Template syntax

A Moliri template is an ordinary Word file (.docx) with commands of the form {# … #} in its text.

Moliri reads the literal text of the document (body text, table cells, headers and footers) and runs each command as a JavaScript expression. Whether the command sits in a content control, as the template editor creates it, or as plain text makes no difference to this.

The commands

Inside a command, JavaScript syntax applies. Strings in backticks and template literals (`${…}`) work.

{#$o[`RegNr`] ?? ``#}
{#! FLOAT_FORMAT = { "mask": "Number", "scale": "2", "thousandsSeparator": " ", "radix": "," }#}
{# IMAGE img(eingang[$i], { width: 16 }) #}
{# LINK ({ url: `https://beispiel.moliri.app/p/${p.project_id}/o/${$o.object_id}`, label: `Objekt öffnen` }) #}

The rule for loop variables

The most common source of errors. Inside a FOR loop, the loop variable is written with a $ in front:

{# FOR file IN $f #}
  {# IMAGE img($file, { width: 6 }) #}     ← right: $file
  {# IMAGE img(file, { width: 6 }) #}      ← wrong: file is undefined
{# END-FOR file #}

This applies to every loop: FOR obj IN objects gives $obj, FOR i IN _.range(0, n) gives $i. Every loop also provides $idx, the index of the innermost loop, starting at 0. A running number is therefore {#$idx + 1#}.

In a table, FOR and END-FOR sit in rows of their own, FOR above the data row and END-FOR below it. The data row is then repeated for each element. This is how object lists become tables, see Recipes . If both sit in the first and last cell of the same row, the built-in engine repeats only the cells, not the row.

Backticks instead of quotation marks

Word likes to replace straight quotation marks with typographic ones. Moliri evens this out on export, and the field detection understands typographic quotation marks too. Backticks are still the better choice. Word never changes them, and they allow template literals at the same time.

Simple output

{#$o[`RegNr`] ?? ``#}

$o is the current object, and the field name goes in square brackets. The empty fallback after ?? makes sure that a field without a value stays empty and causes no follow-on errors.

Condition

{# IF $o[`Inventarstatus`] === `Dauerleihgabe` #}
Dauerleihgabe
{# END-IF #}

Loop over objects

{# FOR obj IN objects #}
{# $obj[`RegNr`] ?? `` #}
{# $obj[`Originaltitel`] ?? `` #}

{# END-FOR obj #}

Field detection and loading

For the export, Moliri loads only the fields the template uses. It detects every field name that stands in square brackets and quotation marks: $o[`Feld`], $obj[`Feld`] in loops and also o[`Feld`] in a grouping function. For keys without $o or a loop variable in front, only names that match a field of the project count.

A field name that gets into the command another way is not detected, for example as a computed key or as a string in _.groupBy(objects, `Leihgeber`). You can make such a field visible in a condition that never runs:

{# IF false #}
{# INS $o[`Leihgeber`] ?? `` #}
{# END-IF #}

Moliri loads files only if the template mentions $f or files. This keeps pure data templates fast.

One document, or one per object

Moliri recognises the mode from the commands:

• Loop over the objects, one document. As soon as a FOR loop runs over the set of objects, the template is rendered exactly once with all objects. Any FOR whose source names objects or a variable assigned from it is recognised: FOR obj IN objects, FOR obj IN objects.filter(…) and also {#! gruppen = _.groupBy(objects, …) #} with FOR key IN Object.keys(gruppen). File and index loops (FOR file IN $f, FOR i IN _.range(…)) do not count.
• Otherwise one document per object, then merged or packed as a ZIP.

objects without a loop does not change the mode. {#objects.length#} in a per-object template outputs the total count and leaves it a per-object template.

Section behaviour when merging

With one document per object, the section behaviour decides how the individual documents are joined:

The values are stable and will not be renamed. The output file is named <template name>_<YYYY-MM-DD>.docx or .zip.

Settings travel in the document

In the right-hand panel (Settings tab), the template editor saves three settings as an invisible marker in the template: As plain text (resolve content controls), Document split (object mode) and Transition between objects (section behaviour). On export, Moliri reads the marker. The template therefore brings its own presets with it, whoever uses it.

If the marker is missing, for example in a template written in Word, the following applies: content controls are resolved to plain text, the mode is detected, and the section behaviour is template. In the export dialog you can override merging and content controls for one run under Advanced settings.

Execution and errors

The check in the template editor finds the same errors before the export. It always reports FOR and IF blocks that are not closed and templates that cannot be read; it checks JavaScript errors with real sample data.

Further reading

• Template variables : which data is available
• Template functions : the ten helpers
• Recipes : patterns to copy
• Word reports : the export