View source for Wikipedia:WikiProject Council/Guide/Technical notes

{{Wikipedia:WikiProject Council/Navigation}} 
== Advanced project banners ==
{{info|The recommended method to create WikiProject banners is using the {{tlx|WPBannerMeta}} meta-template.  Full documentation for this template can be found at [[Template:WPBannerMeta]].}}

As a WikiProject grows and adopts various processes, it becomes necessary for its project banner template to do more than merely marking an article as being within the project's scope. For example, article assessments and peer reviews all generate metadata about an article; the most obvious place to store and display such information is in the banner of the relevant project.

Browsing through [[:Category:WikiProject banners]] shows that there are a variety of different optional features that are added to banners by various projects,  This section aims to present an annotated example banner that, while relatively simple, demonstrates the most common and useful coding options for such templates.  It is not, of course, an exhaustive overview of all the possibilities; some extremely complicated banners (such as {{tl|WikiProject The Beatles}}, {{tl|WikiProject Military history}}, or {{tl|WikiProject Biography}}) include dozens of optional fields and other advanced features, and projects that need them are advised to peruse existing banners for ideas.  The case presented here, however, should be sufficient for the majority of WikiProjects, at least initially.

The banner is constructed for the hypothetical Tulips WikiProject, and includes a number of features:
* Variable-size display
* Article assessment support, including auto-assessments
* A show/hide block for additional fields
* Optional fields for a peer review department

The code for the banner is given below, followed by an annotated explanation of how each feature is implemented:

<pre>
{| class="messagebox {{#ifeq:{{lc:{{{nested|}}}}}|yes|collapsible collapsed nested|{{#ifeq:{{lc:{{{small|}}}}}|yes|small|standard}}}}-talk"
{{#ifeq:{{lc:{{{nested|}}}}}|yes|
! style="text-align: center" colspan="2" {{!}} [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Tulips|WikiProject Tulips]] {{#if:{{{class|}}} | &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;(Rated {{ucfirst:{{{class}}}}}-Class)}}
}}
|-
| [[Image:Tulip-blossom.jpg|{{#ifeq:{{{small|}}}|yes|30px|45px}}]]
| This {{#ifeq:{{{class|}}}|NA|non-article page|article}} is within the scope of the '''[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Tulips|Tulips WikiProject]]'''.  {{#ifeq:{{{small|}}}|yes||If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.}}
|-
{{#if:{{{class|}}} | {{#ifeq:{{{class|}}}|NA|
{{!}} {{{{{class}}}-Class}}
{{!}} This page is not an article and does not require a [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Tulips/Assessment|rating]]. 
|
{{!}} {{{{{class}}}-Class|category={{{class}}}-Class tulips articles}}
{{!}} This article has been [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Tulips/Assessment|rated]] as {{{class}}}-Class on the [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Tulips/Assessment#Quality scale|quality scale]]. 
}}
|
{{!}} {{-Class}}
{{!}} This article has not yet [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Tulips/Assessment|received a rating]] on the [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Tulips/Assessment#Quality scale|quality scale]].
}}
|-
{{#ifeq:{{{class|}}}|Stub|
{{#ifeq:{{{auto|}}}|yes|
{{!}} style="background: red;" {{!}} [[Image:Diamond-caution.svg|18x18px|center]]
{{!}} This article has been ''automatically'' rated as '''Stub-Class''' because it uses a [[Wikipedia:Stub|stub template]].
* If you '''agree''' with the assessment, please remove <code>{{!}}auto=yes</code> from this template.
* If you '''disagree''' with the assessment, please change it by editing the <code>{{!}}class=</code> parameter in this template and removing the stub template from the article.<includeonly>[[Category:Automatically assessed tulips articles|{{PAGENAME}}]]</includeonly>
}}
}}
|- 
{{#if:{{{peer-review|}}}
{{{old-peer-review|}}}|
{{!}} colspan="2" {{!}}
{{{!}} class="collapsible collapsed" style="width: 100%; background: transparent;" 
{{!}}-
! colspan="2" style="text-align: left;" {{!}} More information:
{{!}}-
{{!}} style="width: 43px;" {{!}}
{{!}}
{{!}}-
{{#ifeq:{{{peer-review|}}}|yes|
{{!}} style="background: gainsboro;" align="center" {{!}} '''[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Tulips/Peer review|PEER]]'''
{{!}} This {{#ifeq:{{{class|}}}|NA|page|article}} is [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Tulips/Peer review/{{ARTICLESPACE}}{{PAGENAME}}|currently]] being [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Tulips/Peer review|peer reviewed]].<includeonly>[[Category:Requests for tulips peer review|{{PAGENAME}}]]</includeonly>
}}
{{!}}-
{{#ifeq:{{{old-peer-review|}}}|yes|
{{!}} style="background: gainsboro;" align="center" {{!}} '''[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Tulips/Peer review|PEER]]'''
{{!}} This {{#ifeq:{{{class|}}}|NA|page|article}} has had a [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Tulips/Peer review|peer review]] which is now [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Tulips/Peer review/{{ARTICLESPACE}}{{PAGENAME}}|archived]].<includeonly>[[Category:Old requests for tulips peer review|{{PAGENAME}}]]</includeonly>
}} 
{{!}}}
}}
|}<noinclude>
[[Category:WikiProject banners|Tulips]]  
</noinclude><includeonly>{{#switch:{{{class}}}
|FA=[[Category:FA-Class tulips articles|{{PAGENAME}}]]
|A=[[Category:A-Class tulips articles|{{PAGENAME}}]] 
|GA=[[Category:GA-Class tulips articles|{{PAGENAME}}]]
|B=[[Category:B-Class tulips articles|{{PAGENAME}}]]
|Start
|start=[[Category:Start-Class tulips articles|{{PAGENAME}}]]
|Stub
|stub=[[Category:Stub-Class tulips articles|{{PAGENAME}}]] 
|NA = [[Category:Non-article tulips pages|{{PAGENAME}}]]
|#default=[[Category:Unassessed tulips articles|{{PAGENAME}}]]
}}</includeonly>
</pre>

===Basic framework===

<pre>
{| class="messagebox {{#ifeq:{{lc:{{{nested|}}}}}|yes|collapsible collapsed nested|{{#ifeq:{{lc:{{{small|}}}}}|yes|small|standard}}}}-talk"

...

|}<noinclude>
[[Category:WikiProject banners|Tulips]]  
</noinclude>
</pre>

The basic framework of the banner is a [[Help:Table|table]] that uses one of three CSS classes, depending on the values of the <code>nested</code> and <code>small</code> parameters.  Normally, the banner is shown with <code>class="messagebox standard-talk"</code> (which displays a full-size banner across the top of the talk page) set; when the banner is included with <code>small=yes</code>, however, it uses <code>class="messagebox small-talk"</code>, which displays it at a smaller size, floating on the right margin. When the banner is included in a {{tl|WikiProjectBannerShell}}, the parameter <code>nested=yes</code> is required to display correctly in the shell via <code>class="messagebox collapsible collapsed nested"</code>.

<pre>
{{#ifeq:{{lc:{{{nested|}}}}}|yes|
! style="text-align: center" colspan="2" {{!}} [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Tulips|WikiProject Tulips]]
}}
|-
</pre>

To save space while still having the WikiProjects visible on pages in the scope of a large number of projects, {{tl|WikiProjectBannerShell}} can be used to display each banner as a one-line box with a "show" link. This creates that visible headline when <code>nested=yes</code> is used.

<pre>
|-
| [[Image:Tulip-blossom.jpg|{{#ifeq:{{{small|}}}|yes|30px|45px}}]]
| This {{#ifeq:{{{class|}}}|NA|non-article page|article}} is within the scope of the '''[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Tulips|Tulips WikiProject]]'''.  {{#ifeq:{{{small|}}}|yes||If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.}}
</pre>

The familiar main message of the banner has been enhanced by making some of the text only display in the full-size banner, and changing the term used for the page when a non-article rating (see below) is selected.

===Assessment support===

Support for article assessments is typically implemented in two parts: code within the body of the banner to display the assessment, and code outside it to add the needed categories.  While it's possible to combine the two, this often results in less readable code.

<pre>
|-
{{#if:{{{class|}}} | {{#ifeq:{{{class|}}}|NA|
{{!}} {{{{{class}}}-Class}}
{{!}} This page is not an article and does not require a [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Tulips/Assessment|rating]]. 
|
{{!}} {{{{{class}}}-Class|category={{{class}}}-Class tulips articles}}
{{!}} This article has been [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Tulips/Assessment|rated]] as {{{class}}}-Class on the [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Tulips/Assessment#Quality scale|quality scale]]. 
}}
|
{{!}} {{-Class}}
{{!}} This article has not yet [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Tulips/Assessment|received a rating]] on the [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Tulips/Assessment#Quality scale|quality scale]].
}}
|-
{{#ifeq:{{{class|}}}|Stub|
{{#ifeq:{{{auto|}}}|yes|
{{!}} style="background: red;" {{!}} [[Image:Diamond-caution.svg|18x18px|center]]
{{!}} This article has been ''automatically'' rated as '''Stub-Class''' because it uses a [[Wikipedia:Stub|stub template]].
* If you '''agree''' with the assessment, please remove <code>{{!}}auto=yes</code> from this template.
* If you '''disagree''' with the assessment, please change it by editing the <code>{{!}}class=</code> parameter in this template and removing the stub template from the article.<includeonly>[[Category:Automatically assessed tulips articles|{{PAGENAME}}]]</includeonly>
}}
}}
</pre>

The in-banner code checks the <code>class</code> parameter and displays one of three lines, depending on whether the parameter's value is a non-article assessment (<code>NA</code>), an article assessment, or blank.  If the value indicates that the article has been rated as "Stub-Class", and the <code>auto</code> parameter is set to <code>yes</code>, another line is shown, indicating that the article has been automatically assessed and providing instructions on changing the assessment.

<pre>
<includeonly>{{#switch:{{lc:{{{class}}}}}
|fa=[[Category:FA-Class tulips articles|{{PAGENAME}}]]
|a=[[Category:A-Class tulips articles|{{PAGENAME}}]] 
|ga=[[Category:GA-Class tulips articles|{{PAGENAME}}]]
|b=[[Category:B-Class tulips articles|{{PAGENAME}}]]
|start=[[Category:Start-Class tulips articles|{{PAGENAME}}]]
|stub=[[Category:Stub-Class tulips articles|{{PAGENAME}}]]
|na = [[Category:Non-article tulips pages|{{PAGENAME}}]]
|#default=[[Category:Unassessed tulips articles|{{PAGENAME}}]]
}}</includeonly>
</pre>

The out-of-banner code is a <code>#switch</code> statement that adds the appropriate category based on which value is selected for the <code>class</code> parameter.

The assessment class is often included in the WikiProjectBannerShell headline as well, by inserting the following code after the WikiProject link.
<pre>
 {{#if:{{{class|}}} | &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;(Rated {{ucfirst:{{{class}}}}}-Class)}}
</pre>

===Show/hide blocks===

<pre>
|- 
{{#if:{{{peer-review|}}}
{{{old-peer-review|}}}|
{{!}} colspan="2" {{!}}
{{{!}} class="collapsible collapsed" style="width: 100%; background: transparent;" 
{{!}}-
! colspan="2" style="text-align: left;" {{!}} More information:
{{!}}-
{{!}} style="width: 43px;" {{!}}
{{!}}

...

{{!}}}
}}
</pre>

The optional fields of the banner are enclosed within a table that acts as a show/hide block, only displaying the output of the optional fields when the [show] button is clicked by a user.  The <code>#if</code> statement at the top lists all the possible optional fields; if none of them are given values, the show/hide block will not appear at all.  If additional fields are added to the banner, they should be copied into the list as well.

===Optional fields===

<pre>
{{!}}-
{{#ifeq:{{{peer-review|}}}|yes|
{{!}} style="background: gainsboro;" align="center" {{!}} '''[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Tulips/Peer review|PEER]]'''
{{!}} This {{#ifeq:{{{class|}}}|NA|page|article}} is [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Tulips/Peer review/{{ARTICLESPACE}}{{PAGENAME}}|currently]] being [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Tulips/Peer review|peer reviewed]].<includeonly>[[Category:Requests for tulips peer review|{{PAGENAME}}]]</includeonly>
}}
{{!}}-
{{#ifeq:{{{old-peer-review|}}}|yes|
{{!}} style="background: gainsboro;" align="center" {{!}} '''[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Tulips/Peer review|PEER]]'''
{{!}} This {{#ifeq:{{{class|}}}|NA|page|article}} has had a [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Tulips/Peer review|peer review]] which is now [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Tulips/Peer review/{{ARTICLESPACE}}{{PAGENAME}}|archived]].<includeonly>[[Category:Old requests for tulips peer review|{{PAGENAME}}]]</includeonly>
}} 
</pre>

There are two optional fields, <code>peer-review</code> and <code>old-peer-review</code>, that add support for a WikiProject peer review.  Each one, when set to <code>yes</code>, displays an additional row in the banner, and adds the corresponding category.

The choice of a peer review for this example is arbitrary.  Any other optional fields (such as collaborations, portal queue links, etc.) can be added identically to them, merely by changing the field name, displayed text, and category name within the code.

===Using the banner===

The full syntax of the resulting banner when used on a talk page is:

<pre>
{{WPTULIPS
|class=
|small=
|nested=
|auto=
|peer-review=
|old-peer-review=
}}
</pre>

Thus, to display a small banner on an article rated as "B-Class" with a current peer review, an editor would add

<pre>
{{WPTULIPS
|class=B
|small=yes
|peer-review=yes
}}
</pre>

to the talk page.  It is considered polite to trim any blank fields when including the banner, as, for very complicated ones, the large number of unused fields tends to be rather messy.

== Internal navigation templates ==

:''This section discusses internal navigation templates for WIkiProjects; for navigational templates used in articles, see [[Wikipedia:Navigational templates]].''

As a WikiProject grows, it begins to acquire large numbers of [[Wikipedia:Subpage|subpages]] for various specialized purposes (such as assessment and peer review work or task forces); the largest projects can have dozens of subpages.  The best way to ensure that all of these subpages can be easily located is to create a navigational template linking to them. 

Most projects follow a fairly standard design for the template.  It is placed as a right-floating bar, listing subpages (and usually corresponding talk pages), one per line.  Here, for example, is part of the code for [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Lithuania/Navigation|the navigational template]] used by the [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Lithuania|Lithuania WikiProject]]:

<pre>
{| cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="float: right; clear: right; border: 1px solid #aaa; 
padding: 5px; margin: 0em 0em 1em 1em; max-width: 300px; background: white;" 
! style="background: #99FF66; padding:5px; text-align: center;" | 
[[Image:Lietuvos-Lithuania 5.png|left|50px]] 
[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Lithuania|Lithuania<br/> WikiProject]]
|- 
|
{| cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 90%; width: 100%; background: ivory;"
|- style="background: #CCFF99; "
! colspan="2" style="text-align: center; border-top: 1px solid black; " | 
General information
|- 
| [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Lithuania|Main project page]]
| [[Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Lithuania|talk]]
|- 
| [[Template:WikiProject Lithuania|Project banner]]
| [[Template talk:WikiProject Lithuania|talk]]
|-
| [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Lithuania/Tips|Top 10 tips]]
| [[Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Lithuania/Tips|talk]]
|-
| [[:Category:Extremely short Lithuania articles|Extremely short articles]]
| [[Category talk:Extremely short Lithuania articles|talk]]
|- 
! colspan="2" style="text-align: center; border-top: 1px solid black; background: #CCFF99; " | 
[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Lithuania/Assessment|Assessment]]
|- 
| [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Lithuania/Assessment/Summary|Summary]]
| [[Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Lithuania/Assessment/Summary|talk]]
|}
|}
</pre>

Another common feature for on navigational templates can be seen at the bottom of [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Navigation|the navigational template]] used by the [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history|Military history WikiProject]]:

<pre>
...
|-
| colspan="2" | 
<small class="editlink noprint plainlinksneverexpand">
[{{SERVER}}{{localurl:Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Navigation|action=edit}} edit] &middot; 
[[Special:Recentchangeslinked/Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Navigation|changes]]
</small>
</pre>

The key is the "changes" link; when the template is properly constructed, [[Special:Recentchangeslinked]] can be used to view, at a glance, any changes made to any of a WikiProject's pages.

The visual layout of project navigational templates tends to vary by project, with [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Navigation|three stripe colors]], [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Lithuania/Navigation|two stripe colors]], or [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Indonesia/NavigationBar|colored boxes]] being common.

== Task list templates ==

=== {{tl|todo}} ===

The simplest way of creating separate task lists is {{tl|todo}}, which can be placed directly on any WikiProject page to generate a <code>/to_do</code> subpage whose contents can be separately edited (via the "edit" link at the top right of the box); this subpage can contain an arbitrary list of tasks.  One example is the [[Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Melbourne/to do|subpage]] used by the Melbourne WikiProject.  Once the subpage is created, the to-do list can be placed onto any other page using the template <nowiki>{{todo|target=Talk:Foo}}</nowiki>.

=== Custom templates ===

A more sophisticated approach is to create a separate, custom template for the WikiProject's open task list.  For example, the Tulips project could create {{tl|WikiProject Tulips Tasks}}, which could then be transcluded where needed.  Common places to include the template are the project pages themselves, and sometimes inside of a show/hide block in the project banner.  Interested project participants can also transclude the template on their user pages.

In many cases, the premade {{tl|tasks}} template can be used inside the custom template to efficiently organize a WikiProject's open task list:

<pre>
{{tasks
|requests= 
|copyedit=
|wikify=
|merge=
|cleanup=
|expand= 
|verify= 
|disambiguation=
|stubs= 
|update=
|npov= 
|other= 
}}
</pre>

Each parameter can be filled with a list of the relevant articles for each type of work needed; for examples, see the lists maintained by the [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Israel/to do|Israel]] WikiProject.

The open task templates can become arbitrarily complex, including features such as sub-templates for particular [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Council/Guide#Task forces|task forces]]; see, for example, [[Template:WPMILHIST Announcements|the template used by the Military history WikiProject]].

==Tools==
===AutoWikiBrowser plugins===
* [[User:Ganeshbot/CP|WPAssessmentsCatCreator]], an [[Wikipedia:AutoWikiBrowser|AutoWikiBrowser]] plugin can be used to create the assessment categories.
* [[User:Kingbotk/Plugin]] is an [[Wikipedia:AutoWikiBrowser|AutoWikiBrowser]] plugin that helps with article assessments. Simple projects can use the generic template. Complex projects can request for customization.

===Igor===
* [[WP:IGOR|Igor]], a WikiProject management tool, can be used to easily maintain the often tedious and laborious tasks of managing a medium to large WikiProject.

===Hot articles===
* [[User:HotArticlesBot]] creates lists of the most edited articles during the last week.

==See also==
* [[:Category:Generic WikiProject templates]]
* [[Wikipedia:Talk page templates|Talk page templates]]
* [[:Category:Wikipedians who understand ParserFunctions|Wikipedians who understand ParserFunctions]]
* [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:DynamicPageList Extension:DynamicPageList]
* [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:ParserFunctions Extension:ParserFunctions]
* [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension_Matrix Extension_Matrix]
* [http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Magic_words Help:Magic_words]
* [http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Parser_functions Parser functions]
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