Drupal 7 - Call the default/base template implementation

Question

I am overriding node.tpl.php for a specific node (node--news.tpl.php) to display it differently in the front page. Instead of copying node.tpl.php code into node-news.tpl.php to display the node with the default rendering when we are not on the front page, I would rather prefer calling the base template implementation (node.tpl.php).

if ($is_front)
  // ...
else
  base_template(/* ... */);

Is that possible ?

Thanks,

Solution :

function template_preprocess_node(&$variables)
{
  if (drupal_is_front_page() && $variables['node']->type == 'news')
    $variables['theme_hook_suggestions'][] = 'node__news__front';
}

Then, simply edit the template file node--news--front.tpl.php

Answer 1

I would do this in the preprocess stage, eg, in your preprocess_node() hook, do something along the lines of:

$node=$variables['node'];
if ($_GET['q']=='node') {                           // eg the frontpage (by default anyway) and not node/## (also then presumes this is a teaser view, too
  $foo=drupal_get_path_alias('node/' . $node->nid;  // or perhaps $foo=$node->path; works in D7?
  if ($foo=='news') {
    $variables['theme_hook_suggestions'][]='node__news'; 
  }
}

I saw "along the lines of" because I am just now getting to know D7 vs D6 and I could have some typos in there, but the logic is to set the template file to the node-news.tpl.php one only when the user is looking at the front page and your news node is presented there.

But also, from what I have seen, node--news.tpl.php suggests that it should be used for nodes of TYPE news, so, there may need to be a different name here as well. So, if that's what you mean, you could do this instead:

$node=$variables['node'];
if ($_GET['q']=='node' && $node->type=='news') {
  $variables['theme_hook_suggestions'][]='node__news__front';
}

and create a node--news--front.tpl.php file, or whatever the best practices name is :)

Answer 2

I have never tried this, but I suspect you can implement template_preprocess_node in your theme, use drupal_is_front_page, and if FALSE, remove the specific template from the $variables["theme_hook_suggestions"] array.