Help:Template
From Image Comics Database
The MediaWiki software allows you to automatically substitute messages and templates in the article text. As of the upgrade to MediaWiki 1.3 (in September 2004), templates now have their own namespace inside the database. Template pages will start with the Template: prefix.
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Include a message
The syntax for insertion of the page "Template:name" is {{name}}. This reference in the wikitext causes insertion of the template content when the referring page is rendered.
If the page "Template:name" does not exist, then {{name}} works as [[Template:name]], a link to a non-existing page, leading to the edit page.
Self links do not give any complication: they are neatly displayed in bold and not as link. However, templates should have the correct page names and not rely on redirecting, since the feature does not work in that case.
Parameters
You may also include a message as a template by applying parameters to the template.
Template parameters are either named or numbered. The syntax to add a message with parameters is {{thing|param=value}} with {{{param}}} tags in the template, or {{thing|value1|value2}} with {{{1}}}, {{{2}}}, etc. tags in the template. (Note that parameter tags in the template have three braces rather than two).
On rendering, surplus parameters are ignored. In the case of too few, the parameters will appear as links to nonexistent templates.
Substitutions
If you include the string "subst:" after the double opening curly-braces, MediaWiki will substitute the template text in the wikitext rather than include it. The net effect is that the current text of the template will be permanently saved, and will not be
Example: {{subst:copyvio1}}
When subst is applied to a template, a variable in the template is copied as such in the wikitext. (As of MediaWiki 1.3.2, there is a bug in the system where setting parameters with substitutions does not work. The developers are aware of this problem and are creating a fix. [1])
You cannot substitute the same template more than five times per edit. (However, this only applies to any one edit; you can then go back and add the same template five more times. Why anyone might one to do this, though, is unclear.)
Usage
Templates are useful for any text for which one wants a copy in two or more pages, and there is no need for each copy to be edited independently, to adapt it to the page it is in. Since parameters can be used, versions may to that extent even be different, and parameter values can be edited independently for each.
A template is a special type of page that has been designed so its content can be included in one or more other pages. Since a given template can be included in many pages, templates can help reduce duplication and promote a uniform style between pages.
Templates are usually located in the Template namespace, which means any page name beginning with Template:, such as Template:Name. However, any page can act as a template.
Referencing templates
The content of a template can be added to a page by referencing it using the wiki markup: {{templatename}}. This references the template and includes its output at the point of insertion. Articles will be updated automatically when referenced templates are changed. A page that references templates cannot be edited to change the content of a referenced template, although a list of referenced templates will be displayed at the bottom of the page for convenience while editing it.
Substituting templates
A different way to use a template is to substitute its content into a page. This is done by inserting subst: immediately after the opening braces: {{subst:templatename}}. Once the page is saved, the link to the template is removed and the template output is substituted in its place and can be further edited. Any updates to the template will not affect the content that was substituted into the page.
Benefits of templates
Templates are used to add recurring messages to pages in a consistent way, to add boilerplate messages, to create infoboxes and navigational boxes, and to provide cross-language portability of texts.
Templates can also make it much easier for new and casual editors to use advanced designs, features and extensions by hiding confusing code.
Creating a template
In short, create the text you want to have copied onto the target pages on a page in the Template namespace. Creating Template:Templatename will allow users to insert {{templatename}} into a page to display your text.
See Help:Creating templates for details.
For an overview, see the quick guide to templates on Wikimedia's Meta-Wiki.
Creating an advanced template
To learn how to change the output of the template based on what the user inputs, see Help:Template parameters and Help:Parser functions.
Updating and adding standard templates
Wikia's Starter Pages and Templates wikis occasionally improve some of their documentation as well as adding new templates specifically designed for Wikia sites, and are therefore worth checking from time to time. For sites created before about December 2008, the Starter Pages wiki should be compared and ideally used for upgrading to its standard documentation system similar to that introduced in Wikipedia.
