Templates allow you to pass parameters that can be used to affect the content or design of the template.

Step-by-Step

Example of Simple Replacement

• Create a page on your wiki called Template:Box:

• Add the following code to that page:

<div style="width:10em; height:5em; border:1px solid #333; background-color:#666; color:#fff; text-align:center; padding-top:2em;">{{{1}}}</div>

• Save the page and note that it displays the following content:

{{{1}}}

• Create an article page on your wiki called Template Testing

• Enter the following code on that page to display your template:

{{Box|example text}}

• Save the page and note that it displays the following content:

example text

Understanding What Happened

This replacement happened because {{{1}}} tells the wiki to pass the first parameter of the template here. This can be extended with {{{2}}}, {{{3}}}, ad infinitum. The number represents the number of the parameter:

{{box|first parameter|second parameter|third parameter}}

If you wish not to use a certain parameter, you can leave it blank, but the | must still be included. For example:

{{box|first parameter||third parameter}}

Example of Named and Default Parameters

As an alternative to the above, you can use named parameters. Though this makes the code slightly more complex, it allows more freedom in how templates are created.

• Using the same example pages as above, edit Template:Box and replace the content with the following code:

<div style="width:10em; height:5em; border:1px solid #333; background-color:{{{bgcolor|#666}}}; color:{{{textcolor|#fff}}}; text-align:center; padding-top:2em;">{{{text}}}</div>

{{{text}}} introduces the concept of a named parameter. {{{bgcolor|#666}}} also introduces the concept of a default parameter: if bgcolor is not defined, #666 will be passed.

• Edit the page "Template Testing" and replace it with the following code:

{{box|bgcolor=navy|textcolor=white|text=A navy blue box}}

• Save your page, and note that it displays the following:

A navy blue box

Understanding What Happened

As the parameters have names, you can pass them in any order, so {{box|textcolor=white|text=A navy blue box|bgcolor=navy}} would produce an identical box.

Due to default parameters, if, say, the background color was not defined - as in {{box|textcolor=white|text=A navy blue box}} - you would get:

A navy blue box

See also

• Parameter help on Wikipedia
• Templates
• Parser functions