Template:Merge/doc
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Which merge template should I use?
Do not place this tag on a Wikipedia WP:template or WP:category—instead see below for instructions.
- To propose a merge of at least two articles together at an unspecified location, use
{{Merge|OtherPage}} - To propose a merge of the contents of the tagged article into the specified article, use
{{Merge to|OtherPage}} - To propose that the contents of the specified article should be merged into the tagged article, use
{{Merge from|OtherPage}}– the opposite of{{Merge to}}; - To suggest merging only some material from one article to another, use
{{Move portions from|SourcePage}}and{{Move portions|TargetPage}}
When to use
- If you think it is obvious and non-controversial that the articles should be merged, then you may boldly merge the pages yourself without tagging and without discussion. If other editors disagree after the fact, or feel the merge was done poorly, they may revert the merge. They may also choose to start a talk page discussion. It is best to reach consensus through talk page before attempting a merge a second time.
- If you are uncertain a merge is warranted, want feedback on how best to implement it, or are worried it might be reverted after you spend a long time working on it, then add the merge tags. Usually dissenting editors will reply in a day or two, but you might want to wait a week or so before assuming there is no dissent.
- If you think the rationale for merger is obvious, there is no requirement to start a discussion on the talk page. If other editors disagree, they can simply start the discussion, and you can give your rationale when you reply. Keep in mind that what is obvious to you might not be obvious to other editors, and starting a discussion with a clear rationale and plan for implementation may help reach consensus faster. If the merge tag is removed without discussion, and you still think the merge is warranted, you should definitely start a discussion, and the merge tag should be added back to flag to other editors and readers that a discussion is happening.
- It is highly desirable for the editor that proposed the merge to implement it if there are no objections or if consensus was reached in favor. However, not all editors have the required time or expertise to do so. Other editors who participated in the discussion and editors who see old merge tags they agree with are also encouraged to implement the merge. Tagged articles are placed under Category:Articles to be merged, which is used as a work backlog by Wikipedia:WikiProject Merge. Someone will eventually look at the proposal and either implement the merge, remove the tag, or start a discussion, but it could take many months. In the meantime, the merge tag will alert readers they may need to also visit the other article to find all the relevant content. Editors who are not comfortable merging articles they are involved in are encouraged to find other articles in the merge backlog they can merge, to help keep the overall backlog down.
How to use
Simple example
Tagging a single page is simple:
| Markup | Renders as |
|---|---|
{{Merge|OtherPage |date=November 2024 }}
or
{{Merge |OtherPage |{{subst:DATE}} }}
|
|
When you want to discuss a simple merge of one page into another, tag both of them: {{markup |
| Markup | Renders as |
|---|---|
{{Merge to |FirstPage |date{{=}}November 2024 }}
or
{{Merge to |FirstPage |{{subst:DATE}} }}
|
|
| Markup | Renders as | ||
|---|---|---|---|
{{Merge from |SecondPage |date{{=}}November 2024 }} or
{{Merge from |SecondPage |{{subst:DATE}} }}
|
| ||
This allows editors at both pages to see both the proposed source and target.
Other options
By default, the Discuss link on the template links to the top of the destination page's talk page. To specify which section, or to name a different talk page entirely, use the |discuss= parameter:
{{Merge|OtherPage |discuss=Talk:OtherPage#Merge discussion |date=November 2024}}
To name multiple pages to be merged, simply separate them with a vertical pipe. You can add up to 20 articles to be merged:
{{Merge|OtherPage1 |OtherPage2 |OtherPage3 |discuss=Talk:OtherPage#Merge discussion |date=November 2024}}
To name multiple pages to merge into a single page, use the |target= parameter. For example, to merge the tagged page, as well as OtherPage1, OtherPage2, and OtherPage3 into OtherPage4, use:
{{Merge|OtherPage1 |OtherPage2 |OtherPage3 |target=OtherPage4 |discuss=Talk:OtherPage#Merge discussion |date=November 2024}}
If you are placing the template in a section, you can use |section=yes to change the wording to reflect this:
{{Merge|OtherPage |discuss=Talk:OtherPage#Merge discussion |date=November 2024 |section=yes}}
- Do not link to the pages with square brackets.
For example, write{{Merge|OtherArticle}}, not{{Merge|[[OtherArticle]]}}. - If you don't supply a date, a bot will add it later.
- The date may not be shown in the box. Do not be concerned about this. It is used when grouping tagged pages together into categories by date.
- These templates will add tagged articles to Category:Articles to be merged, while non-articles (files, templates, etc.) will be added to Category:Items to be merged.
- For {{Merge}}, if you are specifying a merge of two or more pages in different namespaces, the template supports this via specification of the full page name, including the namespace prefix.
|nspace=can take on namespace values, which fixes all params to the namespace specified. - Do not
subst:these templates.
When to remove
There is no deadline for completing proposed merges. Pages that have been tagged for a long time (frequently more than one year) generally fall into these groups:
- Discussion supported the proposed merge, but no one did it yet
- Feel free to merge the pages yourself.
- Discussion opposed merge, but nobody removed the tags
- Feel free to remove the tags yourself.
- No discussion found
- Feel free to remove the tags if you believe the merge would be a poor choice, or to boldly merge the pages if you believe the merge would be appropriate. Or feel free to start a discussion if you are uncertain or feel it would be controversial.
Notes
- If you want to propose merging a category, you must do so at Wikipedia:Categories for discussion, using the specific templates available there.
- If you want to propose merging a template, you must do so at Wikipedia:Templates for discussion, using the specific templates available there.
TemplateData
TemplateData for Merge
This is a hatnote template which proposes to merge the page it is applied to into one or more other pages.
| Parameter | Description | Type | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other page | 1 | This is the page into which this article should be merged. Note: 19 additional pages to merge can be added manually as optional parameters. | Page name | required |
| Target page | target | When listing several pages to merge, name one proposed target page for the merger with this parameter. | Page name | optional |
| Month and year | date | The date on which the article was tagged (month year; e.g. August 2013)
| String | suggested |
| Discussion | discuss | Discussion related to the merge proposal; typically on the talk page for the target (other) page. | Page name | optional |
| Section | section | If you are placing the template in a section, set this parameter to 'yes'. | String | optional |
| Namespace | nspace | By default, nspace is "all", which allows specifying pages across multiple namespaces for merge. Can be customized according to the accepted nspace values at Template:Pagelist | String | optional |
TemplateData for Merge to
This is a hatnote template which proposes to merge the page it is applied into one or more specified pages. Use 'merge from' to tag the target page(s).
| Parameter | Description | Type | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other page | 1 | This is the page into which this article should be merged. Note: 19 additional pages to merge into can be added manually as optional parameters. | Page name | required |
| Month and year | date | The date on which the article was tagged (month year; e.g. August 2013)
| String | suggested |
| Discussion | discuss | Discussion related to the merge proposal; typically on the talk page for the target (other) page. | Page name | optional |
| Section | section | If you are placing the template in a section, set this parameter to 'yes'. | String | optional |
TemplateData for Merge from
This is a hatnote template which proposes to merge one or more specified pages into the tagged page. Use 'merge to' to tag the source page(s).
| Parameter | Description | Type | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other page | 1 | This is the page, from which content should be merged into this article. Note: 19 additional pages to merge from can be added manually as optional parameters. | Page name | required |
| Month and year | date | The date on which the article was tagged (month year; e.g. August 2013)
| String | suggested |
| Discussion | discuss | Discussion related to the merge proposal; typically on the talk page for the target page. | Page name | optional |
| Section | section | If you are placing the template in a section, set this parameter to 'yes'. | String | optional |
{{Wikipedia:Template messages/Splitting/List|noheading=yes}}{{Wikipedia:Template messages/Merging/List|noheading=yes}}
