Question

I read that the AppError class is now for backwards compatibility and that Exceptions should be used instead. How does one go about creating custom error pages for things like 404 errors, or completely custom errors?

Answer 1

Try this:

/app/Config/core.php

Exception render need to set as an AppExceptionRender. Example:

Configure::write('Exception', array(
        'handler' => 'ErrorHandler::handleException',
        'renderer' => 'AppExceptionRenderer',
        'log' => true
));

/app/Controller/ErrorsController.php

class ErrorsController extends AppController {
    public $name = 'Errors';

    public function beforeFilter() {
        parent::beforeFilter();
        $this->Auth->allow('error404');
    }

    public function error404() {
        //$this->layout = 'default';
    }
}

/app/Lib/Error/AppExceptionRenderer.php

App::uses('ExceptionRenderer', 'Error');

class AppExceptionRenderer extends ExceptionRenderer {

    public function notFound($error) {
        $this->controller->redirect(array('controller' => 'errors', 'action' => 'error404'));
    }
}

/app/View/Errors/error404.ctp

<div class="inner404">
    <h2>404 Error - Page Not Found</h2>
</div>

Insert it where you need: throw new NotFoundException();