Can I target a specific node type in page.tpl.php

Question

I just created a template page--article.tpl.php to apply ton nodes of the [article] type. It works when declared in the template.php file.
My problem is that there is a very slight change compared to the generic page.tpl.php, nothing worth having another file.

I was wondering if I could place the adde part between a condition, just as I could do with if $is_front Something like:

<?php if ($node->type == 'article')
  // render my thingees
?>

I would be glad if someone could tell me.

--- Edit, to answer Kiwimind ---

I did the test with the 'page' content type, so I didn't have to skip my page--article.tpl.php file. I checked that 'page' was the actual machine name and 'nature' is my theme's actual name, it works on other functions.
I wrote in template.php

/**
 * Détection du type de contenu pour affecter le template page
 * https://drupal.stackexchange.com/questions/264550/can-i-target-a-specific-node-type-in-page-tpl-php
 */

function nature_preprocess_page(&$variables, $hook) {
  $variables['is_page'] = false;
  if (isset($variables['node']) && $variables['node']->type == 'page') {
    $variables['is_page'] = true;
  }
}

Then in page.tpl.php

<?php if ($is_page) : ?> 
    <h1>This is a “page” content</h1> 
<?php endif; ?>

Nothing more, nothing less. Do you see any missing (or unnecessary) character, that could trigger a parse error? For I still get a whole blank page when clearing the cache.

Answer 1

As shown on Variable to check if the page is of some other Content Type, you can drop into template.php something like the following:

function THEMENAME_preprocess_page(&$variables, $hook) {
  $variables['print_extra_header'] = false;
  if (isset($variables['node']) && $variables['node']->type == 'product') {
    $variables['print_extra_header'] = true;
  }
}

then in your template, add in

<?php if ($print_extra_header) : ?> <h1>THIS GETS PRINTED</h1> <?php endif; ?>

So effectively you're checking on the node type in a preprocess page, to pass a custom variable to the template for you to act on.

Answer 2

You can set variable as per your condition on your module file and get this variable from your .tpl file after that set your condition.