Template:Ambox/doc

Message box meta-templates
template	context
{{Ambox}}	article
{{Cmbox}}	category
{{Imbox}}	image
{{Tmbox}}	talk
{{Fmbox}}	footer / header
{{Ombox}}	other pages
{{Mbox}}	auto-detect
{{Asbox}}	article stub
{{Dmbox}}	disambiguation

The {{Ambox}} template's name derives from Article message box, which is a metatemplate. It is used to build message boxes for templates used in articles, such as {{Cleanup}}. It offers several different colours, images, and some other features.

Basic usage

The box below shows the most common parameters that are accepted by {{Ambox}}. The purpose of each is described below.

{{Ambox
 | name  = 
 | subst = <includeonly>{{subst:substcheck}}</includeonly>
 | small = {{{small|}}}
 | type  = 
 | image = 
 | sect  = {{{1|}}}
 | issue = 
 | talk  = {{{talk|}}}
 | fix   = 
 | date  = {{{date|}}}
 | cat   = 
 | all   = 
}}

Full usage

Full parameters

The box shows all possible parameters for this template. However, it is not recommended to copy this, because it will never be required to use all of the parameters simultaneously.

{{Ambox
 | name            = 
 | subst           = <includeonly>{{subst:substcheck}}</includeonly>
 | small           = {{{small|}}}
 | type            = 
 | image           = 
 | imageright      = 
 | smallimage      = 
 | smallimageright = 
 | class           = 
 | style           = 
 | textstyle       = 
 | sect            = {{{1|}}}
 | issue           = 
 | talk            = {{{talk|}}}
 | fix             = 
 | date            = {{{date|}}}
 | text            = 
 | smalltext       = 
 | plainlinks      = no
 | removalnotice   = 
 | cat             = 
 | all             = 
 | cat2            = 
 | all2            = 
 | cat3            = 
 | all3            = 
}}

Common parameters

name

The name parameter specifies the name of the template, without the 'Template:' namespace prefix. For example, {{Cleanup}} specifies it as |name=Cleanup. This parameter should be updated if the template is ever moved. Its purpose is twofold:

• If incorrectly substituted, it allows the metatemplate to record the name of the template which has been substituted, which may help later editors to correct the problem.
• It allows the template to have a more useful display on its own page, for example to show the date even when not specified, and to apply categorization of the template itself.

subst

The subst parameter allows the metatemplate to detect whether the template has been incorrectly substituted, and give an appropriate warning if so. It will also add such pages to the Pages with incorrectly substituted templates category. Just copy the value for it exactly as shown here.

small

The small parameter should be passed through the template, as this will allow editors to use a more compact format by specifying |small=left on an article:

Otherwise, the standard format will be shown:

Other variations:

• For templates which should never use the compact format, specify |small=no or do not pass the small parameter through at all.
• For templates which should always use the compact format, just specify |small=left.
• For templates which should default to the compact format, try |small={{{small|left}}}. This will allow an editor to override that choice by supplying |small=no where they invoke the template.

To use a small box that adjusts its width to match the text, use |style=margin-right: 0; width: auto; and |textstyle=width: auto; together:

See the § sect section below for more information on how to limit |small= use to instances when the template is being used for a section, instead of the whole article (which is recommended, to prevent inconsistent top-of-page display).

type

The type parameter defines the color of the bar on the box's left edge and the image that is used by default. The type is chosen not on aesthetics, but based on the nature of the information that the box contains. The seven available types and their default images are as follows:

If the type parameter is not defined, the template defaults to |type=notice.

image

You can choose a specific image to use for the template by using the image parameter. Images are specified using the standard syntax for inserting files on Zoophilia Wiki (see Manual of Style/Images#How to place an image.) Widths of 40–50px work best and are typical, provided its aspect ratio is close to square, and if not it may be advantageous to define its height py prepending an 'x' when specifying its size, as in x40px. For example:

• {{POV}} specifies |image=[[File:Unbalanced scales.svg|50x40px|class=skin-invert|link=|alt=]].
  
  
  
• {{Underlinked}} specifies |image=[[File:Ambox wikify.svg|50x40px|class=skin-invert|link=|alt=]].
  
  

Please note:

• If no image is specified, then the default image corresponding to the value of the type parameter is used. (See the § type section above.)
• If |image=none is specified, then no image is used and the text fills the entire message box area.
• If an icon is purely decorative and also in the public domain, accessibility can be improved by suppressing the link to the file page by adding |link= and |alt= to the file link as seen above.

sect

Many article message templates begin with the text This article … and it is often desirable that this wording be altered to read This section … if the template contains information pertaining only to a section of a page instead. The value of this parameter will replace the word "article." Various possibilities for use include: |sect=list, |sect=table, |sect="In popular culture" material, etc.

When using this feature, be sure to remove the words "This article" from the template text, otherwise it will be duplicated.

A common way to facilitate this functionality is to pass |sect={{{1|}}}. This will allow editors to type section, for example, as the first unnamed parameter of the template to change the wording. This can be seen at work in {{Advert}}|section:

Another approach is to pass |sect={{{section|{{{sect|}}}}}} to provide a named value. Another is to use {{Yesno}} to parse true values to a boolean option and pass |sect=section if true.

These approaches can be combined, and this is recommended. The following ready-to-use code…

|sect={{#ifeq:{{Yesno|def=|1={{{sect|{{{section}}}}}}}}|yes|section|{{{sect|{{{section|{{{1|}}}}}}}}}}}

…provides multiple benefits:

• Any positive value that {{Yesno}} can detect will be used with the named parameter in the {{Ambox}}-based template to read "section" instead of "article": |section=y, |sect=true, etc. It is recommended to allow both |sect= and |section= so that editors do not have to guess which one will work, as sample code above does.
• Any other value passed, in any manner, will replace "article": |section and its subsections, |1=list, |sect=section, |section=table, etc.

It is also advisable to restrict use of the |small= parameter so that it is made contingent upon the template being applied to a section or some other subset of a page rather than the whole article, to prevent the small version of the template from being used at the top of the article, where it would be inconsistent with other article-wide banners:

|small={{#if:{{{sect|{{{section|{{{1|}}}}}}}}}|{{#if:{{{small|{{{left|}}}}}}|left}}}}

(In this case, any value of |small= or |left= will trigger the small, left display, as long as some value of |sect= or one of its aliases in that template has also been provided.) This code can be copy-pasted and used with the above code block.

issue and fix

The issue parameter is used to describe the issue with the article. Try to keep it short and to-the-point (approximately 10–20 words). The fix parameter contains some text which describes what should be done to improve the article; it may be longer than the text in issue, but typically should not exceed two sentences.

When the template is in its compact form (as when placed inside {{Multiple issues}}) or compact form (when using |small=left), the value of the issue parameter is the only text that will be displayed. For example, {{Citation style}} defines

• |issue=This article '''has an unclear citation style'''.
• |fix=The references used may be made clearer with a different or consistent style of citation, footnoting or external linking.

When used stand-alone it produces:

But when used inside {{Multiple issues}} or with |small=left it displays only the issue:

talk

Some article message templates include a link to the talk page, and allow an editor to specify a section heading to link directly to the relevant section. To achieve this functionality, simply pass the talk parameter through, i.e. |talk={{{talk|}}}.

This parameter may then be used by an editor as follows:

• |talk=SECTION HEADING – the link will point to the specified section on the article's talk page, e.g. |talk=Foo
• |talk=FULL PAGE NAME – the template will link to the page specified (which may include a section anchor), e.g. |talk=Talk:Banana#Foo

Notes:

• When this parameter is used by a template, the talk page link will appear on the template itself (in order to demonstrate the functionality) but this will only display on articles if the parameter is actually defined.
• In order to make sure there is always a link to the talk page, you can use |talk={{{talk|#}}}.
• If the talk page does not exist, there will be no link, whatever the value of the parameter.

date

Passing the date parameter through to the metatemplate means that the date that the article is tagged may be specified by an editor. This will be displayed after the message in a smaller font.

info

This parameter is for specifying additional information. Whatever you add here will appear after the date, and will not be displayed if the template is being wrapped in {{Multiple issues}}.

removalnotice

If you specify |removalnotice=yes, then the following notice will be displayed after the date and after the info text:

• Learn how and when to remove this template message.

This will not be displayed if the template is being wrapped in {{Multiple issues}}.

cat

This parameter defines a monthly cleanup category. If |cat=CATEGORY then:

• articles will be placed in Category:CATEGORY from DATE if |date=DATE is specified.
• articles will be placed in Category:CATEGORY if the date is not specified.

For example, {{No footnotes}} specifies |cat=Articles lacking in-text citations and so an article with the template {{No footnotes}}|date=11 2024 will be placed in Category:Articles lacking in-text citations from 11 2024]].

The value of the cat parameter should not be wikilinked, nor should the prefix 'Category:' be used.

all

The all parameter defines a category into which all articles should be placed. Likewise, the value of the all parameter should not be wikilinked, nor should the prefix 'Category:' be used.

Additional parameters

imageright

An image on the right side of the message box may be specified using this parameter. The syntax is the same as for the image parameter, except that the default is for no image to be displayed.

smallimage and smallimageright

Images for the compact format may be specified using these parameters. They will have no effect unless |small=left is specified.

class

The class parameter defines custom CSS classes to apply to the template. If adding multiple classes, they should be space-delimited (separated by whitespace).

style and textstyle

The style and textstyle parameters define optional CSS style declarations for the template and values should not be wrapped in quotation marks " ", but with a terminating semicolon ; for each declaration.

• style defines the style used by the entire message box. This can be used to do things such as modifying the width of the box, for instance.
• textstyle defines the style for only the displayed text.

text and smalltext

Instead of specifying the issue and fix parameters, it is possible to use the text parameter with particular attention to the formatting, instead.

Customised text for the small format can be defined using the smalltext parameter.

plainlinks

On Zoophilia Wiki, links to other websites are typically displayed with an arrow icon next to them, like this: example.com. However, in message boxes, that arrow icon is suppressed by default, as in: example.com. To restore the normal style of external link with the arrow icon, use |plainlinks=no.

cat2, cat3, {Var|all2}} and all3

• The cat2 and cat3 parameters provide for additional monthly categories, extending the § cat parameter.
• The all2 and all3 parameters provide for additional categories into which all articles are placed, extending the § all parameter.

Technical notes

• If you need to use special characters in the text parameter, then you need to escape them in the manner shown below…

  {{Ambox
   | nocat = true
   | text  = <div>Equal sign = and a start and end brace { } work fine as they are.
  But here is a pipe | and two end braces }}.
  And now a pipe and end braces |}}.</div>
  }}

  …which produces…

  
  
• The <div>…</div> tags that surround the text in the example above are usually not needed, but if the text contains line breaks, then sometimes weird line spacing occurs. This especially happens when using bulleted lists. In such cases, use the <div>…</div> tags to fix that.
• The default images for this metatemplate are in the PNG file format rather than SVG. The main reason for this is that some older web browsers have trouble with the transparent background that MediaWiki renders for SVG images. The PNG images here have hand-optimized, transparent backgrounds so that they appear as intended in all browsers. Note that SVG icons only look somewhat bad in the old browsers, thus such hand-optimization is only worth the trouble for very widely used icons.
• For more technical details, see the talk page and the § See also links below. Since this template works almost exactly like {{Tmbox}}, {{Imbox}}, {{Cmbox}} and {{Ombox}}, their talk pages and related pages might also contain additional details.

Display on mobile devices

The MediaWiki developers have been conducting ongoing readability studies on this template on the mobile version of the site. Until further notice, code installed by the developers on the mobile version will generally override what is done here regarding the display and layout of this template. For more information, see MediaWiki:Mobile Page Issues.

TemplateData

This is the TemplateData for this template used by TemplateWizard, VisualEditor and other tools. See a monthly parameter usage report for this template in articles based on this TemplateData.

TemplateData for Ambox

Used to build message boxes for templates used in articles

Template parameters

This template prefers block formatting of parameters.

Parameter		Description	Type	Status
Template Name	name	The name parameter specifies the name of the template, without the Template namespace prefix.	String	optional
subst	subst	Allows the meta-template to detect whether the template has been incorrectly substituted	Unknown	optional
Small Mode	small	The small parameter should be passed through the template, as this will allow editors to use the small format by specifying |small=left on an article. Suggested values no left	String	optional
type	type	Type of issue the template describes. Defines the colour of the left bar, and the image that is used by default Suggested values speedy delete content style notice move protection	Line	optional
image	image	Image used with the template	File	optional
sect	sect	Parameter that can be used to change the text "this article" to "this section" or something else Suggested values {{{1|}}}	Line	optional
issue	issue	Describes the issue with the article	Content	optional
fix	fix	Describes what should be done to improve the article	Content	optional
talk	talk	no description Auto value {{{talk|}}}	Unknown	optional
date	date	no description	Unknown	optional
info	info	Specifies additional information	Unknown	optional
removalnotice	removalnotice	Displays a notice about when and how to remove the template message	Boolean	optional
cat	cat	Defines a monthly cleanup category	Unknown	optional
all	all	Defines a category into which all articles should be placed	Unknown	optional
imageright	imageright	no description	Unknown	optional
class	class	no description	Unknown	optional
text	text	no description	Unknown	optional
plainlinks	plainlinks	no description	Unknown	optional
smallimage	smallimage	no description	Unknown	optional
smallimageright	smallimageright	no description	Unknown	optional
textstyle	textstyle	no description	Unknown	optional
style	style	no description	Unknown	optional
smalltext	smalltext	no description	Unknown	optional
cat2	cat2	no description	Unknown	optional
cat3	cat3	no description	Unknown	optional
all2	all2	no description	Unknown	optional
all3	all3	no description	Unknown	optional

Mbox family

There are seven metatemplates in the Module:Message box family:

• {{Ambox}}, for messageboxes on article pages.
• {{Cmbox}}, for messageboxes on category pages.
• {{Imbox}}, for messageboxes on file (image) pages.
• {{Tmbox}}, for messageboxes on talk pages.
• {{Fmbox}}, for header and footer messageboxes.
• {{Ombox}}, for messageboxes on other types of page.
• {{Mbox}}, for messageboxes that are used in different namespaces and change their presentation accordingly.

Closely related metatemplates:

• {{Asbox}}, for messageboxes in article stubs.
• {{Dmbox}}, for messageboxes on disambiguation or set-index pages.
• {{Ivmbox}}, a simple full-width box with default ivory background intended to frame important messages or notices.

Templates intended to be used in conjunction with Mboxes:

• {{Ombox/shortcut}}, an alternative to {{Shortcut}} for use in Mbox templates

See also

• Wikipedia:Article message boxes – The historical style guideline for creating article message boxes.