Using Emmet Snippets in a MODX and Evolution CMS Editor Workflow

One of the easiest ways to speed up template editing is to bring editor-side abbreviations into the CMS workflow. The original discussion here centered on using Emmet-style expansions with a MODX editor setup based on CodeMirror.

Why It Helps

• faster HTML and chunk scaffolding
• quicker insertion of repetitive snippet calls
• less copy-paste noise in templates

Typical Custom Abbreviations

"ditto":"[[Ditto? &parents=`` &tpl=`` &sortDir=`ASC` &paginate=`0` &display=`3`]]"
"thumb":"[[phpthumb? &input=`[+image+]` &options=`w=150,h=76,far=C,bg=FFFFFF`]]"
"evogallery":"[[EvoGallery? &display=`images`]]"
"content":"[+content+]"
"cfooter":"{{footer}}"

The idea is simple: let the editor expand common CMS patterns for you instead of retyping them from memory every time.

Best Use

This approach works best when a team agrees on a shared set of abbreviations. That keeps templates consistent and makes onboarding easier for everyone touching the same project.

Source: original community announcement.