.	View
$defaultExtension	string	The default view file extension. Default: 'php'.	View
$dynamicContents read-only	DynamicContentAwareInterface[]	Class instances supporting dynamic contents.	View
$dynamicPlaceholders	array	A list of placeholders.	View
$params	array	Custom parameters that are shared among view templates. Default: [].	View
$renderers	array|null	A list of available renderers indexed by their corresponding supported file extensions. Default: null.	View
$theme	Theme|array|string|null	The theme object or the configuration for creating the theme object. Default: null.	View
$viewFile read-only	string|bool	The view file currently being rendered.	View

Methods

Method	Description	Defined by
__construct()	Constructor.	BaseObject
__call()	Calls the named method which is not a class method.	Component
__clone()	This method is called after the object is created by cloning an existing one.	Component
__get()	Returns the value of a component property.	Component
__isset()	Checks if a property is set, i.e. defined and not null.	Component
__set()	Sets the value of a component property.	Component
__unset()	Sets a component property to be null.	Component
addDynamicPlaceholder()	Adds a placeholder for dynamic content.	View
afterRender()	This method is invoked right after renderFile() renders a view file.	View
attachBehavior()	Attaches a behavior to this component.	Component
attachBehaviors()	Attaches a list of behaviors to the component.	Component
beforeRender()	This method is invoked right before renderFile() renders a view file.	View
beginBlock()	Begins recording a block.	View
beginCache()	Begins fragment caching.	View
beginContent()	Begins the rendering of content that is to be decorated by the specified view.	View
beginPage()	Marks the beginning of a page.	View
behaviors()	Returns a list of behaviors that this component should behave as.	Component
canGetProperty()	Returns a value indicating whether a property can be read.	Component
canSetProperty()	Returns a value indicating whether a property can be set.	Component
className() static	Returns the fully qualified name of this class.	BaseObject
detachBehavior()	Detaches a behavior from the component.	Component
detachBehaviors()	Detaches all behaviors from the component.	Component
endBlock()	Ends recording a block.	View
endCache()	Ends fragment caching.	View
endContent()	Ends the rendering of content.	View
endPage()	Marks the ending of a page.	View
ensureBehaviors()	Makes sure that the behaviors declared in behaviors() are attached to this component.	Component
evaluateDynamicContent()	Evaluates the given PHP statements.	View
getBehavior()	Returns the named behavior object.	Component
getBehaviors()	Returns all behaviors attached to this component.	Component
getDynamicContents()	Returns a list of currently active dynamic content class instances.	View
getDynamicPlaceholders()	Returns a list of placeholders for dynamic content. This method is used internally to implement the content caching feature.	View
getViewFile()		View
hasEventHandlers()	Returns a value indicating whether there is any handler attached to the named event.	Component
hasMethod()	Returns a value indicating whether a method is defined.	Component
hasProperty()	Returns a value indicating whether a property is defined for this component.	Component
init()	Initializes the view component.	View
off()	Detaches an existing event handler from this component.	Component
on()	Attaches an event handler to an event.	Component
popDynamicContent()	Removes a last class instance supporting dynamic contents from a list of currently active dynamic content class instances.	View
pushDynamicContent()	Adds a class instance supporting dynamic contents to the end of a list of currently active dynamic content class instances.	View
render()	Renders a view.	View
renderDynamic()	Renders dynamic content returned by the given PHP statements.	View
renderFile()	Renders a view file.	View
renderPhpFile()	Renders a view file as a PHP script.	View
setDynamicPlaceholders()	Sets a list of placeholders for dynamic content. This method is used internally to implement the content caching feature.	View
trigger()	Triggers an event.	Component
findViewFile() protected	Finds the view file based on the given view name.	View
getRequestedViewFile() protected		View

Events

Event	Type	Description	Defined by
EVENT_BEGIN_PAGE	Event	An event that is triggered by beginPage(). Event name: 'beginPage'.	View
EVENT_END_PAGE	Event	An event that is triggered by endPage(). Event name: 'endPage'.	View
EVENT_BEFORE_RENDER	ViewEvent	An event that is triggered by renderFile() right before it renders a view file. Event name: 'beforeRender'.	View
EVENT_AFTER_RENDER	ViewEvent	An event that is triggered by renderFile() right after it renders a view file. Event name: 'afterRender'.	View

Property details

$blocks

public array $blocks = null

A list of named output blocks.

The keys are the block names and the values are the corresponding block content. You can call beginBlock() and endBlock() to capture small fragments of a view. They can be later accessed somewhere else through this property.

$defaultExtension

public string $defaultExtension = 'php'

The default view file extension.

This will be appended to view file names if they don’t have file extensions.

$renderers

public array|null $renderers = null

A list of available renderers indexed by their corresponding supported file extensions.

Each renderer may be a view renderer object or the configuration for creating the renderer object. For example, the following configuration enables both Smarty and Twig view renderers:

[
    'tpl' => ['class' => 'yii\smarty\ViewRenderer'],
    'twig' => ['class' => 'yii\twig\ViewRenderer'],
]

If no renderer is available for the given view file, the view file will be treated as a normal PHP and rendered via renderPhpFile().

$theme

public yii\base\Theme|array|string|null $theme = null

The theme object or the configuration for creating the theme object.

If not set, it means theming is not enabled.

$viewFile

public string|bool $viewFile

The view file currently being rendered.

False if no view file is being rendered.

Access

Read-only (virtual property).

Method details

addDynamicPlaceholder()

public function addDynamicPlaceholder(mixed $placeholder, mixed $statements): mixed

Adds a placeholder for dynamic content.

This method is used internally to implement the content caching feature.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
$placeholder	mixed
$statements	mixed	The PHP statements for generating the dynamic content.

Returns

mixed

afterRender()

public function afterRender(string $viewFile, array $params, string &$output): mixed

This method is invoked right after renderFile() renders a view file.

The default implementation will trigger the EVENT_AFTER_RENDER event. If you override this method, make sure you call the parent implementation first.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
$viewFile	string	The view file being rendered.
$params	array	The parameter array passed to the render() method.
$output	string	The rendering result of the view file. Updates to this parameter will be passed back and returned by renderFile().

Returns

mixed

beforeRender()

public function beforeRender(string $viewFile, array $params): bool

This method is invoked right before renderFile() renders a view file.

The default implementation will trigger the EVENT_BEFORE_RENDER event. If you override this method, make sure you call the parent implementation first.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
$viewFile	string	The view file to be rendered.
$params	array	The parameter array passed to the render() method.

Returns

bool: Whether to continue rendering the view file.

beginBlock()

public function beginBlock(string $id, bool $renderInPlace = false): yii\widgets\Block

Begins recording a block.

This method is a shortcut to beginning Block.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
$id	string	The block ID.
$renderInPlace	bool	Whether to render the block content in place. Defaults to false, meaning the captured block will not be displayed.

Returns

yii\widgets\Block: The Block widget instance

beginCache()

public function beginCache(string $id, array $properties = []): bool

Begins fragment caching.

This method will display cached content if it is available. If not, it will start caching and would expect an endCache() call to end the cache and save the content into cache. A typical usage of fragment caching is as follows,

if ($this->beginCache($id)) {
    // ...generate content here
    $this->endCache();
}

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
$id	string	A unique ID identifying the fragment to be cached.
$properties	array	Initial property values for FragmentCache

Returns

bool: Whether you should generate the content for caching. False if the cached version is available.

beginContent()

public function beginContent(string $viewFile, array $params = []): yii\widgets\ContentDecorator

Begins the rendering of content that is to be decorated by the specified view.

This method can be used to implement nested layout. For example, a layout can be embedded in another layout file specified as ‘@app/views/layouts/base.php’ like the following:

<?php $this->beginContent('@app/views/layouts/base.php'); ?>
//...layout content here...
<?php $this->endContent(); ?>

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
$viewFile	string	The view file that will be used to decorate the content enclosed by this widget. This can be specified as either the view file path or path alias.
$params	array	The variables (name => value) to be extracted and made available in the decorative view.

Returns

yii\widgets\ContentDecorator: The ContentDecorator widget instance

See also

• ContentDecorator

beginPage()

public function beginPage(): mixed

Marks the beginning of a page.

Returns

mixed

endBlock()

public function endBlock(): mixed

Ends recording a block.

Returns

mixed

endCache()

public function endCache(): mixed

Ends fragment caching.

Returns

mixed

endContent()

public function endContent(): mixed

Ends the rendering of content.

Returns

mixed

endPage()

public function endPage(): mixed

Marks the ending of a page.

Returns

mixed

evaluateDynamicContent()

public function evaluateDynamicContent(string $statements): mixed

Evaluates the given PHP statements.

This method is mainly used internally to implement dynamic content feature.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
$statements	string	The PHP statements to be evaluated.

Returns

mixed: The return value of the PHP statements.

getDynamicContents()

public function getDynamicContents(): yii\base\DynamicContentAwareInterface[]

Returns a list of currently active dynamic content class instances.

Returns

DynamicContentAwareInterface[]: Class instances supporting dynamic contents.

Since

2.0.14

getDynamicPlaceholders()

public function getDynamicPlaceholders(): array

Returns a list of placeholders for dynamic content. This method is used internally to implement the content caching feature.

Returns

array: A list of placeholders.

getViewFile()

public function getViewFile(): string|bool

Returns

string|bool: The view file currently being rendered. False if no view file is being rendered.

init()

public function init(): mixed

Initializes the view component.

Returns

mixed

popDynamicContent()

public function popDynamicContent(): mixed

Removes a last class instance supporting dynamic contents from a list of currently active dynamic content class instances.

Returns

mixed

Since

2.0.14

pushDynamicContent()

public function pushDynamicContent(yii\base\DynamicContentAwareInterface $instance): mixed

Adds a class instance supporting dynamic contents to the end of a list of currently active dynamic content class instances.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
$instance	DynamicContentAwareInterface	Class instance supporting dynamic contents.

Returns

mixed

Since

2.0.14

render()

public function render(string $view, array $params = [], object|null $context = null): string

Renders a view.

The view to be rendered can be specified in one of the following formats:

• path alias (e.g. “@app/views/site/index”);
• absolute path within application (e.g. “//site/index”): the view name starts with double slashes. The actual view file will be looked for under the view path of the application.
• absolute path within current module (e.g. “/site/index”): the view name starts with a single slash. The actual view file will be looked for under the view path of the current module.
• relative view (e.g. “index”): the view name does not start with @ or /. The corresponding view file will be looked for under the view path of the view $context. If $context is not given, it will be looked for under the directory containing the view currently being rendered (i.e., this happens when rendering a view within another view).

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
$view	string	The view name.
$params	array	The parameters (name-value pairs) that will be extracted and made available in the view file.
$context	object|null	The context to be assigned to the view and can later be accessed via $context in the view. If the context implements ViewContextInterface, it may also be used to locate the view file corresponding to a relative view name.

Returns

string: The rendering result

Throws

• ViewNotFoundException: if the view file does not exist.
• InvalidCallException: if the view cannot be resolved.

See also

• renderFile()

renderDynamic()

public function renderDynamic(string $statements): string

Renders dynamic content returned by the given PHP statements.

This method is mainly used together with content caching (fragment caching and page caching) when some portions of the content (called dynamic content) should not be cached. The dynamic content must be returned by some PHP statements.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
$statements	string	The PHP statements for generating the dynamic content.

Returns

string: The placeholder of the dynamic content, or the dynamic content if there is no active content cache currently. Note that most methods that indirectly modify layout such as registerJS() or registerJSFile() do not work with dynamic rendering.

See also

• https://github.com/yiisoft/yii2/issues/17673

renderFile()

public function renderFile(string $viewFile, array $params = [], object|null $context = null): string

Renders a view file.

If $theme is enabled (not null), it will try to render the themed version of the view file as long as it is available.

The method will call FileHelper::localize() to localize the view file.

If renderer is enabled (not null), the method will use it to render the view file. Otherwise, it will simply include the view file as a normal PHP file, capture its output and return it as a string.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
$viewFile	string	The view file. This can be either an absolute file path or an alias of it.
$params	array	The parameters (name-value pairs) that will be extracted and made available in the view file.
$context	object|null	The context that the view should use for rendering the view. If null, existing $context will be used.

Returns

string: The rendering result

Throws

• ViewNotFoundException: if the view file does not exist

renderPhpFile()

public function renderPhpFile(string $_file_, array $_params_ = []): string

Renders a view file as a PHP script.

This method treats the view file as a PHP script and includes the file. It extracts the given parameters and makes them available in the view file. The method captures the output of the included view file and returns it as a string.

This method should mainly be called by view renderer or renderFile().

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
$_file_	string	The view file.
$_params_	array	The parameters (name-value pairs) that will be extracted and made available in the view file.

Returns

string: The rendering result

Throws

• Throwable

setDynamicPlaceholders()

public function setDynamicPlaceholders(mixed $placeholders): mixed

Sets a list of placeholders for dynamic content. This method is used internally to implement the content caching feature.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
$placeholders	mixed	A list of placeholders.

Returns

mixed

findViewFile()

protected function findViewFile(string $view, object|null $context = null): string

Finds the view file based on the given view name.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
$view	string	The view name or the path alias of the view file. Please refer to render() on how to specify this parameter.
$context	object|null	The context to be assigned to the view and can later be accessed via $context in the view. If the context implements ViewContextInterface, it may also be used to locate the view file corresponding to a relative view name.

Returns

string: The view file path. Note that the file may not exist.

Throws

• InvalidCallException: if a relative view name is given while there is no active context to determine the corresponding view file.

getRequestedViewFile()

protected function getRequestedViewFile(): string|bool

Returns

string|bool: The requested view currently being rendered. False if no view file is being rendered.

Since

2.0.16