<p>There are probably other points that can be added to this, but here are a few...</p>

<ul>
<li>If you deleted the Single, and there was no change when the template is viewed, then you probably <em>didn't need the Single</em>. Were there any fields assigned to the Single, and were those fields referenced in the template? If the answer is "no", then the Single was definitely extraneous.</li>
<li>You can make a template hidden by prefixing the template name with an underscore: <code>/rec/_list.html</code>. This makes the template invisible on the front-end, unless it's being called up through a Single/Channel/Structure. Without the underscore, any template can be viewed directly. (Worth noting that the underscore can also be applied to the folder name, hiding all templates inside that folder.)</li>
</ul>

<p>In summary, the value of a Single is to be able to <strong>manage your content via the Control Panel</strong>. Whatever dynamic data is stored in your Single will be pulled into your template. If you have no dynamic data, then the Single is unnecessary.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-12-22T15:26:40.513Z
Yes, I have the following fields assigned, but, I did not have a _ appended to the front of the filename:

<div class="row">
  <div class="large-12 columns masthead">
   <h2>&rarr; {{siteName}} &larr;</h2>
   <p class="tag">{{recipegenerictag1.tagLine}}</p>

  </div>
 </div>
Chip Shank
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-12-21T19:51:47.603Z
2015-12-21T19:51:47.603Z
Lindsey D
<p>I created a single called recList and the corresponding Entry Template is /rec/list.html</p>

<p>I created an entry and I can view the webpage as you would expect.</p>

<p>Question: If I disable the entry or even delete the recList entry it seems to have no effect on the corresponding entry template, meaning that everything still works fine.  So, can someone explain the necessity of defining the single template pages in the admin site and what we are missing when we delete single sections?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

<p>Chip</p>

<templating>
Need clarification on the need for a Single section being created
# Need clarification on the need for a Single section being created

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-12-21)

I created a single called recList and the corresponding Entry Template is /rec/list.html

I created an entry and I can view the webpage as you would expect.

Question: If I disable the entry or even delete the recList entry it seems to have no effect on the corresponding entry template, meaning that everything still works fine. So, can someone explain the necessity of defining the single template pages in the admin site and what we are missing when we delete single sections?

Thanks!

Chip

**Tags:** templating

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2015-12-21. Score: 3

There are probably other points that can be added to this, but here are a few...

* If you deleted the Single, and there was no change when the template is viewed, then you probably *didn't need the Single*. Were there any fields assigned to the Single, and were those fields referenced in the template? If the answer is "no", then the Single was definitely extraneous.
* You can make a template hidden by prefixing the template name with an underscore: `/rec/_list.html`. This makes the template invisible on the front-end, unless it's being called up through a Single/Channel/Structure. Without the underscore, any template can be viewed directly. (Worth noting that the underscore can also be applied to the folder name, hiding all templates inside that folder.)

In summary, the value of a Single is to be able to **manage your content via the Control Panel**. Whatever dynamic data is stored in your Single will be pulled into your template. If you have no dynamic data, then the Single is unnecessary.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Yes, I have the following fields assigned, but, I did not have a _ appended to the front of the filename:  <div class="row">   <div class="large-12 columns masthead">    <h2>&rarr; {{siteName}} &larr;</h2>    <p class="tag">{{recipegenerictag1.tagLine}}</p>    </div>  </div>  

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