handle¶

The handle filter (also aliased as handleize) transforms an input string into a URL-friendly and human-readable "handle" or "slug." It is particularly useful when generating clean and meaningful identifiers for resources like blog posts, products, or categories.

Functionality

Strings: Takes a string as input.
Normalization:
- Converts all letters to lowercase.
- Replaces spaces, punctuation, and other special characters with hyphens.
- Removes any remaining invalid characters that are not letters, numbers, or hyphens.
- Ensures consecutive capital letters are separated by a hyphen.
Output: Returns a new string that is suitable for use in URLs or as a human-readable identifier.

Syntax

    {{ input_string | handle }}

or

    {{ input_string | handleize }}

(Both syntaxes are equivalent)

Arguments

The handle filter does not require any arguments.

Code Samples

Example 1: Creating a URL Slug

    {% assign title = "My Awesome Blog Post" %}

    {{ title | handle }}

Output:

my-awesome-blog-post

Example 2: Handling Special Characters

    {% assign product_name = "Product with !@#$%^&*() characters" %}

    {{ product_name | handle }}

Output:

product-with-characters

Example 3: Handling Accents and Diacritics

    {% assign name = "José Ramón López" %}

    {{ name | handle }}

Output: (Depending on the underlying normalization rules)

jose-ramon-lopez

Outliers and Special Cases¶

Empty Strings: If the input string is empty, the handle filter returns an empty string.
Non-String Input: If the input is not a string, the filter might attempt to convert it to a string or return an error.

Key Points¶

The handle filter streamlines the process of creating URL-friendly identifiers (slugs).
It improves the readability of generated handles by replacing special characters with hyphens.
The filter can be customized by modifying the Handleize method in the MiscFilters class if you have specific requirements for handling certain characters.
Consider using the handle filter whenever you need to generate clean, concise identifiers for resources within your Experience Builder templates.