Question: When try I following code in a controller, the view renders *without* using the layout

```
  def xyz
    render :partial => 'platinum_home', :layout => 'platinum_layout'
  end

```

But If I do the following inside the partial

```
<% render(:layout => "platinum_layout") do %>
  blah blah blah
<% end %>

```

It works just fine, is the first example not possible using rails?

Answer: 
In your controller at the top add the following:

```
class SomeController < ApplicationController
    layout "platinum_layout", :only => :xyz

```
Partial rendering in a controller is most commonly used together with Ajax calls that only update one or a few elements on a page without reloading. Rendering of partials from the controller makes it possible to use the same partial template in both the full-page rendering (by calling it from within the template) and when sub-page updates happen (from the controller action responding to Ajax calls). By default, the current layout is not used. 

So to use current layout for your just used.

```
  def xyz
    render :partial => 'platinum_home', :layout => true
  end

```