# Listing recent items from layout help

**URL:** <https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/listing-recent-items-from-layout-help/111365>\
**Category:** Rails\
**Created:** [August 6, 2007, 3:19pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/listing-recent-items-from-layout-help/111365 "2007-08-06T15:19:17Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![sashaski](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@sashaski](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/sashaski)\
**Post date:** [August 6, 2007, 3:19pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/listing-recent-items-from-layout-help/111365/1 "2007-08-06T15:19:17Z")

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Hi, basically I’m trying to list the last 3 items, which I’ve succeeded  
in doing in the template, however I would like to move this code to the  
layout instead.

In the controller I have this code:

` def list
    @posts = Post.find(:all)
    @rposts = Post.find(:all, :order => "id desc", :limit => 3)
  end`  
So when I use this code in list.rhtml it displays the last 3 items and  
links to them:

[code=]\<% for post in @rposts %\>

- \<%= link\_to post.title, :action =\> 'show', :permalink =\> post.permalink %\> \<% end %\>
[/code] However when I try to move that code from list.rhtml and into the layout just as before the last 3 posts are shown with the correct links however when I click on one of the posts I receive this error:

[code=] NoMethodError in Blog#show

Showing app/views/layouts/blog.rhtml where line #45 raised:

You have a nil object when you didn’t expect it!  
You might have expected an instance of Array.  
The error occurred while evaluating nil.each

Extracted source (around line #45):

42:   
43:  
44:

## Recent Posts:
  
45: 
\<% for post in @rposts %\>  
46: - \<%= link\_to post.title, :action =\> ‘show’, :permalink  
=\> post.permalink %\>  
47: \<% end %\>
  
48: 
[/code]  
Any help as to why this happens and how to fix it?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![sashaski](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@sashaski](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/sashaski)\
**Post date:** [August 6, 2007, 5:55pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/listing-recent-items-from-layout-help/111365/2 "2007-08-06T17:55:02Z")

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Thanks for your reply, I used render partial and it works now, however  
I’m having to repeat “@rposts = Post.find(:all, :order =\> “id desc”,  
:limit =\> 3)” under every def \_\_\_ in the controller, is there a way to  
make it apply to all?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![sashaski](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@sashaski](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/sashaski)\
**Post date:** [August 6, 2007, 4:47pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/listing-recent-items-from-layout-help/111365/3 "2007-08-06T16:47:29Z")

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I’ve just started programming in Rails, so my comment may not count  
for much, but it seems to me that you’re trying to put a method in the  
layout, and layouts, as far as I know, accepts built-in helper  
methods. Because it’s not correlated with the folder named off of the  
controller you’re using, the layout can’t find the variable @rposts;  
layouts doesn’t receive any data from the controller branching off of  
Application Controller.

I’d advise you to create a partial instead. Partials are rhtml files  
whose name starts with an underscore (for example: ‘\_post.rhtml’).  
Put that into the controller file, and then bring that up in the  
layout via the code line: \<%=render(:partial=\>“post”)%\>

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![sashaski](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@sashaski](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/sashaski)\
**Post date:** [August 6, 2007, 7:10pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/listing-recent-items-from-layout-help/111365/4 "2007-08-06T19:10:06Z")

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Thank you very much you’ve been great help! Everyone works wonderfully  
now.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![sashaski](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@sashaski](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/sashaski)\
**Post date:** [August 6, 2007, 6:18pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/listing-recent-items-from-layout-help/111365/5 "2007-08-06T18:18:45Z")

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## If it’s in a controller, make a private (actually, leaving it public is fine, but private gives better security :-)) method that has that one line:

## private def find\_post @rposts = Post.find(:all, :order =\> “id desc”, :limit =\> 3) end

## And then simply add this line right under the class name

## before\_filter(:find\_post)

Now, all methods will call that line first! And if you like, you can  
add as many before\_filters as you please (before\_filter also accepts  
the 2nd parameter :only=\>[‘method1’, ‘method2’]  
or :except=\>[‘method1’, ‘method2’], if certain methods doesn’t need  
that filter)  
Any controllers extending off of this one will also call the  
before\_filter method, so be careful (I had that problem once).  
On Aug 6, 11:55 am, Sasha A. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid)