Using Django class-based views, how can I return a different template if request.is_ajax

Question

I find Django's request.is_ajax a very useful way to add progressive enhancement via JS and still keep DRY in my views.

However, I want to use class-based views and render with a different template if request.is_ajax.

It is not clear to me how I can override my default "template_name" and make the template loading conditional in class-based views.

How can I do this?

Answer 1

The appropriate way to do this is to override the methods provided by the TemplateResponseMixin.

If you simply need to provide a different template for Ajax requests, then override get_template_names. If you want to provide a different response altogether, say a application/json response, then override render_to_response to produce a different HttpResponse for Ajax requests.

Answer 2

Override get_template_names:

def get_template_names(self):
    if self.request.is_ajax():
        return ['ajax_template.html']
    else:
        return ['standard_template.html']