As most of the regular contributors to the list will know by now, I am total newbie to Mediawiki and having only just managed to successfully install it, I am still finding my feet.
My question to all in this instance concerns that adding of page elements such as formatted tables, page dividers, and boxes containing specific links to given articles across one's entire wiki so that each article page conforms to a consistent look and feel.
Looking around the Wikipedia website, I notice that there is considerable consistency in terms of how content is displayed. Within a given category page, there always seems to be a banner divider at the bottom of the page and key facts are often contained in a separate floating box. Within a biography page about a given person and persons, key biographical data is contained again in a separate floating box. It's these sorts of elements leading to a consistent look that I want to include in my own wiki.
Now of course I could do all this by simply including raw XHTML code in every new article. However, for reasons I'm sure you will not need explaining to you, this is a far from ideal solution. What I wondered therefore is are there specific extensions available that provide the necessary functionality to include these elements? I realise that wikicode will provide some basic functionality but if I was say a floating box included in an article, I don't want to have to repeatedly include XHTML code.
Equally, I don't want to have to create specific templates for specific categories unless there is no other options available. Rather, I'd prefer to let editors choose what elements to include in a given article page and how they appear (that is to say how they're formatted) but restrict the choice to a number of pre-set elements so that one does end up with a consistent look and feel.
I apologise again if this discussion includes some very elementary questions but as I say, I'm just starting out. What I really want to know is how it is that the actual format as well as look of all pages within Wikipedia is maintained. There must surely be extensions in place that enable content to be displayed in a particular way.
From a reading of the extensions section of the MediaWiki site, I don't
seem to be able to discern this for myself.
As far as I have correctly understood, you'll have to create some templates. Att
2009/12/3 William van Zwanenberg will@propping-up-the-bar.com
As most of the regular contributors to the list will know by now, I am total newbie to Mediawiki and having only just managed to successfully install it, I am still finding my feet.
My question to all in this instance concerns that adding of page elements such as formatted tables, page dividers, and boxes containing specific links to given articles across one's entire wiki so that each article page conforms to a consistent look and feel.
Looking around the Wikipedia website, I notice that there is considerable consistency in terms of how content is displayed. Within a given category page, there always seems to be a banner divider at the bottom of the page and key facts are often contained in a separate floating box. Within a biography page about a given person and persons, key biographical data is contained again in a separate floating box. It's these sorts of elements leading to a consistent look that I want to include in my own wiki.
Now of course I could do all this by simply including raw XHTML code in every new article. However, for reasons I'm sure you will not need explaining to you, this is a far from ideal solution. What I wondered therefore is are there specific extensions available that provide the necessary functionality to include these elements? I realise that wikicode will provide some basic functionality but if I was say a floating box included in an article, I don't want to have to repeatedly include XHTML code.
Equally, I don't want to have to create specific templates for specific categories unless there is no other options available. Rather, I'd prefer to let editors choose what elements to include in a given article page and how they appear (that is to say how they're formatted) but restrict the choice to a number of pre-set elements so that one does end up with a consistent look and feel.
I apologise again if this discussion includes some very elementary questions but as I say, I'm just starting out. What I really want to know is how it is that the actual format as well as look of all pages within Wikipedia is maintained. There must surely be extensions in place that enable content to be displayed in a particular way.
From a reading of the extensions section of the MediaWiki site, I don't seem to be able to discern this for myself.
MediaWiki-l mailing list MediaWiki-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/mediawiki-l
As far as I have correctly understood, you'll have to create some templates.
That being the case, a number of questions arise:
1. How do I create a template? Does the MediaWiki website include a tutorial of some sort? I assume to create one involves some PHP and XHTML programming which whilst I am capable of this, I don't want to have to do unless unavoidable.
2. Can I assign specific templates for each of my category pages? For example, I want to create in my wiki a category called "biographies" so this would inevitably result in artcile pages such as: "Biography:Joe_Bloggs" and "Biography:Josephine_Bloggs". I'd want both artciles pages to have the same format - that is for them to be laid out exactly the same way and for them to include a floating box with a portrait photography and some basic biographical data such as DoB, name, place opf birth, gender - that sort of thing.
My question then is how could i creat just such a template so that all biography pages appeared the same?
3. The use of templates implies the need to create corresponding forms that editors (wiki users creating content) then use to input data and which then ensure that the right data appears in the right place on the resultant created artcile page. If this is so, has is it achieved? Having just installed version 1.15.1 of the wiki software running under a XAMPP architecture on a Windows sandbox, I've found that by default the same basic form appears when one trys to creat *any* page for any category or any namespace. Cleraly there needs to be different forms for different templates and each template (and associated form) need to correspond with the desired look for the category of page.
4. How, in practice does wikipedia do this? In order to acheive a consistent look, presumably different templates are used for each class of article. Are extensions used to create these template and (presumably their corresponding forms).
I'm really worried that what I'm trying to do will involve a lot of work on my part - particularly in terms of programming - and I really don't want to have to engage in this unless absolutely necessary.
I really like the look at feel of the monobook skin and it's various page elements. If possible, I'd like to use these in my own wiki. Does anyone know if they're publicly available - i,.e., are the templates available to download and can i use them myself or or they copyrighted.
I apologise for baraging you with question but I really want to know how this all works ...
I definetely am not the best adviser you could count on since there are lot of experienced users and programmers in this list, but let's go
1. How do I create a template? Does the MediaWiki website include a tutorial of some sort? I assume to create one involves some PHP and XHTML programming which whilst I am capable of this, I don't want to have to do unless unavoidable.
What I normally do is to copy the template I like most and do change the parameters I want.
2. Can I assign specific templates for each of my category pages? For example, I want to create in my wiki a category called "biographies" so this would inevitably result in artcile pages such as: "Biography:Joe_Bloggs" and "Biography:Josephine_Bloggs". I'd want both artciles pages to have the same format - that is for them to be laid out exactly the same way and for them to include a floating box with a portrait photography and some basic biographical data such as DoB, name, place opf birth, gender - that sort of thing.
Sure, unfortunatelly my poorly english writing skills don't allow me explain it. Templates always look like exactly the same way.
I hope someone else can help you with better explanations than I.
Best regards, Nevio 2009/12/3 William van Zwanenberg will@propping-up-the-bar.com
As far as I have correctly understood, you'll have to create some
templates.
That being the case, a number of questions arise:
- How do I create a template? Does the MediaWiki website include a
tutorial of some sort? I assume to create one involves some PHP and XHTML programming which whilst I am capable of this, I don't want to have to do unless unavoidable.
- Can I assign specific templates for each of my category pages? For
example, I want to create in my wiki a category called "biographies" so this would inevitably result in artcile pages such as: "Biography:Joe_Bloggs" and "Biography:Josephine_Bloggs". I'd want both artciles pages to have the same format - that is for them to be laid out exactly the same way and for them to include a floating box with a portrait photography and some basic biographical data such as DoB, name, place opf birth, gender - that sort of thing.
My question then is how could i creat just such a template so that all biography pages appeared the same?
- The use of templates implies the need to create corresponding forms that
editors (wiki users creating content) then use to input data and which then ensure that the right data appears in the right place on the resultant created artcile page. If this is so, has is it achieved? Having just installed version 1.15.1 of the wiki software running under a XAMPP architecture on a Windows sandbox, I've found that by default the same basic form appears when one trys to creat *any* page for any category or any namespace. Cleraly there needs to be different forms for different templates and each template (and associated form) need to correspond with the desired look for the category of page.
- How, in practice does wikipedia do this? In order to acheive a
consistent look, presumably different templates are used for each class of article. Are extensions used to create these template and (presumably their corresponding forms).
I'm really worried that what I'm trying to do will involve a lot of work on my part - particularly in terms of programming - and I really don't want to have to engage in this unless absolutely necessary.
I really like the look at feel of the monobook skin and it's various page elements. If possible, I'd like to use these in my own wiki. Does anyone know if they're publicly available - i,.e., are the templates available to download and can i use them myself or or they copyrighted.
I apologise for baraging you with question but I really want to know how this all works ...
MediaWiki-l mailing list MediaWiki-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/mediawiki-l
William van Zwanenberg schrieb:
As far as I have correctly understood, you'll have to create some templates.
That being the case, a number of questions arise:
How do I create a template? Does the MediaWiki website include a tutorial of some sort? I assume to create one involves some PHP and XHTML programming which whilst I am capable of this, I don't want to have to do unless unavoidable.
Can I assign specific templates for each of my category pages? For example, I want to create in my wiki a category called "biographies" so this would inevitably result in artcile pages such as: "Biography:Joe_Bloggs" and "Biography:Josephine_Bloggs". I'd want both artciles pages to have the same format - that is for them to be laid out exactly the same way and for them to include a floating box with a portrait photography and some basic biographical data such as DoB, name, place opf birth, gender - that sort of thing.
My question then is how could i creat just such a template so that all biography pages appeared the same?
The use of templates implies the need to create corresponding forms that editors (wiki users creating content) then use to input data and which then ensure that the right data appears in the right place on the resultant created artcile page. If this is so, has is it achieved? Having just installed version 1.15.1 of the wiki software running under a XAMPP architecture on a Windows sandbox, I've found that by default the same basic form appears when one trys to creat *any* page for any category or any namespace. Cleraly there needs to be different forms for different templates and each template (and associated form) need to correspond with the desired look for the category of page.
How, in practice does wikipedia do this? In order to acheive a consistent look, presumably different templates are used for each class of article. Are extensions used to create these template and (presumably their corresponding forms).
I'm really worried that what I'm trying to do will involve a lot of work on my part - particularly in terms of programming - and I really don't want to have to engage in this unless absolutely necessary.
I really like the look at feel of the monobook skin and it's various page elements. If possible, I'd like to use these in my own wiki. Does anyone know if they're publicly available - i,.e., are the templates available to download and can i use them myself or or they copyrighted.
I apologise for baraging you with question but I really want to know how this all works ...
No no no. It is in fact very easy to create a template, and in fact it's what is used on those articles at wikipedia (although wikipedia templates can reach high grades of complexity).
For example, you go to the page Template:Biography and write: {| style="float: right" | Names || {{{name}}} |- | Age || {{{age}}} |}
This is just a wiki table floating at the right. But in the place where I'd put the person name I put the name of the variable in tribple curly braces.
Then at Biography:Joe_Bloggs you include {{Biography |name=Joe Bloggs |age=10 }}
Joe Bloggs is a young blogger that...
In the place where you placed {{Biography... }} the content of Template:Biography is placed instead, with {{{name}}} substituted by the value we have given it (Joe Bloggs) and {{{age}}} with 10.
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