Change Express view folder based on where is the file that res.render() is called

I would like to change the view folder of Express when I call res.render().

For example, if I call res.render(viewName) inside /folder/file.js, I would like that Express look for the view inside /folder/views.

If the file is inside /folder1/folder2/file.js, I would like that Express look for the view inside /folder1/folder2/views

Is it possible ?

Solution 1:

You can use the method set() to redefine express's default settings.

app.set('views', path.join(__dirname, '/yourViewDirectory'));

• Express documentation

For a dynamic path change you can do something like this:

var express = require('express');
var path = require('path');
var app = express();

app.engine('jade', require('jade').__express);
app.set('view engine','jade');

app.customRender = function (root,name,fn) {

    var engines = app.engines;
    var cache = app.cache;

    view = cache[root+'-'+name];

    if (!view) {
        view = new (app.get('view'))(name, {
          defaultEngine: app.get('view engine'),
          root: root,
          engines: engines
        });

        if (!view.path) {
          var err = new Error('Failed to lookup view "' + name + '" in views directory "' + root + '"');
          err.view = view;
          return fn(err);
        }

        cache[root+'-'+name] = view;
    }

    try {
      view.render(opts, fn);
    } catch (err) {
      fn(err);
    }
}

app.get('/', function(req, res) {

    app.customRender(path.join(__dirname, '/path/to/user/'),'index',function (err,html) {
        if (err)
            res.send(404);
        else
            res.send(200,html);
    });

});

app.listen(3000);

Solution 2:

Instead of simply passing your view name to the render function, you can pass a relative or​ ​absolute​​ ​path.​​​​​​

Simple example:

app.get('/your/path', function(req, res) {
    //viewname can include or omit the filename extension
    res.render(__dirname + '/folder/with/views/viewname'); 
});​​​​​​​​​​