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Replacing PHx Modifiers with Lighter Template Helpers

PHx was powerful, but heavy. This donor captured the long-running push toward smaller, faster helper snippets around Evolution CMS templates.

One recurring theme in the old Evolution ecosystem was reducing dependence on PHx for simple template transformations. PHx could do a lot, but it also added parser weight and made some templates harder to reason about.

The alternative mindset

Instead of one large modifier system, use smaller helpers for the cases you actually need. Combined with IF, that often covers the common presentation logic without the same overhead.

Why this matters

This donor is less about one exact snippet and more about a broader shift in Evolution projects: leaner parser logic, more explicit helpers, and less hidden magic in template chains.

Source: original community announcement.

Newer post

AlignImage: A Faster Gallery Helper for Large Image Sets

AlignImage came out of a real scaling problem: gallery logic that worked for a few images but broke down badly once the image count reached hundreds.

Older post

CodeMirror 3.13 for MODX Evo: Better Highlighting and Full-Screen Editing

This CodeMirror update was a meaningful editor upgrade for Evolution-era projects: better syntax support, MODX tag highlighting, and a much more usable editing experience.