Django Context Processors Using a context processor to access your most recent blog entries in all templates
Example
Assuming you have a model called Post defined in your models.py file that contains blog posts, and has a date_published field.
Step 1: Write the context processor
Create (or add to) a file in your app directory called context_processors.py:
from myapp.models import Post
def recent_blog_posts(request):
return {'recent_posts':Post.objects.order_by('-date_published')[0:3],} # Can change numbers for more/fewer posts
Step 2: Add the context processor to your settings file
Make sure that you add your new context processor to your settings.py file in the TEMPLATES variable:
TEMPLATES = [
{
...
'OPTIONS': {
'context_processors': [
...
'myapp.context_processors.recent_blog_posts',
],
},
},
]
(In Django versions before 1.9, this was set directly in settings.py using a TEMPLATE_CONTEXT_PROCESSORS variable.)
Step 3: Use the context processor in your templates
No need to pass recent blog entries through individual views anymore! Just use recent_blog_posts in any template.
E.g., in home.html you could create a sidebar with links to recent posts:
<div class="blog_post_sidebar">
{% for post in recent_blog_posts %}
<div class="post">
<a href="{{post.get_absolute_url}}">{{post.title}}</a>
</div>
{% endfor %}
</div>
Or in blog.html you could create a more detailed display of each post:
<div class="content">
{% for post in recent_blog_posts %}
<div class="post_detail">
<h2>{{post.title}}</h2>
<p>Published on {{post.date_published}}</p>
<p class="author">Written by: {{post.author}}</p>
<p><a href="{{post.get_absolute_url}}">Permalink</a></p>
<p class="post_body">{{post.body}}</p>
</div>
{% endfor %}
</div>
