Passing variable from controller to the master layout

Question

I have a main layout in views/layouts/main.blade.php How do I pass a variable that is in my ListingsController.php

public function getMain() {
        $uname = Auth::user()->firstname;
        $this->layout->content = View::make('listings/main')->with('name', $uname);
 }

and then I add this to my main.blade.php that is in listings/main

@if(!Auth::check()) 
<h2>Hello, {{ $name }}</h2>
@endif

It works but I cannot pass that variable to the mmaster layout in views/layouts/main.blade.php I simply need to display user's firstname in the header.

Answer 1

It should work the way it its, but... If you need to spread something to more than one view, you better use View::composer() or View::share():

View::share('name', Auth::user()->firstname);

If you need it only on your layout.main, you can:

View::composer('layouts.main', function($view)
{
    $view->with('name', Auth::check() ? Auth::user()->firstname : '');
});

If you need it on all your views you can:

View::composer('*', function($view)
{
    $view->with('name', Auth::check() ? Auth::user()->firstname : '');
});

You can even create a file for this purpose, something like app/composers.php and load it in your app/start/global.php:

require app_path().'/composers.php';

Answer 2

For this use a dedicated class.

First:

// app/Providers/AppServiceProvider.php
public function boot()
{
    view()->composer('layouts.master', 'App\Http\Composers\MasterComposer');
}

And then:

// app/Http/Composers/MasterComposer.php
use Illuminate\Contracts\View\View;

class MasterComposer {

    public function compose(View $view)
    {
        $view->with('variable', 'myvariable');
    }
}

Remember to register service provider.

More: https://laracasts.com/series/laravel-5-fundamentals/episodes/25

Answer 3

$this->data['uname'] = 'some_username';
return View::make('dashboard.home', $this->data);

Edit:: example:

<?php 
class BaseController extends Controller {

    /**
     * Setup the layout used by the controller.
     *
     * @return void
     */
        protected $layout = 'layouts.front';

    protected function setupLayout()
    {
        if ( ! is_null($this->layout))
        {
               $this->data['sidewide_var'] = 'This will be shown on every page';
           $this->layout = View::make($this->layout, $this->data);
        }
    }

}

_

<?php 
class BlogController extends BaseController {
    public function getPost($id)
    {
      $this->data['title'] = 'Post title'; //this will exist on only this page, but can be used in layouts/front.blade.php (for example)
      return View::make('blog.single_post', $this->data);
    }
}

this is the way I am using controllers. Both $sidewide_var and $title can be used in layout or view