# Introduction to FreeMarker

FreeMarker is a template engine that has now been incorporated into PCGen's export system as an alternative to our venerable export syntax. The FreeMarker engine brings some important benefits:

- Industry standard syntax
- Support for macros to output parameterised blocks
- Improved flow-control and logic instructions
- Support for including other files, e.g. macro libraries or common blocks
- Calculations and state within the output template
- Built-in syntax support in many text editors

Here's a simple example FreeMarker PCGen template

    <!-- Produced on ${.now?date} at ${.now?time} using template ${.template_name} -->
    <h1>Freemarker Sheet for <@pcstring tag="NAME"/> - ${.now?date}</h1>

    <p> Character Name: <@pcstring tag="NAME"/> </p>
    <p> Player Name: <@pcstring tag="PLAYERNAME"/> </p>

    <p> Fighter: ${pcvar("CL=Fighter")} </p>
    <p> Rogue: ${pcvar("CL=Rogue")} </p>

    <p><@loop from=0 to=pcvar('countdistinct("CLASSES")')-1 ; class , class_has_next >
            <@pcstring tag="CLASSABB.${class}"/> <#t>
            <@pcstring tag="CLASS.${class}.LEVEL"/><#if class_has_next>,</#if><#t>
    </@loop></p>

which produces the output

    <!-- Produced on 29/10/2013 at 9:44:47 PM using template csheet_test-html.ftl -->
    <h1>Freemarker Sheet for Ronald 'Surefingers' Millbridge - 29/10/2013</h1>

    <p> Character Name: Ronald 'Surefingers' Millbridge </p>
    <p> Player Name: James </p>

    <p> Fighter: 0 </p>
    <p> Rogue: 11 </p>

    <p>Rog 11,Wiz 2</p>