Help:Templates

Bdk — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 13:45:09 GMT

Bdk: sorry, external links should be visible as such, these help pages have a very general audience

{{PD Help Page}}
If you have standard texts you want to include on several pages, the MediaWiki template feature comes into play.

== Creating a template ==

Templates are standard wiki pages whose content is designed to be [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Transclusion transcluded] (embedded) inside other pages. Templates follow a convention that the name is prefixed with "<code>Template:</code>", assigning it to that namespace. Therefore you can [[Help:Starting a new page|create them like any other wiki page]].

== Using a template ==
Templates are wiki pages which can be used in other pages in three ways:

*<code><nowiki>{{Name}}</nowiki></code> 'transcludes' (i.e. includes a copy of) the content of the template (stored in the page <nowiki>[[Template:Name]]</nowiki>) whenever the page containing the template transclusion is fetched and displayed; i.e. if the template is later changed, the displayed transcluding page will automatically change too
*<code><nowiki>{{subst:Name}}</nowiki></code> replaces that string with the contents of the template, in the source of the transcluding page, when you save that page; the copy of the template contents can then be edited normally (and separately from the original in the template page). '''''Note''''': don't use this if you are looking to continually propagate changes from the source template to the page(s) that references it.
*<code><nowiki>{{msgnw:Name}}</nowiki></code> includes the template in a form that displays it as raw wiki syntax (the way <code><nowiki><nowiki></nowiki></code> does) when the page containing it is fetched

In fact, an ordinary wiki page can also be used as a template, simply by qualifying the namespace it resides in, so:

*<code><nowiki>{{Template:Pagename}}</nowiki></code> includes <code><nowiki>[[Template:Pagename]]</nowiki></code>
*<code><nowiki>{{Foo:Pagename}}</nowiki></code> includes <code><nowiki>[[Foo:Pagename]]</nowiki></code>
*<code><nowiki>{{:Pagename}}</nowiki></code> includes <code><nowiki>[[Pagename]]</nowiki></code>

If no such namespace exists, the full title is assumed to be a template:

*<code><nowiki>{{Foo:Bar}}</nowiki></code> includes <code><nowiki>[[Template:Foo:Bar]]</nowiki></code>

== Using parameters in templates ==
<div style="float:right; margin:8px;">
{| {{Prettytable}}
|-
|{{Hl2}} colspan="2" align="center" |'''Template with numbered parameters'''
|-
| colspan="2" |
<pre><nowiki>
'''A little thank you...'''<br />
<small>for {{{1}}}.<br />
hugs, {{{2}}}</small>
</nowiki></pre>
|-
|{{Hl2}}|'''You type'''
|{{Hl2}}|'''You get'''
|-
|<code><nowiki>{{Thankyou|all your hard work|Joe}}</nowiki></code>
|
{{Thankyou|all your hard work|Joe}}
|-
|{{Hl2}} colspan="2" align="center" |'''with named parameters'''
|-
| colspan="2" |
<pre><nowiki>
'''A little thank you...'''<br />
<small>for {{{reason}}}.<br />
hugs, {{{signature}}}</small>
</nowiki></pre>
|-
|{{Hl2}}|'''You type'''
|{{Hl2}}|'''You get'''
|-
|<pre><nowiki>{{Thankyou
|reason=all your hard work
|signature=Joe}}</nowiki></pre>
|
{{Thankyou|all your hard work|Joe}}
|}
</div>
You can define parameters in templates either numbered as <code><nowiki>{{{1}}}</nowiki></code> or named <code><nowiki>{{{param}}}</nowiki></code>.

'''Example:''' You want a little thank you note you can put on the talk page of other users. It will contain a reason and your signature. You could create [[Template:Thankyou]] to enter your text, as in the example in the table.

When using the template on a page, you fill in the parameter values, separated by a pipe char (|): <code><nowiki>{{Thankyou|all your hard work|Joe}}</nowiki></code>. For named parameters use "name=value" pairs separated by a pipe char: <code><nowiki>{{Thankyou|reason=all your hard work|signature=Joe}}</nowiki></code>. The advantage of using named parameters in your template is that they are flexible in order. It also makes the template easier to understand if you have many parameters. If you want to change the order of numbered parameters, you have to mention them explicitly: <code><nowiki>{{Thankyou|2=Joe|1=all your hard work}}</nowiki></code>.

You can also provide default values for parameters, i.e. values that are going to be used if no value is provided for a parameter. For example, <code><nowiki>{{{reason|all your hard work}}}</nowiki></code> would result in ''"all your hard work"'' if no value was provided for the parameter <tt>reason</tt>.

== Control template inclusion ==

You can control template inclusion by the use of <code><nowiki><noinclude></nowiki></code> and
<code><nowiki><includeonly></nowiki></code> tags.

Anything between <code><nowiki><noinclude></nowiki></code> and <code><nowiki></noinclude></nowiki></code> will be processed and
displayed only when the template's page is being viewed directly.

Possible applications are:
* Categorising templates
* Interlanguage links to similar templates in other languages
* Explanatory text about how to use the template

The converse is <code><nowiki><includeonly></nowiki></code>. Text between <code><nowiki><includeonly></nowiki></code> and <code><nowiki></includeonly></nowiki></code> will be processed and displayed only when the page is being included. The obvious application is to add all pages containing a given template to a [[Help:Categories|category]], without putting the template itself into that category.

'''Note:''' when you change the categories applied by a template, the categorization of the pages that use that template may not be updated until some time later: this is handled by the {{mediawiki|Manual:Job queue|job queue}}.

==Organizing templates==
For templates to be effective users need to find them and be able to use them. A simple technique is to include an example on the template page.
For example:
<div style="display:table; width:auto;"><pre>
<noinclude>
== Usage ==
Allows to establish a link to a subject:
<nowiki>{{NameOfTemplate|Term1+Term2+Term3}}</nowiki>
</noinclude>
</pre></div>

Then, an editor can simply copy and paste the example to create a similar page.

==See Also==
*[[Help:External searches]] – a template special use case example
*[[Help:Magic words]] – fancy stuff you may find in some templates
*{{mediawiki|meta:Help:Embed page}} – embedding pages from {{mediawiki|namespace|namespaces}} other than <code>Template:</code>.

[[Category:Help|{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Template]]
{{Languages|Help:Templates}}

Help:Tracking changes

Bdk — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 20:06:53 GMT

Bdk: rv, see Project:PD help#Editorial guidelines

{{PD Help Page}}
[[Image:M-en-recentchanges.png|thumb|370px|'''Recent changes''' shows the latest changes to articles, file uploads, deletions and page moves]]
MediaWiki offers a collection of special pages and tools to keep track of what is going on in the wiki. So you can watch for example:
* recent changes to all pages
* the revision history: all changes made to one page
* the contributions of one specific user
* newly created pages

The most interesting special page is '''[[Special:Recentchanges]]'''. It displays all edits, file uploads, page moves, deletions and other actions done in the wiki. In the menu on top it offers a collection of links to customize your display: limit the number of changes shown, the number of days or restrict it to edits to a certain namespace. You can also hide edits marked as minor (don't forget that major changes can be flagged by a user as minor anyway).

One line in recent changes consists of several links:
* ''diff'' displays the difference to the previous revision of the page,
* ''hist'' links to the revision history of the page,
* the link with the full title of the page brings you to the current version. If the title is in bold, it indicates that it is on your [[Help:Watchlist|watchlist]].

Next is a flag describing the article modification type:
*''N'' denotes a new page,
*''m'' a minor edit,
*''b'' an edit made by a bot.

Following the timestamp, it shows the page size difference to the previous revision, then the user is mentioned, with a link to their [[Help:User page|user page]] and their [[Help:Talk pages#User Talk pages|talk page]] and contributions, or to their [[Help:Talk pages#User Talk pages|talk page]] only in the case of anonymous users.

Last but not least, there is an edit summary, appearing in italics, if the user submitted one when they made the edit.

=== Enhanced view ===
If you are logged in and have JavaScript enabled, you can also try the "enhanced" view. Simply go to your [[Help:Preferences#Recent changes|Preferences]] and enable "Enhanced recent changes (JavaScript)"; this will make recent changes show edits divided by page rather than being listed individually. You will now see entries like the following:
:! 15:17 [[Main Page]] (4 changes; (+236) Page history) [Some User‎ (2×); Some Other User (2×)]
Simply click the blue arrow to the left of the page name and timestamp to expand that page's recent edits just as they were on the normal style. You can turn this enhancement on and off at will, so feel free to try both to see which one you prefer.

=== See also ===
* [[Special:Newpages]]
* Related changes: [[Special:Recentchangeslinked/Pagename]]
* User contributions: [[Special:Contributions/User]]
* History
* [[Special:Watchlist]]

{{Admin tip|tip=You may want to add important pages in your wiki to [[MediaWiki:Recentchangestext]], the intro shown at [[Special:Recentchanges]]}}

{{Languages|Help:Tracking changes}}

[[Category:Help|Tracking changes]]
[[Category:Recent changes|Tracking changes]]

Gospel Translations - User contributions [en]

Help:Templates

Help:Tracking changes