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Published Jul. 2, 2025

Error executing FreeMarker template with #null when rendering web content

Written By

Sergio Alonso

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Issue

  • When trying to render a web content we get the following error in Liferay DXP log: 
    2021-02-12 11:41:48.911 ERROR [http-nio-8080-exec-9][runtime:59] Error executing FreeMarker template
    FreeMarker template error:
    The following has evaluated to null or missing:
    ==> webContentData.title [in template "20101#20128#null" at line 14, column 11]

    ----
    Tip: It's the step after the last dot that caused this error, not those before it.
    ----
    Tip: If the failing expression is known to legally refer to something that's sometimes null or missing, either specify a default value like myOptionalVar!myDefault, or use <#if myOptionalVar??>when-present<#else>when-missing</#if>. (These only cover the last step of the expression; to cover the whole expression, use parenthesis: (myOptionalVar.foo)!myDefault, (myOptionalVar.foo)??
    ----

    ----
    FTL stack trace ("~" means nesting-related):
    - Failed at: ${webContentData.title} [in template "20101#20128#null" at line 14, column 9]
    ----

    Java stack trace (for programmers):
    ----
    freemarker.core.InvalidReferenceException: [... Exception message was already printed; see it above ...]
    at freemarker.core.InvalidReferenceException.getInstance(InvalidReferenceException.java:134)
    at freemarker.core.EvalUtil.coerceModelToTextualCommon(EvalUtil.java:479)
    at freemarker.core.EvalUtil.coerceModelToStringOrMarkup(EvalUtil.java:401)
    at freemarker.core.EvalUtil.coerceModelToStringOrMarkup(EvalUtil.java:370)
    at freemarker.core.DollarVariable.calculateInterpolatedStringOrMarkup(DollarVariable.java:100)
    at freemarker.core.DollarVariable.accept(DollarVariable.java:63)
    at freemarker.core.Environment.visit(Environment.java:331)
    at freemarker.core.Environment.visit(Environment.java:337)
    at freemarker.core.Environment.process(Environment.java:310)
    at freemarker.template.Template.process(Template.java:383)
    at com.liferay.portal.template.freemarker.internal.FreeMarkerTemplate.processTemplate(FreeMarkerTemplate.java:154)
    at com.liferay.portal.template.BaseTemplate.processTemplate(BaseTemplate.java:163)
    at com.liferay.journal.internal.transformer.JournalTransformer.doTransform(JournalTransformer.java:367)
    at com.liferay.journal.internal.transformer.JournalTransformer.transform(JournalTransformer.java:103)
    at com.liferay.journal.internal.util.JournalUtil.transform(JournalUtil.java:424)
    at com.liferay.journal.service.impl.JournalArticleLocalServiceImpl.getArticleDisplay(JournalArticleLocalServiceImpl.java:7962)
    at com.liferay.journal.service.impl.JournalArticleLocalServiceImpl.getArticleDisplay(JournalArticleLocalServiceImpl.java:2516)
    ...
    ...
    ...
  • The web content has a structure but no associated template.

Environment

  • Liferay DXP 7.2
  • Liferay DXP 7.3

Resolution

  • This issue happens when the structure defines a field of type 'web content' (internally denoted as 'ddm-journal-article') and this field has no assigned value in the web content based on the structure.
  • In this case, Liferay processes the 'ddm-journal-article' field using with it the default FreeMarker template journal-article.ftl. This template assumes that the 'ddm-journal-article' field provides certain values such as the web content title.
  • However, since the field has no value the template gets a null value and this causes a parsing error from the FreeMarker template.
  • There are two options to solve the issue:
    • the 'web content' field must be filled with a value,
    • or the web content must have an associated template.

 

 

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