There have been a number of recent queries on the textpattern support forums about ways of customizing the output of <txp:recent_articles />, to show excerpts, dates and so on.

If you need a list of recent articles with additional information or formatting, <txp:recent_articles /> is almost certainly not the right tool for the job. You’ll be far better served by the oft-misunderstood <txp:article_custom /> tag.

Like many new Texpattern users, I initially assumed <txp:article_custom /> was just <txp:article /> with more options. It isn’t. <txp:article /> is context-sensitive; depending on the page, it will display a single article, a list of all articles, a list of articles in a particular section or category, and the search results. <txp:article_custom /> does none of these things. It always displays a list, and ignores the current section and article context.

To display a simple list of article titles, first create a new form called headline. Set the Form Type to article, and enter the following form code:

Now save that and edit your page code. Use the following in place of txp:recent_articles, where you want the list to appear:

Your page should now display the 10 most recent articles as an unordered list. If you’re seeing a blank page instead, check the the syntax of your form code and article_custom tag carefully. If the page displays normally, but the list is empty, make sure the form name in your article_custom tag exactly matches the name of the form you created.

You can change the number and type of articles displayed in the list by changing the article_custom attributes. Some examples:

A shorter list:
<txp:article_custom form="headline" limit=5 />

Only show articles from the “news” section:
<txp:article_custom form="headline" section="news" />

Only show articles in the “local” category:
<txp:article_custom form="headline" category="local" />

Only articles in the “weather” section AND “sydney” category:
<txp:article_custom form="headline" section="weather" category="sydney" />

Articles in the “local” category, starting with the oldest:
<txp:article_custom form="headline" category="local" sortdir="asc" />

Articles from a particular month:
<txp:article_custom form="headline" month="2003-11" />

Articles from a given day:
<txp:article_custom form="headline" month="2003-11-25" />

Articles by a particular author:
<txp:article_custom form="headline" author="jim" />

Show 10 recent articles, starting with the second:
<txp:article_custom form="headline" limit="1,10" />
(the first record is number 0; to start with the fifth article, use limit="4,10")

5 random articles:
<txp:article_custom form="headline" limit=5 sortby="rand()" />

Most recently modified articles:
<txp:article custom form="headline" sortby="LastMod" />

To change the appearance of the list, or add extra information to each item, edit the headline form. Some examples:

Include the Excerpt field with each headline

<li><txp:permlink><txp:title /></txp:permlink></li>
<li><txp:excerpt /></li>


Show article dates

<li><txp_posted format="Y-m-d" />: <txp:permlink><txp:title /></txp:permlink></li>


Use line breaks instead of list formatting:

<txp:permlink><txp:title /></txp:permlink></br />

(you’ll need to edit your page code to remove the <ul> </ul>, of course)

Include the article thumbnail beside each title (requires the zem_article_image plugin):

<li><txp:zem_article_thumb />
<txp:permlink><txp:title /></txp:permlink></li>


Show the category name:

<li><txp:category1 /> - <txp:permlink><txp:title /></txp:permlink></li>


Show the author name:

<li><txp:permlink><txp:title /></txp:permlink> (<txp:author />)</li>


Feel free to suggest additional examples in comments.