Wikiversity:FAQ/Template

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For further guidance, see mw:Help:Templates.

A template is a wiki-page, containing a section of wikitext to be inserted into other pages (via either "transclusion" or "substitution").

Templates at Wikiversity have a variety of purposes:

1. Messaging: Everyone needs little signs along the way - see especially "page flags" and "ratings" templates below.
2. Navigation and classification: Things that need to appear the same on many pages while linking them together often contain compact navigational aids or infoboxes
3. Learning: Templates may add functionality, content or formatting to a page which assists its educational purpose.
4. Fun: Userboxes have long been a tradition with Wikimedians, Wikipedians, Wiktionarians and such. Wikiversitans should be no different.
5. Iterative computation: See meta:help:recursive conversion of wikitext.

Guide to templates

The following is a user-friendly guide to the most important kinds of template. There is an exhaustive list of categorised templates which does not include uncategorised templates. See also: list of templates, including uncategorised ones.

• Templates which assist with making content
  • Category:TOC templates, Category:Navigational templates
  • Citation templates - for citing external resources such as books and articles.
  • Template:Participants - creates an attractive box for lists of participants.
  • Template:To do - creates an attractive box with a list of things to do.
  • Page creation templates
  • Educational templates (there need to be more of these)
    • Template:activity
    • Template:Assessment checklist
    • Template:Boxed Activity Start

• Messaging templates
  • Page flagging templates - some of the most useful administrative templates for quickly marking pages for merges, deletion, or for putting requests, information or warnings at the top.
  • Ratings templates - ratings displays, for rating the maturity/activity of learning projects, or other ratings purposes. (NB: the size of the images in the percentage boxes needs increasing for proper display).
  • Welcome templates

• Useful shortcuts
  • Polling templates - for voting.

• Administrative templates
  • Administrative templates, Wikiversity maintenance
  • User warning templates - see vandalism.
  • Copyright templates - mostly used for uploaded files.

• Templates for fun
  • User templates - typically used on user pages to provide information about a user. Mostly for fun. See Wikiversity:Userboxes.
    • Language user templates - provides information about a user's linguistic abilities.
    • Knowledge user templates - provides information about a user's other abilities.
  • Award templates - awards. For fun. See Wikiversity:Barnstars.

You can help

Please [[Help:]] the Template task force develop this Help page and participate in Template Policy discussions.

Learn by doing!

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Note: See Wikiversity:Naming conventions for more information. You may also want to look over Introduction to Wiki and Wiki 101 if you are uncomfortable creating and editing pages.

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Help namespace

To see what's in the Help: namespace, click Special pages to your left. Scroll down to Prefix index and click that. Then, where it says Namespace:, click the drop-down box, select Help then hit Go.

You will then see a page – All pages (Help namespace) which gives you an alphabetized list something like Category through [[Help: WordToWiki|]]. These are your basic Help: pages at Wikiversity.

See also

• Wikiversity:Template messages