152.131.9.69 at 17:55, 15 June 2005

2005-06-15T17:55:39Z

New page

The '''templates''' are a method by which the MediaWiki software includes standardized blocks of text in an article. These blocks are stored in separate pages in the "Template:" [[Help:namespace|namespace]], and are automatically updated wherever they are included site-wide, whenever template page is updated. In other words, when the template is updated, you do not need to update any pages that use it.

'''See also:''' [[Help: Template]]s

Templates have a wide range of uses on OpenVistA Wiki, and are grouped into four major categories:

* '''[[OpenVistA Wiki:Message templates|Message templates]]'''. These templates are used to include standardized information that is of general interest to the readers and/or article contributors. They are generally intended to catch one's attention and inform them of the status of the article, whether it be a warning of a copyright violation, a request for comments, or a disambiguation notice.
* '''[[OpenVistA Wiki:Navigational templates|Navigational templates]]'''. Users can also create navigation bars that link multiple articles together in a single menu. This is most useful for articles in a series, or for a group of articles that cover a common subject.
* '''[[OpenVistA Wiki:Sidebar templates|Sidebar templates]]'''. Many articles use standardized "sidebars" to help display an informal overview of the subject at hand. These sidebar templates are useful to make it simple to include the information in a consistent manner across the entire site.
* '''[[OpenVistA Wiki:Meta templates|Meta templates]]'''. There are a number of pages in the "OpenVistA Wiki" namespace that exhibit a very high rate of turnover; these pages include [[OpenVistA Wiki:votes for deletion|votes for deletion]], [[OpenVistA Wiki:nominations for featured articles|nominations for featured articles]], the [[Main Page|main page]], and others. In these cases, it is beneficial to include text that is not likely to be changed in a separate template, because it helps conserve disk space by not saving the same text over and over again.
* '''[[OpenVistA Wiki:Article templates|Article templates]]'''. These are not templates in the same sense as those listed above; these are not designed to be automatically included in a page, but are rather created as "guides" to help start a new page on a specific subject. The text should be copied and pasted into the edit field and modified as necessary.

VistApedia:Template - Revision history

152.131.9.69 at 17:55, 15 June 2005