Node.js & Express.js Series | Chapter 4 | User-defined “views” Path

When working with Node.js and Express.js, it is important to understand how to define user-defined “views” path. Views are the templates that are used to render HTML content on the client side. By default, Express.js looks for views in a folder called “views” in the root directory of the application. However, you may want to organize your views in a different folder or use a different naming convention. In this article, we will explore how to define a user-defined “views” path in an Express.js application.

Setting the “views” path

To define a user-defined “views” path in an Express.js application, you can use the set method provided by the Express application. This method allows you to set various settings for the application, including the “views” path. You can do this by specifying the path to the folder where your views are located. For example:

const express = require('express');
const app = express();

app.set('views', 'path/to/views/folder');
	

In this example, we are setting the “views” path to a folder called “views” located at a specific path in the file system.

Using the “views” path

Once you have defined the “views” path, you can use the render method provided by the response object to render a view. For example:

app.get('/', (req, res) => {
  res.render('index');
});
	

In this example, we are using the render method to render a view called “index”. Express.js will look for this view in the user-defined “views” path that we have set previously.

Conclusion

Defining a user-defined “views” path in an Express.js application allows you to organize your views in a way that makes sense for your project. By using the set method, you can easily specify the path to your views folder, and then use the render method to render views based on this path. This gives you more flexibility and control over how your views are organized and used in your application.