docs.modx.pro
  1. Extras
  2. PageBuilder
  3. Frontend output

Frontend output ​

Template ​

Place the PageBuilder snippet in the template or content field. Use an uncached call:

modx
[[!PageBuilder]]
fenom
{'!PageBuilder' | snippet}

Published sections render through Fenom chunks in core/components/pagebuilder/elements/chunks/. The chunk name matches the chunk field in the type JSON: pagebuilder_hero, pagebuilder_cta; Pro uses pagebuilderpro_{key}. FenomSectionRenderer buffers chunk output: a FetchIt or Fenom exception does not leave truncated HTML on the page.

CSS ​

By default the snippet registers:

  • pagebuilder-sections.css for base Free section styles
  • pagebuilder-sections.js with Pro and interactive sections (tabs, carousel)

Disable globally: pagebuilder_load_frontend_css = 0. Per call: &load_css=0``.

Page wrapper <div class="pb-page"> is controlled by wrap_page (defaults to the same as load_css).

Tokens, BEM, and Fenom shell: Design system.

HTML cache ​

use_cache=1 (default) caches final HTML in MODX. After publishing sections, clear site cache or call with use_cache=0 temporarily.

Events pbOnBeforeRenderDocument and pbOnBeforeRenderSection run only on cache miss (when HTML is not cached yet).

Section filter ​

Parameter section_types limits output to listed keys:

modx
[[!PageBuilder? &section_types=`hero,cta`]]
fenom
{'!PageBuilder' | snippet : ['section_types' => 'hero,cta']}

Useful for partial blocks in different template areas.

JSON instead of HTML ​

return_values=1 returns JSON with extracted field values (plainText, sections structure). For headless or custom templating. Fires pbOnGetValues.

Section visibility ​

In section settings you can set:

  • contexts: MODX context keys (current request context)
  • utm: UTM rules from $_SESSION['utm'] after PageBuilderUtmSession

With Pro and capability conditions, add settings.conditions (loggedIn, guest, context, GET params, and more). Checked via SectionVisibility and event pbOnCheckSectionVisibility.

The section is omitted from HTML when a rule fails.

In the manager these blocks open from the Visibility dialog (pagebuilder_inspector_visibility_enabled). See Workflow.

Responsive on the site ​

With pagebuilder_responsive_apply=manual (default), the site gets one breakpoint value: ?pb_bp= or pagebuilder_default_breakpoint.

With css, all values go into HTML. Pro render wraps them in <span class="pb-rv"> with data-pb-bp; media-query CSS is injected automatically. In chunks for those fields:

fenom
{$title|pb_text}

pb_text passes through .pb-rv markup and escapes plain text. Do not swap it for |escape or CSS mode breaks.

Field schema and JSON: Fields overview → responsive. Settings: System settings → Responsive.

Draft preview ​

The public site shows published content only. View drafts in the manager (Preview button) or via:

{assets_url}components/pagebuilder/preview.php

Token is signed with pagebuilder_preview_secret. The iframe loads template CSS (pagebuilder_preview_include_template_css) and URLs from pagebuilder_preview_css_urls.

Customize chunks ​

  1. Copy the section chunk to your theme category.
  2. Edit Fenom markup, keep the name or override mapping in a plugin on pbOnBeforeRenderSection.

A plugin can replace a section before chunk render via SectionRenderPipeline::replaceSection().