Help:A quick guide to templates: Difference between revisions

{{Wikipedia how to|H:TQG|sort-by=Templates, A quick guide to}}{{Wiki markup}}

This is a quick '''overview of templates'''. Full details can be found in '''[[Wikipedia:Help:Template|Help:Template]]''' and '''[[metawikimetawikimedia:Help:Advanced templates|Help:Advanced templates]]'''.

A '''template''' is a Wikipedia page created to be included in other pages. It usually contains repetitive material that may need to show up on multiple articles or pages, often with customizable input. Most templates are ''scripts'' using [[Wikipedia:MediaWiki|MediaWiki]] parser functions, nicknamed "[[Wikipedia:Help:Magic words|magic words]]", a simple [[Wikipedia:scripting language|scripting language]].

Template pages are found in the [[Wikipedia:Template namespace|template namespace]]. This means any page whose title begins with "Template:", such as "[[Wikipedia:Template:foo|Template:foo]]", can be used for that purpose. The content from a template titled Template:foo can be added into a Wikipedia page by editing a page and typing <code><nowiki>{{foo}}</nowiki></code> into it. When then viewing the page, <code><nowiki>{{foo}}</nowiki></code> is automatically replaced by the content of the page "Template:foo". If the page "Template:foo" is later altered, all the pages with <code><nowiki>{{foo}}</nowiki></code> in them will change automatically.

Templates can have parameters which the page can dynamically incorporate into the transcluded page. Instead of just the template name, like <code><nowiki>{{foo}}</nowiki></code>, an embedded template tag would have additional values separated by [[vertical bar]]s (|), e.g. <code><nowiki>{{foo|July|lc=yes}}</nowiki></code>. Here <code>July</code> is the value of the first unnamed parameter; <code>yes</code> is the value of the named parameter <code>lc</code>. Writing the template page for a template with parameters is more complicated than for a template with no parameters. See [[Wikipedia:Help:TemplateTemplate‏‎ ]].

: See [[Wikipedia:Help:TemplateTemplate‏‎ ]] for instructions.

: Wikipedia and your computer both store webpage ''[[Wikipedia:Web cache|caches]]''&nbsp;– or saved copies&nbsp;– and don't always show you an updated page. First, try to [[Wikipedia:WP:BYPASS|bypass your browser's cache]] by pressing ⌘R, Ctrl+R, or F5. If that fails, you may need to [[Wikipedia:WP:PURGE|purge]] the page's cache (which can be done several different ways). Perhaps the easiest way to do this is by clicking '''edit''' on the page in which the template appears, and then clicking on '''Publish changes''' without having changed anything&nbsp;– there is no need to fill in the ''Summary'' field since there will not be any ''history'' of this as a change generated.

: Yes, this works in exactly the same way as normal [[Wikipedia:Help:Moving a page|page moves]]. When a page called for inclusion is a redirect page, the redirect target is included instead.

: The language inside templates is the same language as regular wiki markup, but template writers tend to use the more complex available functions such as #if: statements. See Wikipedia's [[Wikipedia:Help:Template]] and Wikimedia's [[mwmediawikiwiki:Help:Template|Help:Template]], including all of "advanced functioning" help pages listed toward the bottom of [[mwmediawikiwiki:Help:Template#Links to other help pages|that page]].

==Examples See Also ==