Advanced template syntax

Once your templates grow beyond a single file, these techniques help you organize, reuse and debug them.

Page	What you learn
Understanding the code-behind model	Move template code into a separate source file.
Referencing assemblies	Use the Assembly directive to reference a compiled assembly or compile a source file with the template.
Importing namespaces	Use the Import directive so that you don't have to fully qualify type names.
Including external files	Insert another file's contents into a template with an include statement.
Sharing common code	Compare the ways to reuse code across templates.
Debugging templates	Step through template code in a debugger, write trace output and view the compiled source.
Using master templates	Register, configure and render sub-templates from a master template.
Writing to multiple outputs	Send the same output to several destinations at once.

Next, learn where your templates' input can come from in Driving templates with metadata.