Help:MediaWiki basics/Advanced training

This is advanced training material for MediaWiki. If you still have problems after reviewing and practicing the material found here and in the beginner and intermediate guides, you can request help on this discussion page.

Advanced formatting in MediaWiki

Note: When opening links from wiki pages, right-click a link and choose to open it in a new tab. This should make navigating your way through the wiki less complex.

Templates

In the previous training section, we briefly touched on the template. Here's the example we used in that section:

	Accordion chords Chords being played on an accordion
Problems playing this file? See media help.

{{Listen
| filename    = Accordion chords-01.ogg
| title       = Accordion chords
| description = Chords being played on an accordion
| pos         = left
}}

As we stated, that code is used in relation to the Listen template. A template typically contains repetitive material that might need to show up on any number of articles or pages. The most common method of inclusion is called transclusion, where the wikitext of the target page contains a reference to the template using the {{Template name}} syntax. In this case, it's {{Listen}}, and it includes some modifiable parameters.

Now let's get back to that box with text and a big blue "i" at the top. We call that an "infobox." That's created using the template "ombox". Templates are held in their own special namespace on the wiki. Open the previously mentioned ombox link in a new tab to learn more about this template. As you review it, you'll notice the parameters that can be associated with this template:

{{ombox
| type  = speedy / delete / content / style / notice / move / protection
| image = none / [[Image:Some image.svg|40px]]
| imageright = [[Image:Some image.svg|40px]]
| style = CSS values
| textstyle = CSS values
| text  = The message body text. 
| small = {{{small|}}} / yes
| smallimage = none / [[Image:Some image.svg|30px]]
| smallimageright = none / [[Image:Some image.svg|30px]]
| smalltext  = A shorter message body text.
}}

A proper template page will also include documentation on how to use it, so don't feel too overwhelmed. For now, know template formatting is distinct because placing a template in another page involves placing two opening braces in front (like this: {{ ), the name of the template, the desired parameters associated with it, and finally two closing braces in the back (like this: }} ), just as we've seen in the above examples.

Here are some internal links to pages on this wiki that utilize a variety of different templates. Let's open each page in a new tab and choose the "edit" option to see the code. Then, let's identify all the templates used in those pages:

After looking in the code for curly braces, we find...

Item one uses: Template:Ombox; Template:Cite web

Item two uses: Template:Infobox company; Template:Ombox

Item three uses: Template:Infobox company; Template:Ombox productfeature; Template:Databox LIMSfeature; Template:Cite web

Item four uses: Template:Infobox government agency; Template:Cite news; Template:Cite web; Template:Ombox productfeature; Template:Databox LIMSfeature

Item five uses: Template:Infobox laboratory equipment; Template:Ombox; Template:Infobox software; Template:Start date; Template:Start date and age

Notice the wide variety of templates already in use. Looking at a complete list of templates perhaps makes the topic even more daunting. Don't be afraid; templates have very practical uses and make information presentation more standardized and rapid. As for determining what the most-used templates are on this wiki... that's a more difficult task. However, the sampling above should give you an idea that ombox, citation, infobox, and databox templates are used often in the wiki.

For more on templates, consult the relevant help section or the MediaWiki handbook for more information.

One final note: honestly, the type of template you're most likely to use on the wiki shouldn't surprise you. Of course, it's the citation template.

Citations

Quality citations lend reputability to LIMSwiki content and confidence to readers.

Just as on Wikipedia, the strength of content of LIMSwiki depends heavily on the citation system. Users deserve factual information — not marketing or advertising speak — that is backed up with quality online and offline sources. But when should you cite sources? When in doubt, add a citation. By citing claims in LIMSwiki content, you enable users to verify the stated information is supported by reliable sources, thus improving the credibility of LIMSwiki and the vendor, product, and encyclopedic information contained within. You also effectively aid users needing additional information on the subject, and you additionally avoid plagiarizing the source of your words or ideas by giving attribution.

How do you use citations on this wiki? The preferred method of citation is using inline citations via citation templates. The most common ones you're likely to use include:

What makes a citation?

Let's look at a particularly citation-dense section of text from the wiki. This content is taken from the beginning of the electronic laboratory notebook history section:

While some credit Dr. Keith Caserta with the concept of an electronic version of the laboratory notebook<ref name="EarlyELN">{{cite journal |editor=Matthews, Marge |url=http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc5647/m1/48/ |title=Meeting Program Division of Chemical Education |journal=Chemical Information Bulletin, A Publication of the Division of Chemical Information of the ACS |publisher=University of North Texas Digital Library |pages=64 |year=1993 |volume=45 |issue=3 |accessdate=03 May 2011}}</ref>, it's likely that others had similar early ideas on how to integrate computing into the process of laboratory note taking.<ref name="ELNLifeArch">{{cite web |url=http://web.me.com/evildrbob/Site/My_ELN_Life/My_ELN_Life.html |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20110515133816/http://web.me.com/evildrbob/Site/My_ELN_Life/My_ELN_Life.html |title=My ELN Life |author=Rumpf, Wolfgang |publisher=Wolfgang Rumpf, Ph.D |archivedate=15 May 2011 |accessdate=05 March 2013}}</ref> Significant discussion concerning the transition from a pen-and-paper laboratory notebook to an electronic format was already in full swing in the early 1990s. During the 206th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in August, 1993, an entire day of the conference was dedicated to talking about "electronic notebooks" and ELNs.<ref name="MMattChemEd">{{cite journal |url=http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc5647/m1/48/ |title=Meeting Program Division of Chemical Education |journal=Chemical Information Bulletin, A Publication of the Division of Chemical Information of the ACS |editor=Matthews, Marge |publisher=University of North Texas Digital Library |pages=46 |year=1993 |volume=45 |issue=3 |accessdate=03 May 2011}}</ref> "A tetherless electronic equivalent of the paper notebook would be welcomed by the working scientist," noted Virginia Polytechnic Institute's Dr. Raymond E. Dessy for the conference.<ref name="EarlyELN" /> Dessy had in the mid-1980s begun postulating on the idea of an electronic notebook, and by 1994 he provided one of the first working examples of an ELN.<ref name="BormanELNRev">{{cite journal |url=http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/cen-v072n021.p010 |format=PDF |journal=Chemical Engineering News |year=1994 |volume=72 |issue=21 |pages=10–20 |title=Electronic Laboratory Notebooks May Revolutionize Research Record Keeping |author=Borman, Stu |doi=10.1021/cen-v072n021.p010 |accessdate=03 May 2011}}</ref>

In that paragraph alone there are four separate citations, one of them used twice. Two different types of citation template are used: Citation web and Citation journal. We also notice each template is wrapped in a set of two tags: <ref name=""> in front and </ref> at the end. These tags tell the system "heh, I'm a reference and should be noted as such with an inline reference number and included in the References section at the end of the page." It then places the contents of the enclosed citation template into the References section with the appropriate reference number. Let's look at this closer:

To the left is an image of the text produced from the above code, and to the right is an image of the resulting citations in the References section. Note the numerical blue links placed inline into the text and how those numbers correspond to the numerical reference in the References section. If you were to click on the blue two in the text, it would take you to citation two in References. Notice how the first and penultimate sentences have the same number, meaning they share the same citation.

Looking at all this, what are the important points to be made?

<ref name=""> and </ref> are going to always surround an inline citation. For each unique citation, a unique "ref name" will need to be assigned. Why? Because...
When you need to use a previously made citation later in the text, you don't have to enter the whole citation template again. Instead, you can simply repeat the "ref name" tag, add a / and be done. You can see this in the above code after the penultimate sentence: <ref name="EarlyELN" />. Simply reuse the named reference and be done! Convenient, yes?
In theory you can simply have a few examples of unpopulated citation templates at the ready, copy, and paste the code, completing the necessary fields and deleting the unnecessary.
It's imperative to include a references section on any page that includes inline citations. Otherwise, pages won't show up properly. You do that by placing the following code at the bottom of the page: