Cannot add custom page template to my child theme

Question

I'm running Wordpress 3.3.1.

I'm writing a child theme that modifies the default twentyeleven theme. Everything seems normal, except that when I add a custom page template, it doesn't appear in the add/edit screen (so I can't use it!).

To elaborate on "normal", here's what IS working: My child theme appears and activates normally. My CSS code (in style.css) is appearing. My files from the template hierarchy are working (ex: front-page.php, page.php)

I've read and reread the codex, and my custom page template file ("coming-soon.php") seems to have the correct header:

<?php
 /*
  Template Name: Coming Soon
 */

So why won't it show up under the "Template" drop-down???

I've added custom templates dozens of times and never had this problem. The only possible difference I can think of is that I'm writing a child theme (even though the codex says this shouldn't matter), or perhaps it's a difference in the newest update of WP.

Have you tried adding this page template to another theme (or even 2011 itself) to see if it's a problem in the theme? — Anca

Hobo Hobo · Accepted Answer · 2012-01-21T16:08:33

I can't duplicate what you're seeing with a clean install of WordPress 3.3.1. I have a theme with just two files, style.css, containing:

/*
Theme Name:     stackoverflow-8946077
Template:       twentyeleven
Version:        0.0.1
*/
@import url("../twentyeleven/style.css");

and coming-soon.php, containing:

<?php
 /*
  Template Name: Coming Soon
 */

get_header();
?><h1>Coming Soon</h1><?php
get_footer();
?>

the first part of which was copied from your question.

I see the template as expected:

WordPress templates

The only things I can think of are to double-check:

the file exists on the server you're running on
the file's in the child template's directory (though it should work if it's in the twentyeleven directory)
there's no file with the same name in the twentyeleven directory, which (I think) would take precedence
the file name ends in .php
you only have a single space between "Template" and "Name:" (the regex used contains the literal Template Name:)

Failing that, the dropdown is populated by the get_page_templates function in wp-admin/includes/theme.php. Might be worth sticking some debug code in there to see if the $templates variable includes coming-soon.php.

Cannot add custom page template to my child theme

4 Answers