[Mediawiki-l] Re: Re: Forcing template

[David Gerisch]

>>> mediawiki-l-request at Wikimedia.org Friday, March 11, 2005 10:46 AM
>>>

Date: Fri, 11 Mar 2005 10:18:25 -0800
From: Jan Steinman <Jan at Bytesmiths.com>
Subject: Re: [Mediawiki-l] Re: Forcing template
To: MediaWiki announcements and site admin list
	<mediawiki-l at Wikimedia.org>
Message-ID: <17538114976add28818f878f901ae0b0 at Bytesmiths.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed

On 11 Mar 2005, at 10:18, Jan Steinman wrote:

>> I want to be able to populate a page with different template texts.
> 
> If you mean the same URL with different texts at different times, 
> you're gonna run up against the "cache problem".
> 

Thankfully, that is not my worry.  I'm just trying to reduce some
typing.  I need to let my users pick and choose which template
information to add.

>> I'm using MediaWiki 1.4rc1.  I see in EditPage.php a function
called
>> getEditToolbar(), that then has an array of toolbar buttons.
>>
>> Question 1: would this be the best/correct place to add my template
>> text?

I probably could have phrased that question better.  I wonder if there
is another place where I would put my customization, instead of manually
editing the EditPage.php file.  I assume that when the next version of
MediaWiki comes out, it won't merge the changes I made, it will just
replace my custom EditPage.php with the standard one.  If there is a
place where I could place a file to be included, then my customization
wouldn't necessarily get wiped out with the next upgrade.

> At least on Safari using 1.4 beta 5, the edit tool bar *does not* put

> the text in the edit box at the insertion point; it puts it in the 
> little field above that, which you then have to copy-n-paste. 
> Cumbersome. It would be nicer if it could plop it at the insertion 
> point. (I have not seen this mentioned in the release notes for newer

> versions; apologies if it's been fixed.)
> 
>> Question 2: Is it possible to get those edit buttons to prompt the
user
>> for data?
>
> That's what the current buttons do -- did you try copying and
modifying 
> their code?

I did try copying and modifying the code - but only so far as to add a
new button and plop in the template text.  That part works well enough.

I do not know how one would spawn a new screen at the moment, which
could prompt for particular pieces of data.  If that part is too
complicated, I'll forego it, but if it isn't too hard, I would be happy
to try to learn it.

Thanks!

David Gerisch

<snip>

:::: We are like tenant farmers chopping down the fence around our 
house for fuel when we should be using nature's inexhaustible sources 
of energy - sun, wind and tide. I'd put my money on the sun and solar 
energy. What a source of power! I hope we don't have to wait until oil

and coal run out before we tackle that.
-- Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931)
:::: Jan Steinman <mailto:Jan at Bytesmiths.com/Item/80BF02>