[edit] [purge] Template documentation

This template is used on 180,000+ pages. To avoid large-scale disruption and unnecessary server load, any changes should first be tested in this template's /sandbox or /testcases subpage, or in your own user space. The tested changes can then be added in one single edit to this template. Please consider discussing any changes on the talk page before implementing them.

This is the {{dmbox}} or disambiguation footer message box meta-template.

It is used to build disambiguation and set index article boxes, such as {{disambig}} and {{shipindex}}.

This template works similarly to {{ambox}} and mostly uses the same parameters. The main differences are that this box uses the disambig style and only has two "type" settings.

Usage

Simple usage example:

 {{dmbox | text = Some text.}} 

Some text.

 {{dmbox | type = setindex | text = Some text.}} 

Some text.

Complex example:

 {{dmbox | type      = setindex | image     = {{nowrap| [[Image:Schooner.svg|30px]] [[Image:List gray.svg|30px]] }} | textstyle = color: red; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; | text      = The message body text. }} 

The message body text.

Some other parameter combinations:

No type and no image given (default)

type = setindex imageright = [[Image:Schooner.svg|33px]]

This article includes a list of ships with the same or similar names. If an internal link for a specific ship referred you to this page, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended ship article, if one exists.

Parameters

List of all parameters:

 {{dmbox | type  = disambig / setindex | image = none / [[Image:Some image.svg|40px]] | imageright = [[Image:Some image.svg|40px]] | style = CSS values | textstyle = CSS values | text  = The message body text.  | nocat = {{{nocat|}}} / true }} 

type

If no type parameter is given the template defaults to type disambig.

disambig = Makes it so the {{disambig editintro}} is displayed when editing a page with this template on. (Means that this template internally sets the CSS id "disambigbox". The id is used by the javascript in MediaWiki:Common.js to determine if a page is a disambiguation page or not.) And adds Category:All disambiguation pages and Category:All article disambiguation pages.

setindex = Does not trigger the {{disambig editintro}} when editing a page. (Because this instead sets the CSS id "setindexbox".) And adds Category:All set index articles.

nocat

true = Stops this template from categorizing. Useful for instance when only testing or demonstrating this template. Templates that use this template should forward nocat, so they too understand nocat. So always add this:

nocat = {{{nocat|}}}

image

No parameter = If no image parameter is given, the template uses the default disambig or setindex image, depending on the type parameter.

An image = Should be an image with usual wiki notation. 30px - 50px width are usually about right depending on the image height to width ratio. (But the message box can handle images of any size.) For example:

image = [[Image:Schooner.svg|30px]]

none = Means that no image is used.

imageright

No parameter = If no imageright parameter is given then no image is shown on the right side.

An image = Should be an image with usual wiki notation. 30px - 50px width are usually about right depending on the image height to width ratio. (But the message box can handle images of any size.) For example:

imageright = [[Image:Nuvola apps bookcase.png|40px]]

Anything = Any other object that you want to show on the right side.

style

Optional CSS values used by the entire message box table. Without quotation marks " " but with the ending semicolons ;. For example:

style = margin-bottom: 0.2em;

textstyle

Optional CSS values used by the text cell. For example:

textstyle = text-align: center;

text

The message body text. This message box has italic text as default, thus no need to manually set that.

Technical details

This template currently uses hard coded styles and class names. Later it will only use CSS classes making it easier to skin. (In the meantime it can be skinned by using the "!important" keyword.)

If you need to use special characters in the text parameter then you need to escape them like this:

 {{dmbox | text  = <div> Equal sign = and a start and end brace { } work fine as they are.  But here is a pipe {{!}} and two end braces <nowiki>}}</nowiki>.  And now a pipe and end braces <nowiki>|}}</nowiki>. </div> }} 

Equal sign = and a start and end brace { } work fine as they are. But here is a pipe | and two end braces }}. And now a pipe and end braces |}}.

Internally this meta-template uses HTML markup instead of wiki markup for the table code. That is the usual way we make meta-templates since wiki markup has several drawbacks. For instance it makes it harder to use parser functions and special characters in parameters.

For more technical details see the talk page. Since this template works almost exactly like {{ambox}}, {{tmbox}}, {{imbox}}, {{cmbox}} and {{ombox}} their talk pages and related pages might also contain more details.

See also

There are several meta-templates in the mbox family:

• {{ambox}} – For article message boxes.
• {{tmbox}} – For talk page message boxes.
• {{imbox}} – For file (image) page message boxes.
• {{cmbox}} – For category message boxes.
• {{ombox}} – For other pages message boxes.
• {{mbox}} – Has namespace detection, for message boxes that are used on several types of pages and thus need to change style depending on what page they are used on.

Closely related meta-templates:

• {{fmbox}} – For header and footer message boxes.
• {{dmbox}} – For disambiguation and set index message boxes.
• {{asbox}} – For article stub message boxes.

Other pages:

• Wikipedia:Disambiguation – Also has a section explaining set index articles.
• Wikipedia:WikiProject Disambiguation
• MediaWiki:Disambiguationspage – Should list all disambiguation message boxes, so that some automatic tools can know what pages are disambiguation pages. Now also has a separate list with all set index message boxes, so some tools can know what pages are set index articles.

• {{disambig}} – The generic disambiguation message box.
• {{SIA}} – The generic set index article message box.