Creating ViewHelpers inside Typo3 fluid template

Question

I want to build a Typo3 template from scratch using Fluid. I'm new to this CMS, but have knowledge in Zend Framework which uses a similar MVC approach. What I don't know is where to put the ViewHelpers inside my template.

I have the following directory structure:

typo3/fileadmin/
    projectname/
        templates/
            assets/
                images
                js
                styles/
                    css/
                    less/
            layouts/
                single.html
                2col.html
                3col.html
            partials/
                breadcrumb.html
            default.html
        tsconfig/
        typoscript/
            constants.ts
            setup.ts  

All I found on the web were tutorials using Fluid inside a Typo3 extension. I'd like to register a new namespace for my classes, define a directory for the autoloader and use the viewhelpers inside my templates and not inside an extension (e.g. <my:formatMyWay>)

Is there something similar inside the templates? Or do I have to create my own Typo3 extension for this?

Answer 1

You're right, you have to create your own TYPO3 extension in order to have own viewhelpers. You can use the extension_builder to kickstart an empty extension. Then add your viewhelper under typo3conf/ext/my_ext/Classes/ViewHelpers/ and add this namespace to the top of your template: {namespace my=Tx_MyExt_ViewHelpers}. This simple guide may also help you to create the viewhelper itself. An advantage is that you can nicely package the viewhelpers and use them in multiple projects.