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Blog Post

Blog Post

Dated blog entries: the singular blog_post object, the blog_posts list, and the methods that load them.

A blog post is a publishable entry that belongs to a Blog. Use the singular blog_post object when you already have one post—for example the current page entity, or a post returned by the {% blog_post %} method. Use blog_posts when you need a filtered, sorted, or paginated list for indexes and feeds.

Typical fields include title, summary_html, content_html, post date, the parent blog, and an optional featured image. Because posts are entities, shared properties such as url and canonical_url are available as well.

The sections below document the objects and methods together so you can move from a single post to a list without leaving this page.

{{ blog_post }}

Properties
Properties of {{ blog_post }} objects
Name Type Description
object_type string Will always be blog_post
is_valid boolean True if this references a published blog_post
guid string The unique identifier for this blog_post
value string Synonym for guid
name {{ text }} The name of the blog_post
title {{ text }} The title of the blog_post
linked_title string A link to the blog_post if it has a URL, or the escaped title if not
blog_guid string The unique identifier of the related blog
blog {{ blog }} Reference to the related blog object
image_guid string The unique identifier of the related image
image {{ image }} Reference to the related image object
summary_html {{ html }} Short HTML summary used in list views
content_html {{ html }} The primary HTML content for the blog post
post_date {{ datetime }} The primary date associated with this blog post - typically the date that it was originally written or posted and set by the content editor
tags {{ tags }} The list of tags associated with this blog_post
authors {{ authors }} The list of authors associated with this blog_post
has_url boolean True if the blog_post has a URL
include_in_search boolean Whether or not this blog_post should be returned in on-site search results
domain_name {{ text }} The domain name used by the URL for this blog_post
url {{ text }} The portion of the URL for this blog_post following the domain name
full_url string The full URL for this blog_post including the scheme, domain name, and path
visited boolean Whether or not the user has visited this URL previously in their current session. Note that this will always be false if the user has not allowed session permission (see the Permissions and Personalization documentation). Using this property prevents the page from being fast-cached
template_guid string The unique identifier for the template that would be used to respond to this URL
template {{ template }} The template that would be used to respond to this URL
canonical_url {{ url }} The canonical URL if this is not the original source of content for this URL
browser_title {{ text }} The browser title for this URL. The editor requires a browser title for every entity that has a URL.
meta_description {{ textarea }} The meta description for this URL
meta_robots {{ text }} The meta robots for this URL
keywords {{ textarea }} The SEO keywords for this URL
search_entity_guid string The unique identifier for the entity that search results should be directed to (if this blog_post does not have a URL)
search_entity {{ entity }} The entity that search results should be directed to (if this blog_post does not have a URL)
folder_guid string The unique identifier for the folder that contains this blog_post.
folder {{ folder }} The folder that contains this blog_post.
field_id string The identifier for this field
label string The label for this field
output string The default output that the blog_post produces when output directly to the template. The default output may change at any time. Template developers should avoid using this and should handle the output of blog posts themselves
data {{ data }} Object containing the custom fields on this blog_post
* string Specific custom fields may be accessed using {{ entity.fieldid }} or {{blog_post['field-id']}}
Example Search only blog post entities by a query parameterFilter blog post entities using a query parameter (e.g. tag or search term) and output the results.
Liquid
{% search output_to_template request.query_params.q type:blog_post %}
Example Load one blog post and show its date, summary, and parent blog{% blog_post %} loads a single blog post by name or GUID; post_date, summary_html, and blog identify the entry and its parent blog.
Liquid
{%- blog_post var story = "Welcome Post" -%}
{%- if story.is_valid -%}
	<article>
		<h1>{{ story.title }}</h1>
		<p class="meta">{{ story.post_date | date: "MMMM d, yyyy" }} in {{ story.blog.linked_title }}</p>
		<div class="summary">{{ story.summary_html }}</div>
	</article>
{%- endif -%}

{{ blog_posts }}

Contains multiple blog_posts.

Properties
Properties of {{ blog_posts }} objects
Name Type Description
object_type string Will always be blog_posts
is_valid boolean True if this contains at least one published blog_post
output string The default output that the blog_posts will produce when it is output directly to the template - using the "output_in_list" property of each blog_post in the items list
prepended list List containing any prepended blog_posts.
fetched list List containing all of the blog_posts that were fetched from the database (as opposed to prepended or appended).
appended list List containing any appended blog_posts.
appended_unique list List containing any appended blog_posts excluding any blog_posts that are in either the list of prepended or fetched blog_posts.
items list List containing all of the combined blog_posts from the prepended, fetched, and appended lists. If unique is true, this list will not contain any duplicates. If max_size is set, this list will not contain more than the number of blog_posts specified.
size integer The total number of blog_posts in the items list, including prepended, fetched, and appended lists, and respecting the unique and max_size properties.
max_size integer If set, this is the maximum number of items that will be returned in the items list and the maximum number of items that will be included when this blog_posts object is enumerated as a list. When not set, this value will be 0.
unique boolean When true, the items list will not contain any duplicates. Only the first instance of each blog_post will be included.
limit integer The maximum number of items that were allowed to be in the list of fetched blog_posts. May be 0 in some cases (such as when when there are no fetched blog_posts.
start integer The 1-based index of the first item in the list of fetched blog_posts.
page integer The 1-based index of the paginated results returned in the list of fetched blog_posts, which is calculated from the start and limit parameters. Useful for paginated results.
total_count integer The 1-based index of the first item in the list of fetched blog_posts
total_pages integer If any items were fetched from the database, total_pages will contain the number of paginated result pages in the database for the provided arguments. This may also be calculated using the total_count and limit properties.
Example Group blog posts by blog (group filter)Use the group_by filter to group objects by a specific property. For example, you can group a list of blog posts by blog.
Liquid
{%- blog_posts posts = limit: 40 start: 1 sort_by: 'date_posted' sort_direction: 'desc' -%}
{%- var grouped_by_blog = posts | group_by: 'blog' -%}
{%- for group in grouped_by_blog -%}
	<p>{{ group.Key.title }}: {{ group.Value | size }}</p>
{%- endfor -%}
Output
<p>General Blog: 22</p>
<p>Announcements: 10</p>
<p>Events: 8</p>
Example Get request parameters and fetch blog_posts with pagination and tag filterRead page and tag from query params, then fetch blog_posts with limit and sort.
Liquid
{%- assign var postsPerPage = 10 -%}
{%- assign pageParam = 1 -%} 
<!-- Did a page param get passed in the url? -->
{%- if request.query_params['page'] -%}
	{%- assign pageParam = request.query_params['page'] | to_int -%}
{%- endif -%}
<!-- Did a tag param get passed in the url? -->
{%- if request.query_params['tag'] and request.query_params['tag'] != "" -%}
	{%- assign tagFilter = request.query_params['tag'] | url_decode | downcase -%}
{%- endif -%}

{%- blog_posts assign posts = blog:"The Kitchen Essentials" tag:tagFilter limit:postsPerPage page:pageParam sort_by:"post_date" sort_direction:"desc" -%}

{%- for post in posts -%}
	{{-post.title-}}
{%- endfor -%}
Example Getting random items with the rand filterUse the rand filter to pick one or more random items from a list, get random numbers, or build random strings. Assign results to a variable so the same random choice is used everywhere on the page; use prevent_cache: false when you want the page response to be cacheable.

One random item from an existing list (prevents fast-caching)

Liquid
{%- blog_posts posts = start:1 limit:10 -%}
{%- var randompost = posts | rand -%}
<p>Random pick: {{ randompost.linked_title }}</p>

Get a random item from an existing list. Every time the page is loaded a new random item will be chosen.

One random item from an existing list (allows fast-caching)

Liquid
{%- blog_posts posts = start:1 limit:10 -%}
{%- var randompost = posts | rand:1, false, false -%}
<p>Fast-Cached Random pick: {{ randompost.linked_title }}</p>

Get a random item from an existing list and allow the page to be fast-cached. Subsequent pageloads will have the same random item chosen until the cache expires unless there is something else on the page that prevents fast-caching.

Improved: Fetch only one item from the database

Liquid
{%- blog_posts intermediate = limit:1 sort_by:'random' cache_random:true -%}
{%- var randompost = intermediate | first -%}
<p>Today's pick: {{ randompost.linked_title }}</p>

Functionally equivalent to the previous example, but only one item has to be fetched from the database. With the cache_random:true argument the result may be fast-cached and can be reused for subsequent pageloads and without the cache_random argument the page will not able to be fast-cached.

Multiple random items, no duplicates

Liquid
{%- var numbers = (10..20) -%}
{%- var randomitems = numbers | rand:3, false -%}
{{- randomitems | join:' ' -}}

Get 3 random numbers between 10 and 20 without repeats and outputs them as a space-separated list. Because the third argument is not provided the page will not be fast-cached and every pageload will have a new set of random numbers.

Multiple random numbers with duplicates allowed

Liquid
{%- var rolls = 6 | rand: 4 -%}
<p>Dice rolls: {{ rolls | join: ', ' }}</p>

Get 4 random numbers between 1 and 6 and output them as a comma-separated list. Because the second argument is not provided, duplicates are allowed. Because the third argument is not provided, the page will not be fast-cached and every pageload will have a new set of random numbers.

Multiple random numbers with duplicates allowed and fast-cacheable

Liquid
{%- var rolls = 6 | rand: 4, true, false -%}
<p>Dice rolls: {{ rolls | join: ', ' }}</p>

Functionally identical to the previous example except the page may be fast-cached so that future pageloads are significantly faster, but may include the same set of random numbers until the cache expires.

Multiple unique random numbers

Liquid
{%- var picks = 10 | rand: 4, false -%}
<p>Unique picks: {{ picks | join: ' ' }}</p>

Gets 4 unique random numbers between 1 and 10 and outputs them as a space-separated list. Because the third argument is not provided, the page will not be fast-cached and every pageload will have a new set of random numbers.

Single random number between 0 and 10

Liquid
{{ 11 | rand: 1 | minus: 1 }}

To get a random number starting with 0 we need to subtract 1 from the result. To allow the page to be fast-cached: Specify either true or false for the second argument (it doesn't matter which for this example) and specify false for the third argument.

Random character from a string (cache in page)

Liquid
{{ "aaabcdeeefghjkmnpqrstuuuvwxyz123456789-_" | rand }}

Gets a single random character from the set of characters in the string. In this example, the set of characters includes lowercase letters, numbers, and the hyphen and underscore characters with some characters excluded and some repeated to increase their probability of being chosen.

Random alphanumeric string

Liquid
{{ "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789" | rand: 10 }}

Pick 10 random characters from the set, with duplicates allowed. Because the third argument is not provided, the page will not be fast-cached and every pageload will have a new set of random characters.

Random alphanumeric string without duplciates

Liquid
{{ "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789-----_____" | rand: 10, false }}

Pick 10 random characters from the set, with no duplicates allowed. However, because the set itself contains 5 hyphens and 5 underscores the result may also contain up to 5 hyphens and 5 underscores. Because the third argument is provided as false, the page will not be fast-cached and every pageload will have a new set of random characters.

Example Map a list of blog posts to their linked titlesUse the map filter to map blog posts to their linked title. The map filter could just as easily be used for any other property as well.
Liquid
{%- blog_posts posts = limit: 10 sort_by: 'post_date' sort_direction:'desc' -%}
{{- posts | map: 'linked_title' | join: '<br />' }}

{% blog_post %}

{% blog_post output_to_template? [[var, set, or assign]? variable_name]? output_to_template? = value %}
Parameters
output_to_template optionalflag
Include this flag to write the blog_post's output into the page at this point. What that output is differs by type, and for most types it is a built-in default that may change at any time, so see the output property of the blog_post object before relying on it. The flag may come before or after the variable name. When the call names no variable, the output is written whether or not the flag is present, which makes {% blog_post = value %} the smallest valid use of this method. When the call names a variable, the flag saves the blog_post to the variable and writes its output as well.
var, set, or assign optionalkeyword
Chooses the scope that holds the variable. var, the default, stores it in the current scope. set and assign can store it in outer scopes; Variable Scopes compares the three and when each fits.
variable_name optionalvariable
The variable that receives the blog_post. It may also be written as a reference, &name, which reads the variable's name from another variable (see Methods Overview). Leave it out to write the blog_post to the template instead.
value requiredexpression
Required; without a value the method call is not valid. Identifies which blog_post to fetch. It can evaluate to the blog_post itself, to its GUID, or to other text that identifies it, which for most types is its name; a type identified some other way, or only by GUID, says so in its summary. Names are matched without regard to case, but accented letters must match. A GUID identifies exactly one record, whereas when several records share a name, which of them is returned is not specified, so giving the records you fetch by name unique names avoids the question. A name reads better in a template and a GUID is exact; neither suits every site. When nothing matches, no error is raised: the variable holds an invalid blog_post, whose is_valid is false, so check is_valid before using it. When the expression itself has no value, for example an undefined variable, the method does nothing and the variable keeps any earlier value. May use liquid filters.

Fetches a single {{ blog_post }}.

Example Load one blog post and show its date, summary, and parent blog{% blog_post %} loads a single blog post by name or GUID; post_date, summary_html, and blog identify the entry and its parent blog.
Liquid
{%- blog_post var story = "Welcome Post" -%}
{%- if story.is_valid -%}
	<article>
		<h1>{{ story.title }}</h1>
		<p class="meta">{{ story.post_date | date: "MMMM d, yyyy" }} in {{ story.blog.linked_title }}</p>
		<div class="summary">{{ story.summary_html }}</div>
	</article>
{%- endif -%}

{% blog_posts %}

{% blog_posts output_to_template? [[var, set, or assign]? variable_name]? output_to_template? = arguments %}
Parameters
output_to_template optionalflag
Include this flag to write the blog_posts list's output into the page here. That output is a built-in default for most types and may change at any time, so see the output property of the blog_posts object before relying on it. The flag may come before or after the variable name. With no variable named, the output is written whether or not the flag is present; with one, the flag saves the list and writes its output too.
var, set, or assign optionalkeyword
Chooses the scope that holds the variable. var, the default, stores it in the current scope. set and assign can store it in outer scopes; Variable Scopes compares the three and when each fits.
variable_name optionalvariable
The variable that receives the blog_posts list. It may also be written as a reference, &name, which reads the variable's name from another variable (see Methods Overview). Leave it out to write the list to the template instead.
arguments requiredcollection
Key:value pairs. May use the variable arguments syntax. Written after a required =. The name:value pairs choose which blog_posts to fetch and how to narrow, order and page them. Nothing is fetched unless the call gives an argument other than prepend, append, unique, exclude_prepended, exclude_appended, max_size and cache_random; without one, the list holds only the prepended and appended blog_posts.

Options

prepend optionallist
May be a single blog_post, a list of blog_posts, or the name or guid of one blog_post, to be included at the beginning of the blog_posts list.
append optionallist
May be a single blog_post, a list of blog_posts, or the name or guid of one blog_post, to be included at the end of the blog_posts list.
exclude optionallist
May be a single blog_post, a list of blog_posts, or the name or guid of one blog_post that should NOT be included in the fetched results. Has no effect on prepended or appended blog_posts.
exclude_prepended optionalboolean
True to specifically exclude all prepended blog_posts from the fetched results. If "unique:true" is specified this is the default behavior, although you may also specify "exclude_prepended:false" to allow any prepended items to be fetched along with other results anyway.
exclude_appended optionalboolean
True to specifically exclude all appended blog_posts from the fetched results. This is false by default - even if "unique:true" is specified - so that results are returned in the proper order.
unique optionalboolean
True to remove duplicates from each of the resulting lists (prepended, fetched, appended, and items), although there may be duplicates between the prepended, fetched, and appended lists. The "items" list will include objects in the order in which they appear - with prepended items first, then fetched items, then appended items.
max_size optionalinteger
The maximum number of items to be included in the "items" list. If there are any prepended or appended items, this will automatically lower the "limit" to only fetch as many blog_posts as needed. Note that this may also impact both the "page" and "total_pages" values in the resulting blog_posts. In order to use pagination with a list loaded using "max_size" use "start" instead of "page" and "limit".
filter optionalvalue
Only include blog posts that match the given string filter
blog optionalvalue
May include multiple blogs. Only include blog posts with one of the given blogs
start_date optionalvalue
Only include blog posts with a post_date greater than or equal to start_date
end_date optionalvalue
Only include blog posts with a post_date less than or equal to end_date
tag optionalvalue
May include multiple tags. Only include blog posts with one of the given tags
author optionalvalue
May include multiple authors. Only include blog posts with one of the given authors
folder optionalvalue
May include multiple folders. Only include blog posts with one of the given folders
date_created_start optionalvalue
Only include blog posts with date_created greater than or equal to date_created_start. Remember that date_created will typically be the date that the blog post was first published.
date_created_end optionalvalue
Only include blog posts with date_created less than or equal to date_created_end. Remember that date_created will typically be the date that the blog post was first published.
has_url optionalboolean
If true, only return blog_posts that have a URL. If false, only return blog_posts that do NOT have a URL.
template optionalobject
Only return blog_posts with one of these templates. May be a single template, a list of templates, or the name or guid of a template to filter the results by. A template name is its path from the root, with or without the leading /; unlike {% template %}, a list method does not accept a relative path.
include_in_search optionalboolean
True or false to only return blog_posts whose include_in_search property matches the provided value.
domain_name optionalobject
Only return blog_posts from the given domain.
start optionalinteger
Set the 1-based index of the first blog_post to fetch.
page optionalinteger
Used to automatically calculate the first blog_post to fetch based on both the "limit" and the 1-based "page" value. Defaults to 1, but is ignored if "start" is set.
limit optionalinteger
The maximum number of blog_posts to fetch. Defaults to 10; a value that is not a number also gives 10. The largest limit is 1000, and a limit of 0 or less, or above 1000, returns up to 1000 blog_posts. Note that if "max_size" is defined, then "limit" may be automatically lowered even if specified separately.
sort_by optionalstring
Specify which property to sort the results by. Has no effect on prepended or appended blog_posts. An unrecognized value is ignored without an error and the default order is used. Some methods accept more values than the built-ins listed here; see each method. By default, results will be sorted by relevance if there is a filter string and date_created desc (newest first) if not. Options include:
  • relevance: only applies when there is a filter string. sort_direction applies: descending, the default, puts the best match first.
  • date_created: the date each blog_post was first published. Unpublishing and republishing one resets date_created to the current date.
  • random: results will be returned in a random order, which prevents the page from being fast-cached. Setting cache_random:true overrides this behavior and allows the page to be fast-cached anyway.
  • name
  • title
  • url
  • browser_title
sort_direction optionalstring
asc or desc. Defaults to desc; any value other than asc sorts descending.
cache_random optionalboolean
True to allow the results to be cached when sort_by is "random".

Fetches a list of {{ blog_posts }}.

Example Group blog posts by blog (group filter)Use the group_by filter to group objects by a specific property. For example, you can group a list of blog posts by blog.
Liquid
{%- blog_posts posts = limit: 40 start: 1 sort_by: 'date_posted' sort_direction: 'desc' -%}
{%- var grouped_by_blog = posts | group_by: 'blog' -%}
{%- for group in grouped_by_blog -%}
	<p>{{ group.Key.title }}: {{ group.Value | size }}</p>
{%- endfor -%}
Output
<p>General Blog: 22</p>
<p>Announcements: 10</p>
<p>Events: 8</p>
Example Get request parameters and fetch blog_posts with pagination and tag filterRead page and tag from query params, then fetch blog_posts with limit and sort.
Liquid
{%- assign var postsPerPage = 10 -%}
{%- assign pageParam = 1 -%} 
<!-- Did a page param get passed in the url? -->
{%- if request.query_params['page'] -%}
	{%- assign pageParam = request.query_params['page'] | to_int -%}
{%- endif -%}
<!-- Did a tag param get passed in the url? -->
{%- if request.query_params['tag'] and request.query_params['tag'] != "" -%}
	{%- assign tagFilter = request.query_params['tag'] | url_decode | downcase -%}
{%- endif -%}

{%- blog_posts assign posts = blog:"The Kitchen Essentials" tag:tagFilter limit:postsPerPage page:pageParam sort_by:"post_date" sort_direction:"desc" -%}

{%- for post in posts -%}
	{{-post.title-}}
{%- endfor -%}
Example Getting random items with the rand filterUse the rand filter to pick one or more random items from a list, get random numbers, or build random strings. Assign results to a variable so the same random choice is used everywhere on the page; use prevent_cache: false when you want the page response to be cacheable.

One random item from an existing list (prevents fast-caching)

Liquid
{%- blog_posts posts = start:1 limit:10 -%}
{%- var randompost = posts | rand -%}
<p>Random pick: {{ randompost.linked_title }}</p>

Get a random item from an existing list. Every time the page is loaded a new random item will be chosen.

One random item from an existing list (allows fast-caching)

Liquid
{%- blog_posts posts = start:1 limit:10 -%}
{%- var randompost = posts | rand:1, false, false -%}
<p>Fast-Cached Random pick: {{ randompost.linked_title }}</p>

Get a random item from an existing list and allow the page to be fast-cached. Subsequent pageloads will have the same random item chosen until the cache expires unless there is something else on the page that prevents fast-caching.

Improved: Fetch only one item from the database

Liquid
{%- blog_posts intermediate = limit:1 sort_by:'random' cache_random:true -%}
{%- var randompost = intermediate | first -%}
<p>Today's pick: {{ randompost.linked_title }}</p>

Functionally equivalent to the previous example, but only one item has to be fetched from the database. With the cache_random:true argument the result may be fast-cached and can be reused for subsequent pageloads and without the cache_random argument the page will not able to be fast-cached.

Multiple random items, no duplicates

Liquid
{%- var numbers = (10..20) -%}
{%- var randomitems = numbers | rand:3, false -%}
{{- randomitems | join:' ' -}}

Get 3 random numbers between 10 and 20 without repeats and outputs them as a space-separated list. Because the third argument is not provided the page will not be fast-cached and every pageload will have a new set of random numbers.

Multiple random numbers with duplicates allowed

Liquid
{%- var rolls = 6 | rand: 4 -%}
<p>Dice rolls: {{ rolls | join: ', ' }}</p>

Get 4 random numbers between 1 and 6 and output them as a comma-separated list. Because the second argument is not provided, duplicates are allowed. Because the third argument is not provided, the page will not be fast-cached and every pageload will have a new set of random numbers.

Multiple random numbers with duplicates allowed and fast-cacheable

Liquid
{%- var rolls = 6 | rand: 4, true, false -%}
<p>Dice rolls: {{ rolls | join: ', ' }}</p>

Functionally identical to the previous example except the page may be fast-cached so that future pageloads are significantly faster, but may include the same set of random numbers until the cache expires.

Multiple unique random numbers

Liquid
{%- var picks = 10 | rand: 4, false -%}
<p>Unique picks: {{ picks | join: ' ' }}</p>

Gets 4 unique random numbers between 1 and 10 and outputs them as a space-separated list. Because the third argument is not provided, the page will not be fast-cached and every pageload will have a new set of random numbers.

Single random number between 0 and 10

Liquid
{{ 11 | rand: 1 | minus: 1 }}

To get a random number starting with 0 we need to subtract 1 from the result. To allow the page to be fast-cached: Specify either true or false for the second argument (it doesn't matter which for this example) and specify false for the third argument.

Random character from a string (cache in page)

Liquid
{{ "aaabcdeeefghjkmnpqrstuuuvwxyz123456789-_" | rand }}

Gets a single random character from the set of characters in the string. In this example, the set of characters includes lowercase letters, numbers, and the hyphen and underscore characters with some characters excluded and some repeated to increase their probability of being chosen.

Random alphanumeric string

Liquid
{{ "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789" | rand: 10 }}

Pick 10 random characters from the set, with duplicates allowed. Because the third argument is not provided, the page will not be fast-cached and every pageload will have a new set of random characters.

Random alphanumeric string without duplciates

Liquid
{{ "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789-----_____" | rand: 10, false }}

Pick 10 random characters from the set, with no duplicates allowed. However, because the set itself contains 5 hyphens and 5 underscores the result may also contain up to 5 hyphens and 5 underscores. Because the third argument is provided as false, the page will not be fast-cached and every pageload will have a new set of random characters.

Example Map a list of blog posts to their linked titlesUse the map filter to map blog posts to their linked title. The map filter could just as easily be used for any other property as well.
Liquid
{%- blog_posts posts = limit: 10 sort_by: 'post_date' sort_direction:'desc' -%}
{{- posts | map: 'linked_title' | join: '<br />' }}