Wikipedia:Infobox templates
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An infobox template is an infobox that uses the template software feature.
Like static infoboxes, they are designed to present summary information about an article's subject, such that similar subjects have a uniform look and in a common format. However, the template technique allows updates of style and of common text from a central place, the template page.
These boxes are designed to be placed into main articles related to the topic area, and are usually associated with on-going WikiProjects. They have parameters; to work properly, the parameter values have to be specified when the template is inserted in the page. This allows each infobox to show information relevant to the article subject, while requiring only a minimal amount of coding within each article.
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[edit] Design and usage
The recommended process for creating an infobox template is to simply begin, and gather as many requirements as possible. Test the base format for a new template as a static table first, then once consensus is reached, migrate it into template format. The template should be reviewed before being used extensively in articles in case the template or defined parameters need modification to minimize re-works. If new fields and parameters are added, articles must be updated to reflect the new requirements. If parameters are renamed or removed, many articles will likely be unaffected, since extraneous parameters are ignored.
For consistency the following rules apply:
- Standard suggested width of 300 pixels or 25 ems (300px or 25em in CSS).
- Insert at the top of articles and right-align. Using
class="infobox"is a good start. - The top text line should be bold and contain the full (official) name of the item. This does not need to match the article's Wikipedia title. It should not contain a link. Avoid {{{PAGENAME}}} as pages may be moved for disambiguation.
- Name the template [[Template:Infobox Some subject]] (Somesubject should be in the singular and capitalized).
When creating a new infobox template the content of Template:Infobox is a convenient starting point.
Parameters in infoboxes should be named, not numbered, to provide for future use. A parameter value can contain images (i.e. full image tags), or parameters for parts of an image tag such as the image name, size and caption. In the latter case, if an image is not applicable or available use a dummy image such as Image:No image.png.
If a parameter is not applicable, or no information is available, it must still be assigned a value. This can be the empty string, or if it is the only thing in a table cell use "some_field= ". The field will appear blank; the code is needed by some browsers for drawing the lines of the table itself properly.
There are alternative ways to make a template selectively hide information or provide default values if not defined. For an example and explanation of how these methods apply to infoboxes, see {{Infobox}}.
[edit] Interaction between multiple templates
Templates can be designed in a modular way, such that various combinations are possible. A combination may even appear on the page as a single infobox.
For example, if the WikiProject Saints group wanted to design a template based on their static Infobox, they could use Template:Infobox Biography, and design a project-specific template with only additional information, and the pages would render both "stacked" together.
[edit] List of templates
In many cases, to view a template properly, one has to look at the wikitext also. Therefore below the edit pages are linked. For viewing templates it is convenient to set the preferences to "Show preview on first edit".
The backlinks show the pages with the infobox.
Below, first the primary templates are listed; they are designed to provide high-level information appropriate to a broad subject area.
[edit] Anthropology and culture
| Name | Where to use | Associated WikiProject |
|---|---|---|
| Template:Ethnic group (talk, links, edit) | Ethnic groups | Ethnic groups |
[edit] Astronomy
[edit] Biology
| Name | Where to use | Associated WikiProject |
|---|---|---|
| Template:Taxobox (talk, links, edit) | Articles on species and other groups of living things | Tree of Life |
| Template:Infobox Cultivar (talk, links, edit) | Articles on plant cultivars | Tree of Life |
| Template:Infobox Dogbreed (talk, links, edit) | Dog breeds | Dog breeds |
| Template:Mycomorphbox (talk, links, edit) | Articles on species and well-defined genera of mushrooms | none yet. |
[edit] Chemistry
| Name | Where to use | Associated WikiProject |
|---|---|---|
| Template:Chembox (talk, links, edit) | Full chemical compound articles | Chemicals |
| Template:Chembox simple organic (talk, links, edit) | Starting organic compound articles | Chemicals |
| Template:Chembox simple inorganic (talk, links, edit) | Starting inorganic compound articles | Chemicals |
[edit] Education
| Name | Where to use | Associated WikiProject |
|---|---|---|
| Template:Infobox University (talk, links, edit) | Universities and colleges | Universities |
| Template:Infobox Law School (talk, links, edit) | Law schools | Universities |
| Template:Infobox School2 (talk, links, edit) | Noncollegiate schools | |
| See Education project for more infoboxes. | ||
[edit] Fiction
[edit] Geography
[edit] Industry
| Name | Where to use | Associated WikiProject |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Infobox Company (talk, links, edit) | Business organization articles | Companies | |
| Template:Infobox Union (talk, links, edit) | Trade union organization articles | Organized Labour |
[edit] Media and journalism
| Name | Where to use | Associated WikiProject |
|---|---|---|
| Template:MediaProjectTemplate (talk, links, edit) | Project internal template | Media Project templates |
| Template:Journalism (talk, links, edit) | Journalism articles | Journalism Project |
| Template:Infobox Broadcast (talk, links, edit) | Infobox for television stations | Television Stations |
| Template:Infobox TV channel (talk, links, edit) | Infobox for television channels in the United Kingdom and Ireland | British TV channels |
| Template:Infobox Radio station (talk, links, edit) | Radio stations | Radio Stations |
| Template:Infobox Website (talk, links, edit) | Information box for articles about websites | None |
[edit] People
| Name | Where to use | Associated WikiProject |
|---|---|---|
| Template:Infobox baseball player (talk, links, edit) (deprecated?) | Articles about professional baseball players | Baseball players |
| Template:Infobox MLB player (talk, links, edit) | Newer version of above template | Baseball players |
| Template:Infobox Tennis player (talk, links, edit) | Articles about professional tennis players | Tennis |
| Template:Infobox Biography (talk, links, edit) | Articles describing people (living or deceased) | Biography |
| Template:Infobox Congressman (talk, links, edit) | Congressman in place of Infobox Biography | None |
| Template:Infobox Politician (talk, links, edit) | Politician articles in place of Infobox Biography | none |
| Template:Infobox Pope (talk, links, edit) | Popes in place of Infobox Biography | None |
| Template:Infobox President (talk, links, edit) | U.S. Presidents in place of Infobox Biography | None |
| Template:Infobox BPM (talk, links, edit) | British Prime Ministers in place of Infobox Biography | Wikipedia:WikiProject British Government |
| Template:Infobox Playboy Playmate (talk, links, edit) | Playboy Playmates in place of Infobox Biography | None |
| Template:Infobox Scientist (talk, links, edit) | Scientists, engineers and mathematicians in place of Infobox Biography | None |
| Template:Infobox Senator (talk, links, edit) | Senator in place of Infobox Biography | None |
| Template:Infobox Writer (talk, links, edit) | Articles about writers/authors | None |
| Template:Ethnic group (talk, links, edit) | Articles about ethnic groups etc | Ethnic groups |
| Template:MMAstatsbox (talk, links, edit) | Stats on individual mixed martial arts fighters | Mixed martial arts |
[edit] Sports
| Name | Where to use | Associated WikiProject |
|---|---|---|
| Template:Infobox Athlete (talk, links, edit) | Information about Athlete | Athletics |
| Template:Infobox baseball team (talk, links, edit) | Information about baseball team | Baseball |
| Template:Infobox BSAC Branch (talk, links, edit) | Information about a specific BSAC branch | None / not known |
| Template:Infobox Cricketer (talk, links, edit) | Information about a cricketer's career | Cricket |
| Template:Infobox Cricket Ground (talk, links, edit) | Information about a cricket ground | Cricket Ground |
| Template:Infobox Football biography (talk, links, edit) | Data about football (soccer) player's and/or coach's career | Football |
| Template:Infobox Football club (talk, links, edit) | Information about a football (soccer) team | Football |
| Template:Infobox MMA event (talk, links, edit) | Data about individual mixed martial arts events | Mixed martial arts |
| Template:Infobox sports league (talk, links, edit) | Information on a sports league |
[edit] Transportation
[edit] Miscellaneous
[edit] See also
- List of infobox templates
- Help:Infobox
- Category:Articles needing an infobox
- Category:Infobox templates
These pages describe other types of templates:
- Wikipedia:Template messages are used primarily to insert simple "boilerplate" messages for Wikipedia maintenance or editing purposes.
- Wikipedia:Navigational templates are article footers designed to provide links to several related articles.
- Wikipedia:MediaWiki interface messages are reserved for internal system use, and can only be modified by administrators.
